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| 'Sniffer-bot' algorithm helps robots seek scents |
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24 January 2007, for New Scientist Moths are renowned for their ability to pick up a faint whiff of pheromones from faraway mates. Robots may soon match this feat with the help of a new mathematical method developed to help guide them toward a scent. In tests, the algorithm made virtual scent-hunter bots move just like moths do, snaking and spiralling toward their goal. Finding the source of a strong smell is pretty straightforward. As you move, simply check whether a scent is getting stronger or weaker and head in the direction in which it is strongest. But the situation is much harder when the scent is just barely detectable. If there are only a few intermittent hints of a scent, then there is no clear trail to follow. Add air turbulence, and the problem gets even harder, since eddies can break up the scent, creating odd-shaped pockets of detectable scent and gaps containing no odour at all. Now a group of physicists have devised a relatively simple mathematical method for guiding a scent-tracking robot that can cope with these difficult situations.... Read the rest on the New Scientist website. |