Future
First of all, robots made by imitating certain insects are not simple. For example, some foreign scientists have observed that the ant’s brain is very small and its eyesight is extremely poor, but its navigation ability is superb: when the ant finds a food source and goes back to summon a companion, it always stores the image of the food in its brain. Here, and use the method of matching the image in the brain with the real scene in front of you, and go back the same way. Scientists believe that imitating the function of ants can enable robots to have superb path-finding capabilities in unfamiliar environments.
Secondly, no matter when, the research on bionic machinery (machine) is multifaceted, that is, it is necessary to develop robots that imitate humans and machinery (machines) that imitate other living things. Before robots came out, people were very interested in mechanical animals in addition to researching and manufacturing automatic puppets, such as the legend that Zhuge Liang made wooden cows and horses, modern computer pioneer Babbage designed chicken and sheep toys, and the famous French engineer Bao Kansong made tea The iron ducks, etc., are all very famous.
In the course of the development of robots to intelligent robots, some people put forward the view that "objects to robots must first think before they can do things" and believe that many simple robots can also complete complex tasks. In the early 1990s, with the help of students, Brooks, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States, created a group of mosquito robots, named insect robots. The habits of these little things are very similar to those of cockroaches. They can't think, they can only act in accordance with human programs.
A few years ago, scientific and technological workers made electronic robotic birds for the San Diego Zoo. It can imitate female vultures and feed small vultures on time; Japan and Russia have created an electronic robotic crab that can carry Deep-sea control survey, collect rock samples, capture seabed creatures, and perform underwater electric welding operations. The United States developed a robotic tuna named Charlie, 1.32 meters long and composed of 2843 parts. By swinging the body and tail, it can swim like a real fish at a speed of 7.2 kilometers per hour. It can be used to work continuously under the sea for several months to survey and map oceans and detect underwater pollution. It can also be used to photograph creatures because it mimics tuna vividly.
Some scientists are designing tuna submarines, which are actually tuna robots that can travel at up to 20 knots and are veritable underwater moving machines. Its flexibility is much higher than that of existing submarines. It can reach almost any area underwater. It can be remotely controlled by humans. It can easily enter trenches and caves deep in the seabed, sneak into the enemy’s port, and conduct reconnaissance. Undetected. As a military reconnaissance and scientific exploration tool, its development and application prospects are very broad.
Similarly, the research and manufacture of insect robots has a very bright prospect. For example, someone has developed a robotic insect with elastic legs, which is only about 1/3 the size of a credit card. It can jump over obstacles as easily as a cricket, and can travel almost 37 meters in an hour. The most special thing about this kind of robotic insect is that it breaks through the concept of "the joint must be driven by an engine". The new method for inventing the home is to form a bimorph regulator from metal strips such as lead, zirconium, and titanium. When charging, the regulator bends, it bounces back to its original shape after charging, and it becomes a vibrating bar after repeated charging. There are insect limbs on the vibrating bar, and the vibration of the vibrating bar becomes the driving force of the robot insect. Each vibration will make the crawling insect move forward by 2 mm. A large group of robot insects can be controlled by a "Insect King", which relays control instructions to each robot insect. Using this kind of robotic insects can complete reconnaissance, transport items on the battlefield, or explore paths on other planets.
Architecture
Robot architecture refers to the structure of information processing and control logic for one or several robots to accomplish a specified goal.
Decomposition based on function
The architecture based on function decomposition belongs to the traditional deliberate intelligence in artificial intelligence, and it is embodied in the structure of serial distribution. , In terms of execution mode, it belongs to asynchronous execution, that is, information processing and control are implemented in accordance with the "perception-plan-action" model. Take the NASR human MtI proposed by the National Space Administration and the American National Standards Agency as a typical representative. The advantage of this kind of system structure is that the function of the system is clear. The level is clear and the implementation is simple. However, the handling method of the Bank greatly extended the system's response time to external events, and changes in the environment necessitated re-planning, thereby reducing execution efficiency. Therefore, it is only suitable for completing more complex tasks in a known structured environment.
Decomposition based on behavior
The architecture based on behavior decomposition belongs to modern reactive intelligence in artificial intelligence, and is embodied as parallel (inclusive) in structure. ) Distribution, which belongs to synchronous execution in the execution mode, that is, information processing and control are carried out in parallel according to the "perception-action" model. The behavioral hierarchical subsumption architecture (Subsumption Architecture) proposed by MIT's R.A. Brooks and the MotorSchema-based structure proposed by Arkin are typical representatives. Its main advantages are short execution time, high efficiency, and strong mobility. However, due to the lack of overall management, it is difficult to adapt to various situations. Therefore, it is only suitable for performing relatively simple tasks in the Mutao environment.
Decomposition based on intelligent distribution
The architecture based on intelligent distribution belongs to the latest distributed intelligence in artificial intelligence, and is reflected in the structure of decentralized distribution , In terms of execution, it belongs to collaborative execution, which can solve the respective local problems separately, but also solve single or multiple global problems through cooperation. Take the architecture based on multi-agent as a typical representative. The advantage of this architecture is that it not only has the characteristics of "intelligent distribution", but also has a unified coordination mechanism. However, how to reasonably divide and coordinate between various agents still requires a lot of research and practice. This architecture has a wide range of applications in many large-scale intelligent information processing systems.
