Pheromone Robotics 109
An Anonymous Coward writes: "This is the official text I just came across: "The HRL Pheromone Robotics program aims to provide a robust, scalable approach for coordinating actions of large numbers of small scale robots to achieve large scale results in surveillance, reconnaissance, hazard detection, path finding, payload conveyance, and small-scale actuation." But it's the spooky image that grabbed *me*..." Here's some more on the pheromone-sniffing robots pictured, and some more information about making robots that hunt in packs. The page has not been updated for a while, but it's worth seeing.
Better watch what I eat... (Score:1, Funny)
This could be useful in fighting terrorism. (Score:2)
And Bush would come clean about the "pretzel" incident. [subintsoc.net]
Re:Manifesto (Score:1)
Makes a certain amount of sense... (Score:4, Interesting)
Modeling behavior along these lines and allowing simple creatures to relay very simple state messages with each robot repeating it to others would allow behavior and information to be propagated and acted on even in hostile situations. (Only short range communication is possible for instance.)
ie If the robots are searching for something and one finds the target it could alert the others around it and they could repeat the message and alter their behavior accordingly - if required. Eventually the alert would filter across all robots and reach "home" at which point a response could be propagated back to the successful creature the same way.
If your creatures are too simple there are limitations, however. If you put certain acids on ants other ants will assume they're dead - the smell trigger - and carry them to "dead ant" pile even if they're struggling. The "un-dead" ant will be carried back to the dead ant pile repeatedly until the smell wears off.
=tkk
Re:Makes a certain amount of sense... (Score:2, Funny)
Oh I see YOU had a healthy childhood...
Robot Hunting? (Score:1)
How to crack these... (Score:3, Funny)
Bibliography - Pheromone Computing (Score:3, Informative)
Computational Beauty (Score:3, Informative)
Very informative book, lots of good explanations, diagrams, and the code for his software is available on the website. As a plus he seems to have written the book using free software which he acknowledges at the end of the book). His programs run under linux. He has some very well done graphics (even some dual-image stereograms) which were created with gunplot. I highly recommend this book.
I thought... (Score:1)
Fahrenheit 451 come to life.. (Score:1)
Gibson wrote about this, too (Score:1)
Sounds like "Fahrenheit 451"! (Score:1)
Is Ray Bradbury psychic, or what? I mean, think about it: that book was written 50, 60 years ago, and it's still pertinent today. Just about the only thing that was off was the year the story took place-- 1990. But apparently, it was only off by about 15-20, because we could be living in that story in about 5-10 years, I'd say. *shudders* Really makes you think!
BTW, if you haven't read the book yet, READ IT!!
Pank Hunter is different (Score:2)
The robots are NOT pheromone SNIFFING (Score:4, Informative)
Here's a section from the article that explains basically what I just tried to explain.
I don't mean to be flame bating or anything, I just thought the writeup was a bit confusing/misleading...that or I'm just an idiot and didn't understand what they submitter meant.
Buzzword Bingo, Anyone? (Score:1, Funny)
Ugh..Here we go again...
The HRL Pheromone *DING* Robotics program *DING* aims to provide a robust *DING* , scalable *DING* approach for coordinating actions of large numbers of small scale robots *DING* to achieve large scale results in surveillance *DING* , reconnaissance *DING* , hazard detection *DING* , path finding *DING* , payload *DING* conveyance *DING* , and small-scale actuation *DING* *DING* *DING* . We intend to accomplish this by developing innovative *DING* concepts for coordinating *DING* , and interacting *DING* with, a large
collective *DING* of tiny robots *DING* . Borrowing techniques used by ants and termites *DING* , our robots exhibit emergent *DING* collaboration *DING* . Inspired *DING* by the chemical markers *DING* used by these insects for communication *DING* and coordination *DING* , we exploit *DING* the notion of a "virtual *DING* pheromone," *DING*
implemented *DING* using simple beacons *DING* and directional sensors *DING* mounted on each robot. Virtual *DING* pheromones *DING* facilitate *DING* simple communication *DING* and coordination *DING* and require little on-board *DING* processing. Our approach is applicable to future robots with much smaller form factors (e.g., to dust-particle size) (hah, yeah right-- *DING* )and is scaleable *DING* to large, heterogeneous *DING* groups of robots.
We plan to provide robustness *DING* by requiring no explicit *DING* maps or models of the environment, and no explicit knowledge "explicit knowledge? What, the robots watch porn movies? *DING* of robot location. Collections of robots will be able to perform complex tasks *DING* such as leading the way through a building to a hidden intruder *DING* or locating critical choke points. *DING* This is possible because the
robot collective *DING* will become a computing grid *DING* embedded *DING* within
the environment *DING* while acting as a physical embodiment *DING* of the user interface What the FUCK are you talking about? *DING* . Over the past decades, the literature on path planning and terrain analysis *DING* has dealt primarily with algorithms *DING* operating on an internal map containing terrain
features. Our approach externalizes *DING* the map, spreading it across a collection *DING* of simple processors *DING* , each of which determines the terrain features in its locality *DING* . The terrain processing algorithms *DING* of interest are then spread over the population of simple processors *DING* , allowing such global *DING* quantities *DING* as shortest routes, blocked routes, and contingency *DING* plans to be computed by the population.
