They could work independently or as a flock.
Engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory are working to develop a swarm of robots that could one day be used to probe under the icy shells ofinstitutional press releaseCurrent approaches to exploring new planets include sending landers and rovers that scan their landing sites for signs of life. While these approaches work well, they severely limit the range of the probe and even the scope of the mission, if the probe ends up at a distance from the intended landing site.
Each of these robots would also have its own propulsion system and ultrasound communication system, along with an onboard computer. This might not sound very different fromthat space agencies would design for planets. However, there is a small but significant difference. Each of these robots is no bigger than a cell phone which would allow many of them to be packed into a single ice probe.
Since the heat generated by the cryobot could alter the chemistries of the water, the ability of the swarm to probe a fair distance away from the bot would provide us with data about the true nature of the water. When required, the swarm could also be directed to work as a"flock," collecting data as a group to either reduce errors or specifically measure the variations across sensors to identify existing gradients, if any.
If there are energy gradients or chemical gradients, that’s how life can start to arise. We would need to get upstream from the cryobot to sense those," Schaler said in the press release. As of now, SWIM isn't part of any NASA mission yet but recently received additional funding to make 3D-printed prototypes and test them.Stay ahead with the latest science, technology and innovation news, for free:
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