Posted on Nov 21, 2023
Army ants use collective intelligence to build bridges. Robots could learn from them
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https://www.npr.org/2023/11/21/ [login to see] /army-ants-architecture-science-robots-research
Studying army ants for a living comes with certain occupational hazards.
"They're very aggressive," says Isabella Muratore at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. "They have venom, so they will sting you and they will bite you. It's not that bad. It's just that you're usually getting stung by hundreds of them at once."
The ants are fierce predators, devouring other insects – sometimes even frogs, lizards and birds. But what's even more remarkable about them is their architectural prowess.
Muratore has been studying how army ants build bridges by linking their bodies, which could give scientists insights into controlling swarms of robots. She presented her work at a meeting of the Entomological Society of America in early November.
Studying army ants for a living comes with certain occupational hazards.
"They're very aggressive," says Isabella Muratore at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. "They have venom, so they will sting you and they will bite you. It's not that bad. It's just that you're usually getting stung by hundreds of them at once."
The ants are fierce predators, devouring other insects – sometimes even frogs, lizards and birds. But what's even more remarkable about them is their architectural prowess.
Muratore has been studying how army ants build bridges by linking their bodies, which could give scientists insights into controlling swarms of robots. She presented her work at a meeting of the Entomological Society of America in early November.
Army ants use collective intelligence to build bridges. Robots could learn from them
Posted from npr.org
Robots
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Science
Wildlife
Technology
Posted 6 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Commonly found in Central America, South America and Africa, the ants scour forest floors in long foraging lines.
When they encounter obstacles – like a gap between leaves or branches – they build a bridge, linking themselves together like a barrel of monkeys.
"The workers will string themselves across that gap, and then other workers will walk on top of them," Muratore told NPR. "Basically, they create shortcuts to make things easier for the other ants or just to allow them to traverse something that they otherwise couldn't."...
..."Commonly found in Central America, South America and Africa, the ants scour forest floors in long foraging lines.
When they encounter obstacles – like a gap between leaves or branches – they build a bridge, linking themselves together like a barrel of monkeys.
"The workers will string themselves across that gap, and then other workers will walk on top of them," Muratore told NPR. "Basically, they create shortcuts to make things easier for the other ants or just to allow them to traverse something that they otherwise couldn't."...
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