The user interface *DING* to this distributed robot collective *DING* *DING*
*DING* is itself distributed *DING* . Instead of communicating with each robot individually, the entire collective will work cooperatively *DING* to provide a unified *DING* display *DING* embedded *DING* in the environment *DING* . For example, robots that have dispersed themselves throughout a building will be able to guide a user toward an intruder by synchronizing *DING* to collectively blink
in a marquee-style *DING* pattern to highlight the shortest path to the intruder. Through the use of augmented *DING* reality *DING* , robots will be able to present more complex displays *DING* . Users wearing a see-through *DING* head-mounted *DING* display and a head-mounted *DING* camera that detects and tracks infrared *DING* beacons emanating *DING* from the robots will
be able to see a small amount of information superimposed *DING* over each robot. Each robot will, in effect, be
a pixel *DING* that paints *DING* information upon its local environment. The combination of this
world-embedded *DING* interface *DING* with our world-embedded *DING* computation means that the results of complex *DING* distributed *DING* computations *DING* can
be mapped *DING* directly onto the world with no intermediate *DING* representations *DING*
required.
I think I broke my dinger.
Re:Buzzword Bingo, Anyone? (Score:2)
Gladly. Let me sum up ten pages of buzzword bingo bullshit in a few simple sentences:
"We've got some robots and some ideas, neither one of which we've actually implemented yet. We only have one robot right now, but, here's a nice time-lapse photo of the same robot scooting around a corner to make you think we own dozens of them. Due to the incredible design of our software that doesn't exist yet, they communicate with you and eachother using radios that dont exist yet and draw stuff on the walls with an IRLEDs that don't exist yet either. We're burying the idea in a sea of buzzwords because we need to secure funding..That, and we're afraid youll find out these ideas have been around for years."
Next.
Re:Buzzword Bingo, Anyone? (Score:1)
Ultimate defense system (Score:2, Interesting)
Use visual recognition to detect stuff like troop movements....
Or just use cameras+ human watching + set coordinates already.
Picture vietnam movies, with the guy radioing for a mortar strike.
Now picture no one in harm's way, but the cameras and coordinates for mortar strikes are at Mr. God's hands.
Later: Camera + visual recognition = Missle Guidence system
Later: Camera + High powered AA guns + some elementary physics = anti aircraft guns
But here's the kicker... If you network ALL the cameras, so you know information everywhere, then you can calculate things better...
Its like automagic driven cars, the more networked, the more you see around JOE BOB in his big ol truck... Because of networking alerts you to whats around it... The more you know.
Don't tell me... (Score:1)
BEAM Robotics (Score:2, Interesting)
Basically, the philosophy of BEAM is that all robotics can be made from imitating the form of nature, and all can be made from the same basic components. You start by replicating single cell organisms and insects, and eventually progress to neural networks. The cool thing about BEAM robots is that they're entirely automated. You don't have to program their behavior, they works by "instinct."
If you want to make your own BEAM robots, just read some of the tutorials on http://www.solarbotics.net . Just don't be tempted to start with a complex robot. The idea behind BEAM robotics is to start simple, and work to complex. All you will need to start is a basic understanding of electronics and some cheap electronic components, which can usually be found at RadioShack(or by tearing apart old household appliances.)
Great, more US war toys (Score:1)
Re:Great, more US war toys (Score:2)
Digital/Analog ancient history (Score:1)
This is game AI (Score:2)
The "pheromone" business is no big deal. That's how creatures too dumb to make maps mark their world. The territory is the map.
Re:This is game AI (Score:1)
I disagree. Presuming your talking about real-time strategy games, most of those seems to generate a path when asked to go somewhere, and stick to it, even if that path should become blocked. This is a natural consequence of using the A* or similar pathfinding algorithms. The pheronome approach is a much superior approach, as it allows traversal of unknown territory, something the A* doesn't really handle, since it assumes perfect knowledge of the world, and allows for intelligent handling of changing landscapes and crowded areas, something almost all RTS games handles in a suboptimal fashion, to say the least.
I could give references, but don't have time right now.
Hope you can find time to post the references. I love reading about this kind of stuff.
Re:This is game AI (Score:2)
If you combine trail-making behavior with flocking [red3d.com] and related field-based behaviors, you can get results that look semi-intelligent, even though the underlying algorithms are quite dumb. The field-type behaviors result in reasonable low-level movement in the presence of obstacles, while the trail-making system provides map-like information from successful movement. You can do a halfway reasonable battle simulation like that. It will look good from a distance, at least.
When the time is right... (Score:2)
I never thought that would actually come up seriously.
from the original AC poster.... (Score:2)
Yeah, a picture of little robots is real spooky. I bet this guy's shadow gives him a heart attack.
"Pheromone Robotics" is not pheromone robotics (Score:2, Informative)
I always wondered (Score:1)
Star Wars were doing.. Now I know: checking up on Stormtrooper B.O.!
Pheremones and open source (Score:1)
asource opened source???
Re:Pheremones and open source (Score:1)
Perhaps we should discuss open source a bit more. I really like open source a lot a lot a lto.
I like open source so much that the pheremones are open source but the pheremones.
Get the pheremones for the open source?
Re:Pheremones and open source (Score:1)
Would we code it in C? C++? Eiffel? Java? SQL? Assembler? Thge list goes on and on and I don't know I don't know. I kdnot
.
know
Re:Pheremones and open source (Score:1)
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Open sores.
The page has been updated (Score:2)