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S-bot mobile robot
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<h2 id="purpose-and-use-of-the-s-bot">Purpose and use of the s-bot</h2> <p>This is a research robot, aimed at studying teamwork and inter-robot communication. To do this, the s-bots have several special abilities: </p> <ul><li>Using their gripper (red in the photos), they can connect. Then they can, for instance, pass over gap and steps where a single robot would have failed.</li> <li>Using their integrated <a href="/facts/Force/533Q1uzq">force</a> <a href="/facts/Sensor/RN8SXbjs">sensor</a>, they can coordinate to retrieve an object to a certain location without the use of explicit communication. This is the way <a href="/facts/Ants/CyxckAAE">ants</a> bring preys to the nest.</li></ul> <p>Of course, all other sensors and actuators, also found on other robots, can be used to do teamwork such as food foraging. </p> <h2 id="technical-details">Technical details</h2> <h3>General</h3> <ul><li>12 cm diameter</li> <li>15 cm height</li> <li>660 g</li> <li>2 <a href="/facts/LiIon/3L22xFhB">LiIon</a> batteries</li> <li>1 hour autonomy moving</li></ul> <h3>Control</h3> <ul><li>400 <a href="/facts/MHz/6Wshj5qm">MHz</a> custom <a href="/facts/XScale/sUWlf36s">XScale</a> <a href="/facts/CPU/Jxp1bqMV">CPU</a> board, 64 MB of <a href="/facts/Random-access_memory/DuD4bxh6">RAM</a>, 32 MB of <a href="/facts/Flash_memory/Cn8JsStx">flash memory</a></li> <li>12 distributed <a href="/facts/PIC_microcontroller/NrRJCqHS">PIC microcontroller</a> for low-level handling</li> <li>Custom <a href="/facts/Linux/9FvCKSTq">Linux</a> port running Familiar</li> <li><a href="/facts/Wi-Fi/u94quCsx">Wi-Fi</a></li></ul> <h3>Actuators</h3> <ul><li>2 treels[<i>check spelling</i>]</li> <li>turret rotation</li> <li>rigid gripper elevation</li> <li>rigid gripper</li> <li>3 axis side arm</li> <li>side arm gripper</li></ul> <h3>Sensors</h3> <ul><li>15 <a href="/facts/Infrared/44XdJNcc">infrared</a> sensors around the turret</li> <li>4 <a href="/facts/Infrared/44XdJNcc">infrared</a> sensors below the robot</li> <li>position sensors on all degrees of freedom except gripper</li> <li>force and speed sensors on all major degrees of freedom</li> <li>2 humidity sensors</li> <li>2 temperature sensors</li> <li>8 ambient light sensors around the turret</li> <li>4 <a href="/facts/Accelerometer/xxrXzrlI">accelerometers</a>, which allow three-<a href="/facts/Dimension/0ktmUyac">dimensional</a> orientation</li> <li>1 640×480 <a href="/facts/Digital_camera/LSGTserm">camera</a> sensor. Custom optic based on spherical <a href="/facts/Mirror/wMu4u6BB">mirror</a> provides omnidirectional vision</li> <li>4 <a href="/facts/Microphones/7YWGlXCl">microphones</a></li> <li>2 axis structure deformation sensors</li> <li>optical barrier in grippers</li></ul> <h3>LEDS</h3> <ul><li>8 × RGB <a href="/facts/Light-emitting_diodes/gE8x4MDb">Light-emitting diodes</a> around the turret</li> <li>red <a href="/facts/Light-emitting_diodes/gE8x4MDb">Light-emitting diodes</a> in grippers</li></ul> <h2 id="special-abilities">Special abilities</h2> <p>S-bots can connect to other s-bots to create a bigger structure known as the swarm-bot. To do so, they attach together using their rigid gripper and ring. An s-bot has sufficient force to lift another one. </p> <h2 id="integrated-software">Integrated software</h2> <p>The s-bot features a custom Linux port running the <a href="/facts/Familiar_Linux/F1cPXntg">Familiar Linux</a> distribution. All sensors and actuators are easily accessible through a simple <a href="/facts/C_(programming_language)/Ky2No763">C</a> <a href="/facts/Application_programming_interface/GMlN4vUr">API</a>. </p> Notes <ul><li><a href="/facts/Francesco_Mondada/3ateVo16">Mondada, F.</a>, <a href="/facts/Andr%C3%A9_Guignard/BqPuFjkv">Guignard, A.</a>, Bonani, M., Bär, D., Lauria, M. and <a href="/facts/Dario_Floreano/BNKvakxu">Floreano, D.