| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/R45536/01 |
| Title: |
Developing control and co-ordination mechanisms for micro-robots based upon the study of collective sorting in Leptothorax ants |
| Principal Investigator: |
Melhuish, Professor C |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Researcher Co-Investigators: |
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| Project Partners: |
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| Department: |
Faculty of Environment and Technology |
| Organisation: |
University of the West of England |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
01 November 2001 |
Ends: |
31 October 2004 |
Value (£): |
149,235
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Artificial Intelligence |
Population Ecology |
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| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
| Communications |
Electronics |
| Information Technologies |
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| Related Grants: |
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| Panel History: |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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This unique collaboration will study Leptothorax ants which in the creation of their nests do not esplicitly co-operate in transport tasks. The novelty of this approach is that this study will lead to methods which employ minimal communication and therefore are appropriate for exploitation by very small scale robots in the future. This is not a trivial problem. In order to sort materials in annular structures Leptothorax colonies have to solve many problems including; nest selection; brood and debris transporting and collective changes in behaviour. It is within this context in which the problem of annular sorting is posed. Our main objective is to develop a robust methodology for the building of sorted structures where no individual robot builder has the blue print for the overall construction, no individual is in charge, co-operation is implicit and without direct communication.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.uwe.ac.uk |