It is a dramatic demonstration of how robots can be introduced and accepted into insect societies. Researchers at Switzerland's École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne are deploying tiny robots in insect colonies to see whether machines could be used to subtly alter group behaviour to the benefit of humans. The researchers have been testing a swarm robot called the "swarmbot" for about two years and say it is now ready to move into more complex settings. The experiment is part of the European Union-funded CyBioSys project, and scientists said future applications could include search-and-rescue scenarios.
Researchers at Switzerland's École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne are deploying tiny robots in insect colonies to see whether machines could be used to subtly alter group behaviour to the benefit of humans. The researchers have been testing a swarm robot called the "swarmbot" for about two years and say it is now ready to move into more complex settings. The experiment is part of the European Union-funded CyBioSys project, and scientists said future applications could include search-and-rescue scenarios.