National Geographic POD: Swarm-Bots
Writing by Evan Ackerman on Friday, 1 of February , 2008 at 5:39 am
The National Geographic Photo of the Day is a website I check every evening; since they’re National Geographic, they’ve always got something worth looking at. Usually, it’s a photo that was shot for an article, but not included due to lack of space in the magazine. Today’s photo is of none other than a group of Swarm-Bots, which we wrote about last year. Here’s the caption:
A team of “swarm-bots” negotiates challenging terrain outside a laboratory in Brussels, Belgium. A red color ring tells others, “Grab me;” blue means “stay away.” Scientists study ant colonies, bird flocks, mammal herds, and fish schools to understand the simple genius of such animal swarms. Robots that mimic this complex group behavior could prove useful in a number of human applications.
Click on through for a desktop wallpaper sized image of the cute little bots.
[ National Geographic POD ]
[ Perma-Pic ]
Comments (6)
Category: Research
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Comment by Dawn Kleuser
Made Saturday, 7 of February , 2009 at 10:33 pm
Speaking of swarms, I live in central Missouri, and we have lots of critters out here that swarm. In particular, in the summer, we get huge clouds of gnats who appear to have no purpose other than to get in my eyes and up my nose. How do they see where they’re going? We also have massive flocks of (unidentified by me) little black birds who enjoy putting on evening shows of swooping over open grasslands. These are truly amazing. I find the swarms fascinating. Why in the world do they do that?!? Well, thanks for listening, and THANKS for the years of my favorite magazine. Still have tattered copies from 1973 in the back of my closet. Can’t seem to part with them. GRIN.
Comment by sandviç panel
Made Saturday, 2 of July , 2011 at 6:56 am
Good info. Lucky me I reach on your website by accident,I bookmarked it
Comment by granit küptaş
Made Monday, 4 of July , 2011 at 4:08 am
.) Aw, this was a really nice post. In idea I would like to put in writing like this additionally – taking time and actual effort to make a very good article… but what can I say… I procrastinate alot and by no means seem to get something done.
Comment by pomza
Made Monday, 4 of July , 2011 at 4:52 am
.) This really answered my problem, thank you!
Comment by Brandi Ledet
Made Friday, 25 of November , 2011 at 7:20 pm
I stumbled upon this information earlier today while at the office. Very informative. Sent the link to myself and will probably bookmark it once I go back home.
Comment by nationalgeographicwallpapers
Made Monday, 19 of December , 2011 at 7:35 am
nice picture here.!! thumbs up.. Bookmarked
