Researchers from Harvard University created 1,024 nanobots capable of organizing and communicating amongst themselves.
This group of miniature robots, dubbed Kilobots, resemble hockey pucks. They move using pin-like metal legs, and can sense their location and surroundings through processing infrared light. When they move around, the bots utilize vibration motors allowing them to slide across surfaces. Each robot measures around 1.2 inches in diameter and stands two inches. Researchers were pleased that they were able to develop these miniature robots at low cost - each nanobot goes for about $14.
Researchers were able to command the Kilobots through an infrared transmitter. The nanobots can arrange themselves to form various shapes, including letters of the alphabet, a star, a wrench, and square.
"This is a 'collective' of robots - a group of robots that work together to complete a common goal," Harvard computer scientist Michael Rubenstein and lead author of the study told Reuters. "If you call collective artificial intelligence the ability of a 'collective' to start to behave as a single entity, you could call this collective artificial intelligence."
Rubenstein stated that a collective of robots is more efficient in performing a task or adjusting to a new environment such as the planet Mars. A team of robots will be able to navigate the sand dunes better by rearranging themselves. They are also fault-tolerant in a sense that if a single robot fails to function well, there are thousand others available to replace it immediately.
Further details of the study were published in the Aug.15 issue of Science.
