A small group of cylinder-shaped robots, topped with glowing, circular patterns of light, seems to be what comprises a pet these days. GlowBots are small robots that interact with a user as well as in groups, forming social networks based on dominance and learning. Picking one up and shaking it will give the robot confidence and positive reinforcement, so that when you put it down it will find a neighbour to be its ‘friend,’ and show it how to make more complex patterns. Groups of friends can ‘discuss’ various patterns and show others how to copy theirs. Two relatively confident, or equally dominant bots, when they meet, will try to form a combination of their two patterns. The invention was introduced at NextFest, a technology fair put on by WIRED Magazine which ran until September 16th.
Developer Mattias Jacobsson of the Viktoria Institute in Sweden says that he was inspired by the relationships between unusual pets such as spiders and snakes, and their owners. The GlowBots are built on an open educational robotic platform called the e-puck, and it’s possible that these interacting robots may lead to further research in evolution and evolutionary trends. Click here for a video demonstrating how they work.
