In spite of fantastic stories, a future in which robots will be fully Autonomous and almost not dependent on the person, really do not want to come. Perhaps one of the steps towards this was made by a team of researchers from the University of Brussels. They created the marXbot miniature robot, able not only to perform their own tasks, but also to evolve into more complex arrangements and even to repair itself.
Small marXbot can contact each other and unite in a complex structure, which is in the common “brain”. The role of the chief in the case of an Association takes over one of the robots, which by means of Wi-Fi receives data from the other robots of the group and sends back commands that govern the behavior of machines. According to one of the researchers, Marco Dorigo,
“Our robots are Autonomous units that turn into one big robot after joining the group. When the need for one of the units disappears, it is separated from the group and once again becomes Autonomous, managing itself independently. We called this technology a “shared nervous system.” This structure has a flexible architecture that allows for dynamic expansion and reduction in the number of its constituent units. The robot is composed of several parts, maybe even “cured” by getting rid of broken machines, the place where you will take the others.”
This system has some disadvantages. For example, now need to program each robot individually to ensure that they could form a panel of desired configuration. In the future, the researchers plan to add this system function self-study, which will allow the robots to independently select the configuration you need based on the task.
Modular robots that can be combined in sophisticated self-healing mechanisms
Vladimir Kuznetsov