MONTREAL – McGill University researchers unveiled what they hope will form the next wave of robotics – a durable group of machines that can communicate with one another and become autonomous.
The robots can send messages to one another, exchange information and learn to behave without human controls.
“This network is a key step in a lifelong effort to model intelligence and intelligent behaviour and realize the promise of robotics,” said Gregory Dudek, a computer scientist at McGill University.
These robots can operate in a wide variety of environments – one underwater model uses six paddles to swim, and can hover, descend or surface. Another robot can fly thanks to four rotors, and a third one can walk thanks to six curved legs carved from BMX treads.
Researchers on the project say the robots can send information wirelessly with the exception of the submersible – which relies on a kind of barcode scanner to receive information, and can surface to get information from a robot catamaran.
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“Scientifically, this network is going to help decipher the clues to what it means to be intelligent,” Dudek said.
“Machines are going to move around in our everyday world and do stuff.”
Dudek said the robots can be employed in places like the bottom of a mine, underneath an iceberg or in the midst of an oil spill.
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