This robotic garden demonstrates distributed algorithms with more than 100 origami robots that can crawl, swim and blossom.
Created by MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) and the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the aptly named Robot Garden is a defined as “a system that functions as a visual embodiment of distributed algorithms, as well as an aesthetically appealing way to get more young students, and particularly girls, interested in programming.”
At its core, the project is a tablet-operated system that illustrates MIT’s cutting-edge research on distributed algorithms using robotic sheep that were created through traditional print-and-fold origami techniques, origami flowers (including lilies, tulips and birds of paradise) that are embedded with printable motors enabling them to ‘blossom’ and change colors, as well as magnet-powered robotic ducks that fold into shape by being heated in an oven.
“Students can see their commands running in a physical environment, which tangibly links their coding efforts to the real world. It’s meant to be a launchpad for schools to demonstrate basic concepts about algorithms and programming,” explains Lindsay Sanneman, a lead author on the recently-accepted paper for the 2015 International Conference on Robotics and Automation.
The project is comprised of 16 different tiles, each connected to an Atmel based Arduino board and programmed using search algorithms that explore the space in different ways. The garden itself can be controlled by any Bluetooth-enabled device, either through clicking on flowers individually or a more advanced “control by code” feature that calls for users to add their own commands and execute sequences in real-time. In fact, users can interact with the garden through a computer interface, allowing them to select a tile and inflate/deflate the flower or change the color of its pedals.
“The garden tests distributed algorithms for over 100 distinct robots, which gives us a very large-scale platform for experimentation,” says CSAIL Director Daniela Rus, who is also a co-author of the paper. “At the same time, we hope that it also helps introduce students to topics like graph theory and networking in a way that’s both beautiful and engaging.”
The project was recently displayed at CSAIL’s “Hour of Code” back in December, where it surely did its part in inspiring kids to get interested in STEM-related disciplines. In the near future, the researchers hope to make the garden operable by multiple devices simultaneously, and may even experiment with interactive auditory components such as microphones and music that would sync to movements.
Interested? Head over to MIT’s official page here, and be sure to watch the garden in action below.