Wired News writes about development of a new type of swarming robot, called ‘Scouts,’ that can autonomously coordinate their actions, allowing them to cover large areas where GPS can’t find them and human-control would be too cumbersome. About the size and shape of a toilet-paper tube, the units may eventually be led by a larger, more powerful version (physically and computationally) called the MegaScout which would act as a master unit, taking high-level commands from human operators (‘detect human body heat’ or ‘fetch my beer’) and relaying them down to the less-intelligent, but more mobile Scouts. [Thanks, Tim!]
