Beyond Serendipitous Collisions: Toward a System of Intelligent Spinner-Bots

Abstract

In this paper, I describe my role in the development of three systems of spinning robots. The first is simple, consisting of freely-spinning robots that bump into each other. The second is more controlled. The robots look for a resource in the form of light, and talk with another. My particular goal was to implement this communication. The third system is three-dimensional. By submerging the system in a parrticular liquid, we introduce a new degree of freedom. My project in this system was to evaluate the penetration depth of the communication signal through this medium.