Researchers: Swarming robots may be the servants of the future Robots coordinate with one another to accomplish tasks., Science Recorder

Researchers: Swarming robots may be the servants of the future

Robots coordinate with one another to accomplish tasks.

Photo credit: 20th Century Fox

Science Recorder | Karen Blaettler | Thursday, March 28, 2013

It’s a headline straight from The Jetsons. 
Researchers at the University of Sheffield in the U.K. say they are working on building a team of robots that could eventually provide scientists with a better understanding of how robots rely on networking  to accomplish simple tasks.

The research has focused on 40 robots capable of working as a group to perform various tasks, including pushing balls and navigating simple obstacles. The robots are also reportedly capable of separating and reorganizing themselves into different groups, say researchers  While the robotic movements are confined to simple movements, the U.K. researchers say they could provide the first insight into how robots could be programmed for more complicated tasks.
To accomplish the series of tasks, researchers relied on programming the robots from the ground up. The team of robotic experts began with a simple goal of creating robots capable of identifying the position of nearby robots. The robots attempt to identify a nearby robot and if none exist, it turns and begins moving in the opposite direction, part of a strategy to find other robots. Then, once one robot has discovered another, it can choose whether to create a group to accomplish a task or remain a single unit.
While the concept seems fairly simple, experts concede it requires a large amount of computing power to accomplish even the most simple of tasks. However, by relying on fairly simple steps for completing more complicated tasks, researchers say they are making progress towards creating groups of networking robots with artificial intelligence.
“We are developing Artificial Intelligence to control robots in a variety of ways. The key is to work out what is the minimum amount of information needed by the robot to accomplish its task,” said study author Dr. Roderich Gross, head of the Natural Robotics Lab at the University of Sheffield.
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The research could eventually lead to a number of stunning inventions. U.K. researchers say the finding could eventually result in groups of nano-sized robots coordinating with one another to accomplish tasks. In addition, by relying on a simplified approach, more advanced robots could require less energy, providing them with the ability to accomplish more tasks.
The findings come as researchers around the world have announced plans to build advanced network of computers in an attempt to push the boundaries of artificial intelligence. Earlier this month, Wired reported the building of the massive top-secret Utah Data Center being built for the National Security Agency. The project, which is reportedly capable of intercepting, deciphering, analyzing vast amount of data, is seen as the first “total information awareness” program.

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