Kilobots - tiny, collaborative robots - are leaving the nest (w/ video)

[Tank]

Kilobots - tiny, collaborative robots - are leaving the nest (w/ video)

(PhysOrg.com) -- The Kilobots are coming. Computer scientists and engineers at Harvard University have developed and licensed technology that will make it easy to test collective algorithms on hundreds, or even thousands, of tiny robots.

Called Kilobots, the quarter-sized bug-like devices scuttle around on three toothpick-like legs, interacting and coordinating their own behavior as a team. A June 2011 Harvard Technical Report demonstrated a collective of 25 machines implementing swarming behaviors such as foraging, formation control, and synchronization.

Once up and running, the machines are fully autonomous, meaning there is no need for a human to control their actions...

Watch the videos!

I predict Asmodean will want a few thousand!

[Pharaoh Cat]

So of course I'm imagining them with little lasers mounted on top, invading an enemy camp, guided by heat sensors so as to zero in on life forms...

[Tank]

I love the little vibratory motors that move them, I thought that was a brilliant concept.