NASA is not all about rovers running around on the moon as well as on the Red Planet, you know, as the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has begun to work on a new kind of robot – or rather, robots, that could actually make their way across distant planets one fine day in the future as part of a space exploration expedition. Given the nickname “swarmies”, these will be remote controlled robots that are far smaller than the likes of rover Curiosity.
The swarmies will be equipped with a webcam, carry a Wi-Fi antenna and has a GPS system for navigation purposes, where they will all work in the same manner as that of an ant colony. Basically, whenever one of the robots discover something that is worth checking out, it will make use of radio communication in order to call out to the rest of its robotic brethren so that samples can be collected.
A new kind of software that was developed by NASA engineers over at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida is capable of sending the swarmies away in various directions to look for a specific, predetermined material – and upon discovery, it will call the rest of the gang over to help it carry back the sample.
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