Kilobot Project, Self-organizing Systems Research Group, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

[Airicist]

Self-organizing Systems Research Group (https://pr.ai/showthread.php?5396), Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

Kilobot (https://pr.ai/showthread.php?1990), low cost Swarm robot, K-Team Corporation, Vallorbe, Switzerland

Home Page - k-team.com/mobile-robotics-products/kilobot (https://www.k-team.com/mobile-robotics-products/kilobot)

kilobotics.com (https://www.kilobotics.com)

Playlist "Kilobot Labs (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5un2Fe_yAiZi1uEj5TG3qXziBKmHp2x2)"

Playlist "Kilobot Project (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC7119C2D50BEA077)"

Researchers:

Michael Rubenstein (https://pr.ai/showthread.php?7727)

Alejandro Cornejo (https://pr.ai/showthread.php?7728)

Radhika Nagpal (https://pr.ai/showthread.php?7165)

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/ISMwLCFwgK4

Introduction to Kilobot

Uploaded on Jun 7, 2011


The following video describes the features of each Kilobot robot, and how they can be controlled in a group

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/GnyDAuqorGo?list=PLC7119C2D50BEA077

Demonstrations of Kilobot collective behaviors on up to 29 robots

Uploaded on Jun 8, 2011


The following video shows a Kilobot collective of up to 29 robot demonstrating some popular collective behaviors such as follow-the-leader and foraging.

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/qBUFX41e1mc

Kilobot Project: IROS 2011 Demo of a 100 robot swarm

Uploaded on Jan 11, 2012


This video shows clips from the IROS 2011 robot exhibition in San Francisco. A 100 kilobot robots travelled from Boston to California; the demonstration shows the robots performing a simple diffusive behavior, where they move randomly so long as they can hear neighbors but stop if they no longer hear the swarm.

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/P7BK6wVGRJ0

Kilobot Highlights

Published on Aug 31, 2012


Videos showing various kilobot behaviors. For more details see the SSR website.

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/ptObPqec4i8

Kilobot firefly-based synchronization

Published on Jan 9, 2013

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/NK-n786jw4Y

Sync

Published on Jul 29, 2014

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/EOEh9xnLB_0

Orbit

Published on Jul 29, 2014

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/fLNfsp2uIEI

flocking side view

Published on Jul 29, 2014


Flocking Experiments. Real distance measurements, real coordination (i.e. mutex), but fake odometry. To deal with flip ambiguities, computation is performed multiple times throughout motion, and a voting procedure is done to determine flip.

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/G1t4M2XnIhI

A Swarm of One Thousand Robots

Published on Aug 14, 2014


A thousand-robot swarm created by Harvard researchers can self-assemble into different shapes. Learn more:
"A Thousand Kilobots Self-Assemble Into Complex Shapes (https://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/robotics-hardware/a-thousand-kilobots-self-assemble)"

by Evan Ackerman
August 14, 2014

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/V05tkwAtxbU

Kilobot Workshop: Collective Robotics for Life Scientists

Published on Nov 18, 2014


Held at UCSF, hosted by the Lim and Marshall Labs and funded by NSF. August 2014.

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/QXNVZJ3KUsA

Can a thousand tiny swarming robots outsmart nature?

Published on Oct 19, 2016


How does a group of animals -- or cells, for that matter -- work together when no one’s in charge? Tiny swarming robots--called Kilobots--work together to tackle tasks in the lab, but what can they teach us about the natural world?

About Kilobots

How do you simultaneously control a thousand robots in a swarm? The question may seem like science fiction, but it’s one that has challenged real robotics engineers for decades.

In 2010, the Kilobot entered the scene. Now, engineers are programming these tiny independent robots to cooperate on group tasks. This research could one day lead to robots that can assemble themselves into machines, or provide insights into how swarming behaviors emerge in nature.

In the future, this kind of research might lead to collaborative robots that could self-assemble into a composite structure. This larger robot could work in dangerous or contaminated areas, like cleaning up oil spills or conducting search-and-rescue activities.

What is Emergent Behavior?

The universe tends towards chaos, but sometimes patterns emerge, like a flock of birds in flight. Like termites building skyscrapers out of mud, or fish schooling to avoid predators.

It’s called emergent behavior. Complex behaviors that arise from interactions between simple things. And you don’t just see it in nature.

What’s so interesting about kilobots is that individually, they’re pretty dumb.

They’re designed to be simple. A single kilobot can do maybe... three things: Respond to light. Measure a distance, sense the presence of other kilobots.

But these are swarm robots. They work together.

How do Kilobots work?

Kilobots were designed by Michael Rubenstein, a research scientist in the Self Organizing Systems Research Group at Harvard. Each robot consists of about $15 worth of parts: a microprocessor that is about as smart as a calculator, sensors for visible and infrared light, and two tiny cell-phone vibration units that allow it to move across a table. They are powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, like those found in small electronics or watches.

The kilobots are programed all at once, as a group, using infrared light. Each kilobot gets the same set of instructions as the next. With just a few lines of programming, the kilobots, together, can act out complex natural processes.

The same kinds of simple instructions that kilobots use to self-assemble into shapes can make them mimic natural swarming behaviors, too. For example, kilobots can sync their flashing lights like a swarm of fireflies, differentiate similar to cells in an embryo and follow a scent trail like foraging ants.