Hi Ann, Great article and video! It's amazing to see this tiny robots worked together for a common goal, in this case to play a piano, with such grace. The electronics packaging for these tiny robot is an engineering feat in itself. I'm wondering what type of processor is used to orchestrate the sensing and mobility controls for these robots. Did Georgia Tech disclose any engineering BOM on these robots?
Cabe Atwell, Yes the article did specify them as being Khepera IIIs. I agree, the code would be interesting to see based on the swarm algorithm used to allow the bots to work together.
A completely different concept, that is true. As for the working together, what came to my mind is the expression "Gung Ho", adopted by the USMC many years ago. The meaning, loosely translated from the original Chinese, means "work together". And the robots certainly do. It ia a little bit like watching an untrianed typist using whatever finger is closest to the needed key.
Is it possible that these robots could learn to type? That would be quite a show, no doubt.
WilliamK, Yes, I agree. That would be a sight to see these robots type a book mansucript. I could have used them for my latest book, Learn Electronics with Arduino.
Thanks, mrdon, glad you liked it. I was happy to find out that the U of PA robot musical team we've written about wasn't the only group of swarming bots with such talents. I suggest you check out the link we gave for the Kephera IIIs--they are OTS machines, as Cabe points out. I think his point about the software is also well taken. I'd like to know more about what the Georgia Tech team did with spatio-temporal request sequencing.
This sort of cooperative solution is intriguing to watch. Could this also be used to deliver multiple parcels throughout a neighborhood with minimal energy consumption? Maybe planting algorithms for reforestation? Battlefield logistics? I'm sure that there must be lots of real-world problems that could use this sort of optimization for a solution.
Right, if there were at least 3 or 4 times the number of swarm elements (it only starts with 8, after all) or they were that much faster, the ENTIRE piece (the middle section has about 3 times the number of notes in the same period of time) could be played a tempo, and it would be as flawless as if sequenced.
Hi Ann, Is it possible to obtain additional info regarding the software algorithm used to coordinate the Robot Swarm's movements? It would be an interesting follow up article as well.
mrdon, you're welcome to try--you could contact them via the links we gave--but I doubt if the researchers would be very forthcoming with the algorithm. Please let us know what you find out.
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