Authored by Mrigakshi Dixit via Interesting Engineering,
Researchers at Harvard have developed a fleet of robotic ants that mimic the self-organizing behavior of social insects to build and dismantle structures without blueprints or central leadership.
Dubbed “RAnts”, these robotic ants have been designed by researchers from the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS).
These are simple, decentralized robots that can spontaneously organize to build — and just as easily destroy — complex structures.
Instead of chemical pheromones, these robots use light fields (photormones) to communicate.
“Our new study shows how simple, local rules can lead to the emergence of complex task completion that is self-organized and thus robust and adaptive,” said Professor L. Mahadevan, the Lola England de Valpine Professor of Applied Mathematics, Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, and Physics at SEAS and FAS.
“We also introduce the concept of exbodied intelligence, where collective cognition arises not solely from individual agents, but from their ongoing interaction with an evolving environment,” Mahadevanadded.
Antsprove that you don’t need a big brain to be a great builder. All that is needed is a great team. Without blueprints or supervisors, these tiny creatures construct some of nature’s most complex habitats.
And now, experts are taking this cue. In recent years, AI development has obsessed over faster chips and bigger digital brains.
ButProfessor L. Mahadevan and his team looked elsewhere, particularly exbodied intelligence.
Source: ZeroHedge News
