The idea of robots is not new, and mention of them goes back to at least classical Greek times. In Homer’s Iliad,
for example, a Greek god named Hephaestus created armor for the hero Achilles. Later, around 1495, Leonardo Da
Vinci created specifications for a robot that could wave its arms, sit up, and
move its jaw and head. Still, use of robots has become widespread only recently.
Among the more interesting types of robots we use today is one called the swarm
robot. This type of robot was inspired by colonies of insects (like bees or
ants), and is distinct from other types, in that the robots act together.
Because of it, these robots are said to use what’s called “swarm intelligence,”
wherein the individuals behave together as one superorganism. In much the
same way birds will flock in a single group and ants will work collectively,
these robots are employed to work together to complete one major task. The U.S.
military, for example, was recently working with the idea of swarm intelligence to
control unmanned vehicles. More interesting, two researchers
have argued that nanobot swarms can possibly be used in the human body to
destroy cancer tumors. For the more mundane tasks of life, swarm robots can be useful for things like dispersing to
find something hidden, to spy, or to clean. The benefit to this type of robot
is that even if several of these robots fail or malfunction, the rest can still
complete the task.
Exercising at a gym seems to be pretty important in our culture, but it's kind of weird to see the social dynamics when you're there. Usually, if you're running an errand, you see others doing the same thing, going about their days and focusing on what's in front of them. The same thing happens at the gym, only everyone is relatively stationary. They don't really go anywhere, except from one machine or area to another. One might think this lends itself to lots of interaction between members, especially since they're all there for the same purpose, but it isn't true. Not only do people generally avoid talking to one another, but they also avoid even looking at one another. It is as though there is no one else there, even though there are dozens on any given day. Most people follow this unwritten rule, unless something in the environment-- say, two people wanting to use the same set of weights-- gives them common ground to interact, or unless they've alr...
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