B.I.O.-Bugs, short for Bio-mechanical Integrated Organisms, are formidable, autonomous creatures, each measuring approximately 11.4 inches long, by 9.8 inches wide, and weighing 1.08 pounds. The B.I.O.-Bug demonstration in October will feature the robotic bugs performing a variety of tasks. Some of the bugs are wired to fight with one another. Other bugs are programmed to scamper from light, other bugs, large objects, or humans.
The demonstration is part of the 11th annual U.S. symposium of the Studienstiftung students, which takes place on October 13, from 9 a.m. until noon, in the Viennese Room at the Ritz Carlton in Pasadena. The event is organized by Studienstiftung alumnus Christof Koch, Caltech's Troendle Professor of Cognitive and Behavioral Biology and professor of computation and neural systems, and by Studienstiftung students studying in the U.S. and Canada.
The featured keynote speaker at the symposium is B.I.O.-Bug creator Mark Tilden, director of research at the WowWee Toys division of Hasbro in Hong Kong and a former research scientist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Tilden will also give a public address on biomorphics on October 14 at 4 p.m. at Caltech.
B.I.O.-Bugs are based on biomorphic robotics of the sort developed at Caltech's Center for Neuromorphic Systems Engineering. The bugs can actually learn and alter their behavior as they interact with the environment. The design is based on analog patterns in nature rather than the digital series used to create computer programs. Rather than binary brains, the B.I.O.-Bugs use transistors to control their actions. The functions or strategies of the bugs can be modified by changing transistors or circuits.
Though originating from complex biomorphic design and study, the B.I.O.-Bugs have become so popular that they have been marketed by Hasbro, a commercial toy manufacturer in the U.S. Scientific applications of this technology could include use in planetary exploration, military defense, and even cleanup of nuclear accidents. But creator Mark Tilden is excited about the popular interactive appeal of the bugs, noting that, for children, the bugs could help to stimulate a renewed interest in the physical sciences and encourage children to play with, explore, and investigate their environments. The bugs come in a variety of colors and sell for about $20 each.
Symposium cosponsor WowWee Toys, in Hong Kong, is donating the B.I.O.-Bugs for the robotics demonstration and will provide each student with his/her own B.I.O.-Bug.
Photos are available on the Web at www.wowwee.com/biobugs/biointerface.html. For the Caltech Center for Neuromorphic Systems Engineering, go to www.cnse.caltech.edu.
Contact: Deborah Williams-Hedges (626) 395-3227 debwms@caltech.edu
Visit the Caltech Media Relations Web site at: http://pr.caltech.edu/media
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Written by Deborah Williams-Hedges