It's interesting to see robots in action but it is more mesmerizing to see swarms of them moving about in coordination like bees that work together without being directed by any human. Such phenomenon apparently is not something that is predicted to happen in the future because researchers have just created tiny robots with the ability to work together and assemble themselves into formations without requiring human control.
The self-organizing bots called "kilobots," which were described in a study published in the journal Science on Aug.15, stand on three vibrating pin-like legs and work with 1,024 other similar bots to form a swarm that can assemble into any two-dimensional shape.
Kilobots work in similar ways as a swarm of bees. After being shown a two-dimensional shape, these tiny robots move without the need for further direction to assemble the shape themselves. The researchers Radhika Nagpal, Mike Rubenstein and Alex Cornejo from the Harvard University, claimed that they got the inspiration from nature for the robots' ability to self-organize.
A self-organized system has a number of strengths such that it does not necessitate a leader or a central brain. It is also scalable, which means that new units or individuals can be added to the system. Unreliable or defective units likewise do not break the system.
"Self-assembly enables nature to build complex forms," the researchers wrote. "This work advances the aim of creating artificial swarms with the capabilities of natural ones."
While the researchers were able to give the swarmbots the ability to work with a large group, the robots have certain limitations, according to Rubenstein.
"As a side effect, the robots are not very capable, and have lots of variability such as noisy distance sensing, and difficulties moving," Rubenstein said. The robots also currently have trouble forming straight lines.
Still, the researchers believe that while the capabilities of the robots are still rudimentary, swarmbots such as the ones they have developed could provide important contributions to the future of robotics and may likely have helpful practical uses.
"Increasingly, we're going to see large numbers of robots working together, whether its hundreds of robots cooperating to achieve environmental cleanup or a quick disaster response, or millions of self-driving cars on our highways," Nagpal said. "Understanding how to design 'good' systems at that scale will be critical."
Watch the swarmbots in action in the video below:
