It’s happened. Just like a science fiction film, innocently enough, 10 universities are collaborating with the European Union-funded Symbrion to create swarms of transformer-style robots for various humanitarian causes.

The scientists are aiming to create self-organising robots that will work in teams by 2013.

Researchers will create standards that will allow the robots to evolve, adapt, work together, and generally take over the earth, too - all with no human interaction or guidance.

I for one welcome our new automated, collaborative, and evolving robot overlords. However, if you want the full skinny on the actual developments planned for these robots, hit the link>


Prof Alan Winfield, of the University of the West of England, Bristol, said “It might sound like something scary from science fiction but it’s not, it’s just a complex engineering system.”, but then he also said that scientists could not be held responsible for how societies use the technology.

The developers behind the first nuclear weapons honestly thought that their technology would be used for peace too.

Coming soon

On a more serious note, these ideas have real application in the world. Rescue missions, scientific research and emergency telecommunications are all possible applications of this technology, and I think it’s a fantastic idea.

The initial first ’swarm’ of these robots will be around several hundred units, and the first robot swarms would be ready for use in real-life situations between 10 and 15 years from now.

For those who are panicking at the concept of swarms of robots, the idea is that they will be a few inches big - so my theory is they can’t be all bad, not if you can step on them.

Graham