How Could Swarms of Robots Help Humanity?

ceview writes "Researchers at Sheffield Centre for Robotics have demonstrated that a swarm of 40 robots can carry out simple fetching and carrying tasks. This is done by grouping around an object and working together to push it across a surface. They believe that this could provide opportunities for us mere humans to harness such power to do all sorts of things like safety — what like catching falling workers perhaps? Youtube action here."

Picking Weeds

[MpVpRb]

If a robot could be designed that could distinguish weed from crop, it would eliminate the need for most herbicides and herbicide resistant GMO seeds

Missing the point?

[hammeraxe]

I think most people here are missing the point. I doubt the aim of his research is to develop things that are immediately useful. It is more about understanding the behaviour of complex multi agent systems. A lot of systems around us follow this same model. For example, the economy is just the sum of the actions of many "simple" agents. This research aims to look into exactly that. Really it is amazing that few simple agents without any higher form of control can accomplish anything when their behaviour is based on maybe 2-3 rules.