Next Wave of Robots Cheaper, Smarter

For decades robots have been the stuff of science fiction. But the bots unveiled at the RoboDevelopment Expo in SanJose, California show how they are now becoming essential to manufacturing, technology and entertainment. Or spying, my fav! Like hooch, has an AIBO. That you can send around the house and control from a laptop.

Robot builds itself for special tasks

(Left) The rigid gripper used to connect s-bots. (Right) Three s-bots form a swarm-bot that can climb a step. Credit: Groß et al. ©IEEE 2006

Robot builds itself for special tasks from PhysOrg.com

In one of the latest studies on autonomous robots, scientists sat back and watched as their robot created itself out of smaller robotic modules. The result, called “swarm-bot,” comes in many varieties, depending on the assigned task and available components. As the current state of the art in autonomous self-assembly, swarm-bots offer insight into the potential versatility and robustness that robots may possess to perform missions beyond human abilities.

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