Dopo gli sciami di mini robot che imitano le api, arrivano i robot formica: grazie alla loro intelligenza collettiva sono in grado di comunicare tra loro, coordinarsi e lavorare insieme in modo autonomo, proprio come fanno gli insetti sociali.
Realizzati dal Politecnico federale di Losanna, potranno essere utilizzati in massa nel corso di missioni di ricerca e salvataggio, o anche per esplorare ambienti sconosciuti e potenzialmente pericolosi, come sostengono gli autori dello studio pubblicato sulla rivista Nature, guidati da Zhenishbek Zhakypov.
Le formichine meccaniche, che pesano circa 10 grammi, sono state soprannominate Tribot, per le loro caratteristiche tre gambe, e sono ispirati agli origami: possono infatti essere assemblati in pochi minuti ripiegando un foglio composto da diversi materiali, rendendoli così ideali per la produzione di massa. La loro struttura di base è estremamente semplice, ma sono in grado di compiere cinque tipi di movimento diverso.
ATS/ANSA/Swing
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