biomimetic
Biomimetics or biomimicry is the emulation of the models, systems, and elements of nature for the purpose of solving complex human problems. The terms "biomimetics" and "biomimicry" are derived from (''bios''), life, and μίμησις ('' mīm ...
autonomous robot
An autonomous robot is a robot that acts without recourse to human control. Historic examples include space probes. Modern examples include self-driving Robotic vacuum cleaner, vacuums and Self-driving car, cars.
Industrial robot, Industrial robot ...
s capable of building complex structures without a central controller. A prototype team of termite-inspired robots was demonstrated by
Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
researchers in 2014, following four years of development. Their engineering was inspired by the complex mounds that
termites
Termites are a group of detritophagous eusocial cockroaches which consume a variety of decaying plant material, generally in the form of wood, leaf litter, and soil humus. They are distinguished by their moniliform antennae and the sof ...
build, and was accomplished by developing simple rules to allow the robots to navigate and move building blocks in their environment. By following these simple rules, the robots could construct complex structures through a process called ''
stigmergy
Stigmergy ( ) is a mechanism of indirect :wikt:coordination, coordination, through the environment, between agents or actions. The principle is that the trace left in the natural environment, environment by an individual action stimulates the perf ...
'', without requiring constant human instruction or supervision.
Background
Social insects
Eusociality (Greek 'good' and social) is the highest level of organization of sociality. It is defined by the following characteristics: cooperative brood care (including care of offspring from other individuals), overlapping generations with ...
such as termites are capable of constructing elaborate structures such as mounds with complex tunnel systems. They are capable of doing so without an overall plan for the design of a structure, without directly communicating information with each other about how to construct a structure, and without a leader to guide them in constructing a specific structure.
Roboticist
Robotics is the interdisciplinary study and practice of the design, construction, operation, and use of robots.
Within mechanical engineering, robotics is the design and construction of the physical structures of robots, while in computer s ...
s have been interested in the problem of whether robots can be designed with the limited sensory and motor capabilities of insects such as termites and yet, by following simple rules, construct elaborate and complex structures.
Robots
As part of the TERMES project, the Harvard team designed each robot to perform a few simple behaviors: to move forward, move backward, turn, move up or down a step the size of a specially designed brick, and to move while carrying a brick on top of it. To perform these locomotor behaviors, each robot was equipped with whegs. To detect features of its environment and other robots, each robot was equipped with the following sensors: seven
infrared sensors
Infrared thermography (IRT), thermal video or thermal imaging, is a process where a thermal camera captures and creates an image of an object by using infrared radiation emitted from the object in a process, which are examples of infrared im ...
to detect black and white patterns for navigation; an
accelerometer
An accelerometer is a device that measures the proper acceleration of an object. Proper acceleration is the acceleration (the rate of change (mathematics), rate of change of velocity) of the object relative to an observer who is in free fall (tha ...
to detect tilt angle for climbing; and five
ultrasound
Ultrasound is sound with frequency, frequencies greater than 20 Hertz, kilohertz. This frequency is the approximate upper audible hearing range, limit of human hearing in healthy young adults. The physical principles of acoustic waves apply ...
sonar
Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects o ...
detectors for determining distance from the perimeter and to nearby robots. To lift, lower, and place the specially designed bricks, each robot had an arm with a spring-loaded gripper to hold a brick while carried. The project's specially designed construction bricks were 21.5 cm × 21.5 cm × 4.5 cm, which was bigger than the footprint (17.5 cm × 11.0 cm) of the robots.
Constructing structures
During the Harvard trials, groups of termite-inspired robots constructed structures by stigmergy. That is, instead of directly communicating with each other, the robots detected features of their environment and followed simple rules for moving and placing bricks in response to the configuration of bricks that existed at a given time. The rules for constructing a given structure were designed to guarantee that different structures emerged depending on the number of robots involved and on the initial placement of bricks.
The TERMES robots constitute a
proof of concept
A proof of concept (POC or PoC), also known as proof of principle, is an inchoate realization of a certain idea or method in order to demonstrate its feasibility or viability. A proof of concept is usually small and may or may not be complete ...
for the development of relatively simple teams of robots that are capable of constructing complex structures in, for example, remote or hostile locations. The Harvard researchers who built the initial termite-inspired robots have speculated that future robots could be designed to build a base for human habitation on
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...
in preparation for the arrival of human astronauts. More immediate possibilities include teams of termite-inspired robots that are capable of moving sandbags and building
levees
A levee ( or ), dike (American English), dyke (British English; see spelling differences), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is an elevated ridge, natural or artificial, alongside the banks of a river, often intended to protect against fl ...