Sugar cube-sized swarm bots could build Transformers, bring destruction upon us all

British scientists have started an EU-funded project named "Symbrion" to build swarm bots the size of a sugar cube, which could self-assemble with each other and form larger, more useful, and more box office-potent robots. Each bot will have wheels or tentacles to allow it to move around independently, along with its own brain to help it hunt down the other bots via infrared. Once assembled the bots should be able to take on the shape of a robo-snake, robo-spider, robo-arm or whatever else is required of them, and will pool their computing power -- with hopefully enough juice between them to rattle off trite phrases and bad puns. This is certainly not a new concept, but the Symbrion project has a good £4.6 million of funding to get started -- which we hear is worth roughly a million billion dollars in the US.

[Via Digg]

[CUBSWILLWIN @ Mar 14th 2008 9:20AM]

Imagine if someone in england mistook them for sugar cubes...

[LondonConsultant @ Mar 14th 2008 9:54AM]

We'd halt their domination of the planet by dunking them in a nice cup of tea...

[JC @ Mar 14th 2008 10:12AM]

Comment processed. Modify swarm bot construction to waterproof sugar cubes.

[Jack @ Mar 14th 2008 11:30AM]

personally I would be less concerned about my robot and more concerned about my tea!

[webon @ Mar 14th 2008 11:44AM]

ohh thats so sweet!

[Vëon @ Mar 14th 2008 9:22AM]

I'm all for it. Megatron has only attacked the US so far. We need to be ready if he comes here!

[Jagannath A @ Mar 14th 2008 9:23AM]

W T F !! I 4 1 dont welcome our sugar-cube-sized self assembling and possible becoming self aware transformer overlords who can possible play doom on us while blending o.O

[Kizorblade @ Mar 14th 2008 9:37AM]

Did they mention it can play Crysis too?

[Mikey81 @ Mar 14th 2008 1:27PM]

In mother Russia, the robotic overlords welcome YOU!

[emailtabs @ Mar 14th 2008 9:24AM]

Nice!

[Stiv @ Mar 14th 2008 9:31AM]

Before anyone proclaims loyalty to our robot overlords, would like to say why we have nothing to fear from them: Software.

Think about it. You’re at home, maybe trying to surf, and your PC informs you that there’s a new version of Adobe Reader available, and while you’re getting it, you really, really should buy the full version. Two minutes later, your firewall opens a popup telling you it just did what you bought it to do – blocked an intrusion attempt. Then it starts running a defrag, which you configured to only run when you aren’t using your PC but which seems to run whenever it feels like, slowing your system to a crawl. Think robots will be any different?

Initiate robo-snake linking protocol.
Error 3612: linking protocol mismatch.
Downloading update………
Error 34677J: Server not found.
Initiate human termination routine.
ImageRec is v2.0298. Version 2.0299 required.
Low battery warning. Entering power save mode.

At the very worst, robots will be mostly useless.

[stardash @ Mar 14th 2008 10:02AM]

I for one...... nahh I am just kidding.

But seriously can they sweeten my coffee.

[Jagannath A @ Mar 14th 2008 12:29PM]

phew! thanks

[Anne van Rossum @ Apr 3rd 2008 8:32AM]

Excellent point Stiv.

I think there is indeed something inherently wrong with the current software design. Programmers don't build self-sustaining, replicating software modules. Code that adapts itself to the environment is seen as something that should be prevented to almost all costs. This has as a consequence that those software entities do not inherit all the properties that biologically systems have. The latter are able to respond to a lot of different situations, they adapt to their environment (open-ended evolution), etc. etc. Why does an operating system not run faster and faster over time, when it learns to know the hardware it runs upon and the users it works with better and better? To restart a computer is already an insane thought from a biological point of view. :-)

I will be working in the European project "Replicator" as a researcher. It will use the same microrobots as the Symbrion project. It will be very challenging to implement concepts that deviate from this traditional way of programming. But, we have one big advantage: the hardware. Microrobots are very good thought vehicles and can function as a breeding ground where "embodiment", "grounding" and "distribution" comes very natural. IMHO this notions are essential to build promising systems (see even contemporary philosophers).

Kind regards,

Anne

[cmc @ Mar 14th 2008 9:33AM]

Whatever happens, just don't let Michael Bay near it or it will be ruined.

[r3loaded @ Mar 14th 2008 12:02PM]

Will they play Blu-Ray discs if he did?

[Insert Name Here @ Mar 14th 2008 9:47AM]

I for one welcome......I'm getting voted down aren't I....?

[JC @ Mar 14th 2008 10:07AM]

1

[y3k.nik @ Mar 14th 2008 10:25AM]

soo... artificial intelligence post first.. and now robots.. combine the two.. and then.. the world can be a safer place to live in... ahem?

[Jason @ Mar 14th 2008 10:26AM]

I would have went with a Star Gate/Replicator them for this one - instead of Transformers.

[robogeek @ Mar 14th 2008 10:27PM]

OMG we have replicators!!!!!

Sorry had to do it... I just watched SG1:AoT, it was awesome but we should know better than to make replictors

[chickenator @ Mar 14th 2008 10:35AM]

Symbrion runs on Symbian?

[David @ Mar 14th 2008 10:57AM]

Sweet! Now when all hell breaks loose we can ride the eye of the storm!

[Klink258 @ Mar 14th 2008 11:04AM]

I'd say this is more Cubix than Transformers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cubix

[Christian Martin @ Mar 14th 2008 11:40AM]

You obviously don't remember the Quintessons.

[mrfusion @ Mar 14th 2008 11:17AM]

Oh look. We're making our own replicators....

[ED @ Mar 15th 2008 3:18AM]

"I taught my toys to make more of themselves. And I, I, I taught them… to defend themselves and me, in case anyone ever tried to destroy us."

[ToxicDose @ Mar 14th 2008 11:20AM]

How is it that no one has said it?

I, for one, welcome our nano overlords.

[Jonny B @ Mar 14th 2008 11:40AM]

I don't know if this is just me.. but does this remind anyone else of the book Prey by Michael Crichton?

[Digital1 @ Mar 14th 2008 11:42AM]

I, for one, welcome our suger-cube sized, 'would you like sugar with that?', that blends, plays Doom and runs Crysis at 60 FPS, Turing-test passing, ant-stomping, and mind-blowing overlords. :)

[Greg @ Mar 14th 2008 1:53PM]

Scraplets!

[Kanate @ Mar 14th 2008 2:36PM]

I think it's more like T1000 in Terminator (instead of liquid metal, it's sugar cubes)

[Sevenrock @ Mar 14th 2008 4:26PM]

Man the S.G.C. is gonna be pissed when they hear this.

[Stevelo @ Mar 14th 2008 7:43PM]

THANK you....I kept hoping for a replicator related reply.

[HOOPER @ Mar 14th 2008 10:47PM]

£4.6 = $ A million billion? I didn't think we were THAT far behind the Brits...

[Mike @ Mar 15th 2008 1:01AM]

You sir, have never seen The IT Crowd, season 2, episode 1.

Although maybe I have too many times.