Send in the swarmbots

Chris Eldridge — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 03:21:20 GMT

Able to explore 50 square miles? Wow! I know that there is a small handheld device that can test for DNA that might fit! A simply way to test for soil composition without a robotic arm might be to just release a few drops of some sort of acid and then look for spectral signatures with the micor cam.

Instead of some kind of fuel cell, I wonder if Nano turbines would be more potent. They can now construct mico jet engines that can put out a lot of power.

This piece also make me wonder with those small (grape fruet-sized) penatrator probes that failed on that lost Polar Lander Mission where not used on the Pluto mission.

Send in the swarmbots

Kraven, Canada — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 13:09:35 GMT

Watching 1000 of those things bouncing around 5 feet in the air would be quite an amazing sight I think.

Send in the swarmbots

Wade Whitlock, Aberdeen, MD — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 13:47:03 GMT

... Swarm bots? Just what happens to these inspector gadgets when the die? Any review of the waste they would distribute? Might be useful for research, but I wouldn't want to depend on them for search and rescue! ...

Send in the swarmbots

James Stratton, Nashville, TN — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 15:26:20 GMT

I wonder if they got the idea from the movie "Twister"? I thought of something like that to send to Jupiter or Saturn to explore the amazing storms there after seeing that movie. Maybe even a camera? Just a thought....

Send in the swarmbots

Jack — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 16:00:00 GMT

Question is the swarm concept based on the fact thay they need to physically "touch"something to sense it...in other words if their capacbilities includeaudio/visual as well as other sensory functions...can they work singly as well instead of just in "swarms.....

By the way how many is a "swarm"

Send in the swarmbots

Shawn , Pittsburgh ,PA — Sat, 22 Jul 2006 13:09:21 GMT

Would the Swarmbots have a way to relay signals to each other in the case of a lost signal due to depth or material interferance? That way if one is close enough to another, there would be no loss of information.

Send in the swarmbots

florence, Fairfax, VA — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 15:31:57 GMT

Would they help in archeological digs, can the swarmbots explore ocean bottoms?

Send in the swarmbots

C. Rakestraw, Missoula, MT — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 18:06:02 GMT

While watching the video on the bots, I was curious to know if they could get back out of the "worm tunnels," or any kind of pit... Sure, they can "hop," but on an incline, wouldn't they just roll back down before their 1 hop a minute time was up? You'd end up with several of these bots, hopping around in the same place, until their fuel cells died. In which case, you'd be getting pretty similar readings for quite some time...?