(Image source: Digital Trends)
BY STEVEN SPARKMAN
You're watching multisource science news analysis from Newsy.
Engineers have done some amazing things with robots lately, from mini-helicopters that can play ping pong to digital butlers that grab you a beer from the fridge. So the mundane task of library work might not seem too exciting, but TG Daily reports -- it makes for an award-winning video.
“A group of robots dubbed a Swarmanoid has won the video award from the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) for its Mission Impossible-style demonstration of, um, taking a book from a shelf.”
The Swarmanoid is a group of independent robots who can work together to achieve their goals. There have been swarms of identical robots before, but this is the first swarm made up of different kinds of robots working toward one cause.
The Eye Bot flies around, mapping the environment and guiding the other robots. The Foot Bot is mobile on the ground, and can link up with the Hand Bot -- a truly disturbing contraption which can fire a magnetic harpoon up to the 9-foot high ceiling, and winch and climb its way up shelves. (Image source: Swarmanoid)
Ready to see them in action?
The bots are tasked to find a book. When they’re first turned on, they don’t know anything about their environment. The Eye Bots spy the skies until they find their target, then they stick to the ceiling to direct traffic. Two Foot Bots give the Hand Bot a lift to the shelf. From there, the Hand Bot fires its sky hook, climbs up the shelf, retrieves the book, and lowers itself back down. (Video source: mbirattari YouTube)
The robots communicate by flashing their LED lights and using infrared sensors to gauge distance. A writer for io9 says -- the visual display gives their book heist extra drama.
“We've seen robotic swarms before, but none of them are as flamboyant as Swarmanoid, which turns even the most mundane tasks into espionage thrillers.”
As cool as the Swarmanoid is, if watching the bots work made you a little uneasy -- you aren’t alone. A writer for IProgrammer explores why the robogang can give you the heebie-jeebies.
“It could be that swarms of identical robots are more like insects or lower lifeforms and we don't get too scared of them. On the other hand the different forms of the Swarmanoid robots seems to give them different personalities... for me, and I'm a robot enthusiast, there is something really disturbing about Swarmanoid...”
But this robo team won’t be locked in the library forever-- a writer for Gizmag lists some of the technology’s possible future missions.
“Swarms of small, intercommunicating robots are now being eyed up for all sorts of potential uses, including the creation of communications networks for disaster relief, mapping out hazardous environments, or even perhaps helping with the colonization of Mars.”
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