This is an interesting concept. I didn't know Harvard had an Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, but it's a great idea. Animals, insects specifically, are great at amazing feats of engineering, and now researchers there have developed robots that can work as a collective to build structures, in a similar vein to how ants or termites build theirs.
It may not sound like a big deal, but ant and termite mounds are wonders of the natural world. They are built without any plan, and by insects of course, but they have ventilation, heat re-direction, greenhouses, nurseries, and a complex series of non-random passageways. If one can't function the building goes on without her and they often even sacrifice themselves for the good of the colony.
Honestly, all large structures are built the same way by humans, but they need a plan. If you watch the construction of any building there are numerous people crawling all over the place to get it done. Imagine if robots could be used instead to build complex structures.
These researchers didn't provide the robots with a plan, rather they gave them a basic set of rules and the robots were able to build complex structures using only the rules that defined the end goal. It's a difficult ting to explain, but the video below explains it in more detail and shows the robots moving blocks in to place. It's surprisingly interesting to see.
Not that they would be used to replace humans, they would be used in situations where it would be dangerous for humans to be. As the article states, if structures needed to be built underwater or on the surface of another planet, these robots would be ideal.
This is absolutely amazing, I will never look at an ant hill or a spider web the same ever again! How cool is it to consider that these tiny creatures do not draw a design, have meetings, or ask for approval to create these structures; these simply build them…amazing!
ReplyDeleteIt’s a little off topic, but it does remind me of story I read a couple years ago where NASA scientists gave spiders different drugs, including caffeine, to see how they would react, and the webs they created were nowhere near normal. It is kind of scary considering human ingest tons of caffeine every day.
The idea of using robots for construction is really interesting. Obviously, there would have to be regulations and limitations on use, but I can imagine them being used for a simple task like trench excavation. Currently, remote control robots are often used for large pipe inspections. The robot is outfitted with a light and camera and sent down the pipe for inspection; it’s pretty cool.
I too found this new technology very interesting. My career has been in the construction industry for many years, and I can see a definite application for this in the real world. My concerns would be the insured safety standards in anything that was assembled by these robots. However, the fact that difficult areas that are possibly unsafe could be accessed by these robots is very cool. Great possibilities for underwater or underground work!
ReplyDeleteI think this is an amazing thing to do with technology. It would be a great thing to be able to have robots build things in places that humans cannot go or it is to dangerous to go. When looking at an ant hill, I would not think that they have built it with ventilation, nurseries, and non-random passageways. To think that we can build robots and that really do the same thing with only being programmed with a few sets of rules is interesting. Of course, there is a lot of things that need to be made sure are built correctly if it was built only by a robot.
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ReplyDeleteThis type of technology is is fantastic. I could see so many wonderful things that it could accomplish. I have been in the construction field my whole life and this could be extremely beneficial to contractors. There are so many things it could help with, I wouldn't know where to begin. It believe it can be used with anything from electrical to structural, it will make the impossible, possible . I see something like this being able to assist all the trades, in some way. I cant wait to see this used in real-life applications.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Keith. I believe that programing robots to do things that are really dangerous for humans to do is genius. I already seen that there are robots that have cameras attached to them are sent in a hostage situation. I'm all about having saving or bettering a life and that is what technology is doing now a days. I love seeing technology at its finest.
ReplyDeleteI did not think of it that way, the thought of a robot to go to another planet and create structures and maybe a way to sustain human life like a life support system. This is incredible in many ways the world would not have to worry about over population or global warming because we would have another place to go to. With technology there is no limit to the possibility we can endure. I also like the idea of structures being built underwater that would be some sight to see.
ReplyDeleteI think this is an amazing idea. It would prove greatly useful having them build in hazardous situations. The technology of those robotic termites is quite amazing but there is one thing I kind of find as a flaw. Yes, those robots are able to stack blocks together but how would the structure seal? Termites use saliva to keep their structures standing and durable. Personally I do think the construction robots are great but I would find the materials that they are going to apply or create as building materials more interesting.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea that robots "think" like a human and build their own structures and in the near future they go do things humans can't do in dangerous situations. But like the professor said about self-awareness. Are they going to be able to create their own thinking based on the human commands? In the video said, little input was given and they create a complex structure.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a pretty cool advancement in robotics. NASA has already demonstrated how well robots can function on Mars. I think this new advancement of using robots where we cant go is cool. This technology can even be used in the field for detecting radiation. They can place a detector on the top of a robot and scan the area to determine if high levels of radio active material is there. This can be very useful in many other hazardous jobs that can replace humans, so they are not harmed.
ReplyDeleteIt's quite interesting to see this advancement. I can see where they would be very useful for space or underwater projects. In the future, I can envision an entire underwater community or space colony built by robots. It's looking more and more like robotics will play a very essential and direct part of our everyday lives.
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