The US Department of Defense awarded a team of engineers from the California State University, Northridge a $538,000 to further develop their tiny insect-like robot swarms, space explorers. They hope that these miniature robots could help make exploring other planets safer and more efficient.
The project's long-term goal is to create autonomous robot swarms of small robots that could eventually replace rovers in exploring other planets.
They will be used to move across the surface of other planets to collect samples and complete tasks that might be too complex for the rovers to reach and too risky for an astronaut.
Inspired by the Swarms of Self-organized Insects
Project leader and mechanical engineering professor Nhut Ho told CSU Northridge's news blog that they were inspired by the behaviors that swarms of ants and bees exhibit because they are self-organized, and create ingenious solutions for different tasks. These insects also work in groups of different sizes and can complete tasks even when some of their members fail.
According to Daily Mail, Ho's team will work hand in hand on the project with one of Jet Propulsion Laboratory's group who recently won a DARPA competition for autonomous robots completing an exploration, and search and rescue mission in a simulated disaster area.
Ho believes that the success of this project will ultimately change the way space exploration is conducted.
"For missions such as exploring the Martian surface and voids, a swarm of simple, small robots can complete complex tasks much more efficiently and effectively than a single large rover," he said.
It is also a question of how much scientists can do with a swarm of robots versus a single rover. Scientists will be able to explore and collect more data using a swarm of robots compared to just sending a single rover on space.
A Project in Collaboration With Multiple Interdisciplinary Students
Ho's team will also collaborate with numerous student groups from CSU Northridge, the university's news outlet reported.
Multiple interdisciplinary students from different departments of CSUN are working in this project. This includes students from mechanical and computer engineering, art, and psychology departments which are tasked to build and refine the virtual-reality systems as a simulation for the insect-like swarm of robots.
Moreover, students from public relations are making public relations material to promote the project. Likewise, students from the journalism department are working with students of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) - related courses to improve their ability to write about technology.
Ho said that the project would give the students an incredible experience to work with the best scientists in the world, and it exposes them to the most advanced technology available.
But most importantly, Ho believes that the students will gain valuable, hands-on experience that will prepare them for their workplace someday.
All in all, collaborators of this space exploration project using a swarm of insect-like robots includes NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Boston Dynamics, Intel, Clearpath Robotics, Telerob, Velodyne and Silvus Technologies.