</a> (2003) SWARM-BOT: From Concept to Implementation. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems 2003, IEEE Press. pp. 1626–1631. <a href="http://lis.epfl.ch/publications/856.pdf">PDF</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20050512032954/http://lis.epfl.ch/publications/856.pdf">Archived</a> 2005-05-12 at the <a href="/facts/Wayback_Machine/nmQ3a6JC">Wayback Machine</a> <a href="http://lis.epfl.ch/bibtex.php?ID=364">BibTeX</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Francesco_Mondada/3ateVo16">Mondada, F.</a>, Pettinaro, G. C., <a href="/facts/Andr%C3%A9_Guignard/BqPuFjkv">Guignard, A.</a>, Kwee, I., <a href="/facts/Dario_Floreano/BNKvakxu">Floreano, D.</a>, Deneubourg, J.-L., Nolfi, S. and Gambardella, L.M., Dorigo, M. (2004) SWARM-BOT: a New Distributed Robotic Concept. Autonomous Robots, special Issue on Swarm Robotics, Volume 17, Issue 2–3, September - November 2004, Pages 193 - 221. <a href="http://lis.epfl.ch/publications/swarmbot-hardware-final-lr.pdf">PDF</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20051028145309/http://lis.epfl.ch/publications/swarmbot-hardware-final-lr.pdf">Archived</a> 2005-10-28 at the <a href="/facts/Wayback_Machine/nmQ3a6JC">Wayback Machine</a> <a href="http://lis.epfl.ch/bibtex.php?ID=365">BibTeX</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Marco_Dorigo/zr5WPrFE">Marco Dorigo</a>, V. Trianni, E. Sahin, T. H. Labella, R. Gross, G. Baldassarre, S. Nolfi, J.-L. Deneubourg, <a href="/facts/Francesco_Mondada/3ateVo16">F. Mondada</a>, <a href="/facts/Dario_Floreano/BNKvakxu">D. Floreano</a> & <a href="/facts/Luca_Maria_Gambardella/SpEgdhfs">L. M. Gambardella</a> (2004). Evolving Self-Organizing Behaviors for a Swarm-bot. Autonomous Robots, 17 (2–3): 223–245. <a href="http://lis.epfl.ch/publications/swarmbot-control-lr.pdf">PDF</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20051028154242/http://lis.epfl.ch/publications/swarmbot-control-lr.pdf">Archived</a> 2005-10-28 at the <a href="/facts/Wayback_Machine/nmQ3a6JC">Wayback Machine</a> <a href="http://lis.epfl.ch/bibtex.php?ID=395">BibTex</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.swarm-bots.org/index.php?main=2&sub=21">Peer-reviewed scientific publication record</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20071010215548/http://www.swarm-bots.org/index.php?main=2&sub=21">Archived</a> 2007-10-10 at the <a href="/facts/Wayback_Machine/nmQ3a6JC">Wayback Machine</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.swarm-bots.org/index.php?main=2&sub=24">General public press coverage</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20071007232734/http://www.swarm-bots.org/index.php?main=2&sub=24">Archived</a> 2007-10-07 at the <a href="/facts/Wayback_Machine/nmQ3a6JC">Wayback Machine</a></li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="http://www.swarm-bots.org/">Swarm-bots project homepage</a> - The project in which the s-bot was developed.</li> <li><a href="http://www.cordis.lu/ist/fet">Future and Emerging Technologies</a> - The IST program in which the swarm-bots project takes place.</li> <li><a href="http://www.cordis.lu/ist">Information Society Technologies</a> - The European Union research activity in which the FET program takes place.</li> <li><a href="http://lis.epfl.ch">LIS</a> - The lab where the s-bot was developed.</li> <li><a href="http://lis.epfl.ch/research/projects/SwarmBots/index.php">Swarmbots page at LIS</a> - Pictures and video of the s-bot</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"EPFL - LIS". <a href="http://lis.epfl.ch/" target="_blank">http://lis.epfl.ch/</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Capps, Robert (January 2006). "The 50 Best Robots Ever". Wired. Vol. 14, no. 1. <a href="https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.01/robots.html" target="_blank">https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.01/robots.html</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>