Insects inspire swarm of search and rescue drones

News

Insects have inspired an international team of researchers to create a swarm of tiny lightweight drones that autonomously explore unknown environments.

Liverpool University Professor Karl Tuyls is part a group whose new work is claimed to represent a significant step forward in the field of swarm robotics. Their findings are published in Science Robotics.

Swarms of flying robots could transform disaster search and rescue missions as their small size allows them to move in narrow spaces, and their light weight makes them safe to operate around people. According to Liverpool University, this task has so far been out of reach due to the lack of adequate navigation strategies.

Artificial evolution teaches robots to swarm in the wild

Smarticle robots built from smaller swarming robots

Now, researchers from TU Delft and Radboud University in the Netherlands and Liverpool University have presented their so-called ‘swarm bug algorithm’ that allows a swarm of tiny flying robots to autonomously explore unknown environments and return to the departure point.

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