Given that we are not able to reproduce in a robot the complexity and versatility of a human nervous system, we can try with much more simple biological intelligence examples: bugs. Actually, roboticists are struggling to design robots as intelligent and agile as bugs.

As published in Nature last month [1], there is a number of current research works that aim to develop robots that are like insects. While we find the way to build robots that think like humans, we can learn a lot from robots that think like bugs.

Some examples are:

- Tarry II designed by Holk Cruse from University of Bielefeld.

Tarry II

- Dro-o-boT used by Roland Strauss from University of Wurzbug.
- Bill-Ant developed by Case Western Reserve University.

Bill-Ant

Insect robots are supposed to be small. However, if we want to use them as tractors, they need to be a little bit bigger. Here we have an example of insect inspired robotics in a John Deere walking tractor:

[1] Alison Abbott. Biological robotics: Working out the bugs. News@Nature 445, 250 - 253 (18 Jan 2007).
SUMMARY: Programming a robot to think like an insect is tough, finds Alison Abbott, but it could help breed machines as manoeuvrable as flies.

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4. The Quest for Consciousness: A Neurobiological Approach
5. Consciousness and the Biology of the Brain
6. Experiments in Consciousness
7. Elephants recognize themselves in the mirror
8. Raúl Arrabales Moreno
9. Igor Aleksander
10. Owen Holland

Comments (1)

1  Olfactory robots Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , on 27-02-2007 13:01 In relation with insect robots, it is also interesting that scientist design new search algorithms based for instance in the fligh of moths [1].    Bacterias and insects rely on local concentration gradients (odour in air or water) to guide them towards the source of a nutrient. A macroscopic searcher must devise a strategy of movement based on sporadic cues and partial information. Vergassola and colleagues propose a search algorithm, which they call 'infotaxis', designed to work under such conditions. They claim that this algorithm is relevant to the design of olfactory robots.    [1] 'Infotaxis' as a strategy for searching without gradients. Nature 445, 406-409 (25 January 2007). Received 1 May 2006; Accepted 14 November 2006.

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