{"id":6803,"date":"2013-11-22T17:58:43","date_gmt":"2013-11-22T17:58:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ihbconline.co.uk\/newsachive\/?p=6803"},"modified":"2013-11-22T17:58:43","modified_gmt":"2013-11-22T17:58:43","slug":"mapping-collapsed-buildings-using-cyborg-insects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=6803","title":{"rendered":"Mapping collapsed buildings using cyborg insects"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Cockroaches equipped with the latest software could provide vital information for first responders on the layout of previously unmapped areas, according to a paper entitled \u2018Topological Mapping of Unknown Environments using an Unlocalized Robotic Swarm\u2019 presented at the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems in November in Tokyo, Japan.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Technology4change writes:<br \/>\n<\/span>Researchers from North Carolina State University (NCSU) have developed software that allows them to map unknown environments \u2013 such as collapsed buildings \u2013 based on the movement of a swarm of insect cyborgs, or \u2018biobots.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>These biobots could provide potentially life-saving information on the layout of a building to first responders and could also determine the location of radioactive or chemical threats.<\/p>\n<p>A swarm of biobots, such as remotely controlled cockroaches, would be equipped with electronic sensors and released into a collapsed building or other hard-to-reach areas. Once the swarm has had a chance to spread out, the researchers send a signal commanding the biobots to keep moving until they find a wall or other unbroken surface \u2013 and then continue moving along the wall.<\/p>\n<p>Once this cycle has been completed a number of times, the new software can use an algorithm to translate the biobot sensor data into a rough map of the unknown environment.<\/p>\n<p>The researchers have tested the software using computer simulations and through the use of robots. The next step will involve testing the program with biobots.<\/p>\n<p>The paper, \u2018Topological Mapping of Unknown Environments using an Unlocalized Robotic Swarm,\u2019 was\u00a0presented at the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems being held 3-8 Nov in Tokyo, Japan.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">For NCSU see<\/span>: \u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ncsu.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.ncsu.edu\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Technology4Change Article<\/span>: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.technology4change.com\/page.jsp?id=277\" target=\"_blank\">LINK<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cockroaches equipped with the latest software could provide vital information for first responders on the layout of previously unmapped areas, according to a paper entitled \u2018Topological Mapping of Unknown Environments using an Unlocalized Robotic Swarm\u2019 presented at the International Conference &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=6803\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sector-newsblog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6803"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6803\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6804,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6803\/revisions\/6804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}