Most of the time, it’s a bit frustrating to write about nanobots. We have to talk about them in the context of teeny tiny little scales that you can’t really identify with… 250 microns long? What does that even MEAN? CMU’s nanobots are barely, just barely, large enough to identify with. They’re about the size of a grain of sand, and you can see one in action alongside a penny:

So yeah, that’s still pretty nano, but I at least feel like I have some conception of the bot’s actual size rather than having to rely on an abstract measurement. These little guys are controlled via an external magnetic field, and by rocking back and forth very quickly, they can reach a top speed of 13 mm (60 body lengths) per second. They’re capable of movement on surfaces that are generally smooth and non-stick, and will work equally well underwater. Although most people would call these things micro-robots, all they really are are solid little magnets being pushed around by other magnets… But that’s okay, we’ll let it slide, ’cause they’re little and cute and all.

[ CMU Nanorobotics Lab ] VIA [ Communist Robot ]

Since 1994, Carnegie Mellon has been running the Mobot Slalom competition, where home built autonomous robots follow a white line through a sequence of gates as fast as they can. To complicate matters, the lines diverge and converge at several points, requiring the bots to have some sort of built-in reasoning. They also have to deal with uneven terrain, inclement weather, and have to fit through the 18 inch square gates. There’s this rule about the design of the bots:

“Animals (except primates) may be used to assist with vehicle control as long as such use is humane (does not harm the animal in any way) and conforms with applicable University regulations.”

Intriguing… Too bad the website doesn’t elaborate.

[ Mobot Slalom ] VIA [ Communist Robot ]

Surface tension is really, really neat: it’s what causes liquids to form spheres in microgravity, and what allows insects like water striders to skate across still water without sinking. It’s a very efficient means of travel, and it’s also fast: water striders are some of the fastest moving insects in the world, able to traverse 100 body-lengths per second (that scales up to a human running 400 mph). What better insect to inspire a robot? Carnegie Mellon University’s NanoRobotics lab has been able to create this robotic water strider, which is able to walk (and even bounce) on still water. Potential applications are diverse, but include obvious things like water quality management, espionage, and creeping people out. Video:

[ CMU Water Strider ] VIA [ Environmental Graffiti ]

The DARPA Urban Challenge for robotic vehicles concluded on Saturday, with Carnegie Mellon’s robotic 2007 Chevy Tahoe, named Boss, taking top honors and the $2 million first prize. In contrast to the first DARPA Grand Challenge in 2004, where no robots completed the course, there were six finishers this year, although the last few took longer than the six hour time limit. Still, it’s a pretty impressive feat for a robotic car to spend six hours on the road completing tasks among other cars with no human guidance whatsoever. Here’s some short clips from the event; hopefully we’ll see more video in not too long:

The critical point here is that all of the robots were able to make good decisions when confronted with complicated variables and rapidly changing situations. The top three committed NO traffic violations over the 60 mile course. The deciding factor then became speed, and at an average speed of 14 mph, Boss won out by a 20 minute margin over second place Stanford (average speed 13 mph), winners of the first DARPA Grand Challenge in 2005.

[ DARPA Urban Challenge ] VIA [ Danger Room ]