In addition to the above three main types of architectures, there are some improved hybrid architectures, such as behavior decomposition mode with feedback links, hierarchical architecture based on distributed intelligence, and functional decomposition Multi-agent structure and so on. But on the whole, they are either insufficient in the flexibility and expansibility of functional modules, or fail to coordinate deliberate intelligence and reactive intelligence well, or the communication mechanism between all levels is not perfect.
Control system
The thought principle of the bionic system structure
In essence, think carefully Intelligent, reactive intelligence, and distributed intelligence are all a kind of reference and bionics for biological control logic and reasoning. However, due to the limitations of objective conditions and the limitation of needs and purposes, they are only a kind of biological control from a certain angle and direction. A one-sided, partial imitation of intelligence. The bionic architecture of this article is based on the aforementioned biological control logic and behavioral reasoning, and fully draws on the advantages and disadvantages of the three architecture ideas based on deliberate intelligence, reactive intelligence, and distributed intelligence. It is aimed at robots, especially There are shortcomings and problems in the control architecture of mobile robots working in unknown environments, and a new control idea and concept with adaptive behavior and evolution ability is proposed.
Learning from the idea of distributed intelligence, introducing social behavior control layer in the control system structure;
Learning from the self-adaptive thought of biology, realizing this generation in the control system structure Learning from deliberate behavior to reflective behavior;
Learn from the self-evolutionary thought of biology, and realize the multi-generational transition from reflective behavior to instinctive behavior in the control architecture The evolution (or degradation) of
Therefore, the bionic architecture consists of four behavior control layers, namely the instinctive behavior control layer, the reflective behavior control layer, the deliberate behavior control layer, and the social behavior control layer. The external and internal information of the perception layer respectively make logical judgments and reactions, and send control information to the end execution layer, through competition and coordination to adjust itself and adapt to the external environment, so as to complete the work tasks in accordance with the goals.
Examples
Robotic Scorpion
The robotic scorpion, which is about 50 cm long, is different from other traditional robots in that it has no ability to solve complex problems. The robotic scorpion relies almost entirely on reflection to solve the walking problem. This allows it to react quickly to anything that bothers it, and it has two ultrasonic sensors on its head. If it encounters an obstacle that is 50% higher than its height, it will bypass it. Moreover, if the sensor on the left detects an obstacle, it will automatically turn to the right.
Mechanical cockroaches
Bionic robots (20 photos)
Not only scorpions, even cockroaches can provide scientists with inspiration for design, scientists We found that when a cockroach is moving at high speed, it has only three legs on the ground each time, two on each side, one on the other, and the cycle is repeated. Based on this principle, bionicians have created a mechanical cockroach, which can not only advance three meters per second, but also has balance. Very good, able to adapt to various harsh environments. In the near future, space exploration or landmine removal is where it comes in.Robot Barracuda
The MIT Robot Barracuda, yes The world's first robotic fish that can swim freely. Most of it is made of glass fiber, covered with a layer of steel wire mesh, and the outermost layer is a layer of synthetic elastic fiber. The tail is made of a spring-like tapered fiberglass coil, which makes this robotic pike strong and flexible. A servo motor powers the robotic fish.
Robot Frog
The knees of the Robot Frog’s legs are equipped with springs, which can bend their legs first and then jump up like a frog. The longest distance that the robot frog can leap on the earth is 2.4 meters. On Mars, since the gravity of Mars is about 1/3 of that of the earth, the robot frog's long jump performance can reach 7.2 meters, which is close to the human long jump world record. . So it will no longer be helpless in front of a small stone like the Mars off-road vehicle in 2007.
Robot spider
This is created by space engineers inspired by spider climbing stunts. It is equipped with a set of antennas that mimic insect antennae, which can detect terrain and obstacles when it moves its slender legs. The robot spider is very small, with an upright height of only 18 cm, which is not much larger than the palm of a human hand. "Spider-Man" can not only climb the steep terrain of Mars that the space buggy can't reach, but also the cost is much more economical. In this way, a large number of space "Spider-Man" will be spread all over the land of Mars.
Machine Tuna
Machine Tuna Machine Tuna is the latest achievement of MIT in the development of robotic fish since "Charlie". This new prototype has a soft body with only 1 engine and 6 moving parts, which allows it to simulate the movement of real fish to a greater extent.
Robot Gecko
Dr. Xiaoyang Li of Zhuhai New Concept Aerospace Vehicle Co., Ltd. and his research team successfully developed the bionic robot gecko "Freelander" on November 15, 2008. As a new type of intelligent robot with small size and flexible action, the bionic gecko "Freelander" may be widely used in search, rescue, counter-terrorism, scientific experiments and scientific investigations in the near future. According to Dr. Li Xiaoyang, this robot gecko can quickly climb up and down on the walls, underground and wall joints of various buildings, or walk upside down under the ceiling, against smooth glass, rough or dusty walls. The surface and the surface of various metal materials can be adapted, can automatically identify obstacles and avoid detours, and the movements are flexible and realistic. Its flexibility and movement speed are comparable to those of geckos in nature.
Robot Jellyfish
The U.S. Naval Research Office has developed a "machine jellyfish" that can be used to monitor surface ships and submarines, detect chemical spills, and monitor migratory fish Trends. These robotic jellyfish are connected by thin wires made of biosensing memory alloy. When these thin metal wires are heated, they contract like muscle tissue.