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+--- Thread: Research Teaching robots to build without blueprint designs + Building more solar projects (/thread-18211.html)
Teaching robots to build without blueprint designs + Building more solar projects - C C - Jun 17, 2025
Teaching robots to build without blueprints
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1087685
INTRO: Bees, ants and termites don’t need blueprints. They may have queens, but none of these species breed architects or construction managers. Each insect worker, or drone, simply responds to cues like warmth or the presence or absence of building material. Unlike human manufacturing, the grand design emerges simply from the collective action of the drones — no central planning required.
Now, researchers at Penn Engineering have developed mathematical rules that allow virtual swarms of tiny robots to do the same. In computer simulations, the robots built honeycomb-like structures without ever following — or even being able to comprehend — a plan.
“Though what we have done is just a first step, it is a new strategy that could ultimately lead to a new paradigm in manufacturing,” says Jordan Raney, Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics (MEAM), and the co-senior author of a new paper in Science Advances. “Even 3D printers work step by step, resulting in what we call a brittle process. One simple mistake, like a clogged nozzle, ruins the entire process.”
Manufacturing using the team’s new strategy could prove more robust — no hive stops construction because a single bee makes a mistake — and adaptable, allowing for the construction of complex structures onsite rather than in a factory. “We’ve just scratched the surface,” says Raney. “We’re used to tools that execute a plan. Here, we’re asking: how does order emerge without one?” (MORE - details, no ads)
Yes, in my back yard: people who live near large-scale solar projects are happy to have more built nearby
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1087081
EXCERPTS: Would you like living next door to a solar farm? Traditionally, it’s been thought that although people like the idea of renewable energy plants, they don’t want them close by. Now research investigating how people who live near large-scale solar projects feel about them has found that 82% of people living within an hour’s walk of current projects would support, or are neutral towards, new projects in their area.
“Most neighbors of existing large-scale solar projects either support or feel neutral about additional projects in or near their communities, with only 18% opposing it,” said Dr Sarah Mills of the University of Michigan, an author of the article in Frontiers in Sustainable Energy Policy. “Just as has been documented for wind energy, we found that the NIMBY — not in my backyard — explanation for opposition to solar was overly simplistic and unhelpful in explaining neighbors’ sentiments.”
[...] “We can’t be certain that more familiarity causes lower support for additional solar,” said Mills. “Rather, we find that more familiarity is correlated with lower support. Our hypothesis is that residents who see the project more regularly feel that their community already hosts their fair share of infrastructure.
“That said, most respondents rarely saw, or were totally unaware of, the project prior to receiving our survey. So it could be that most in the community are essentially unaffected, whereas a minority sees it frequently and does not wish to see more.”
The researchers did find that many people living near solar projects seemed to be poorly informed about their local projects, suggesting that developers need to engage with locals more. But this research indicates that most people who live near solar projects are comfortable with their renewable energy neighbors. These findings could help guide energy infrastructure development, informing how we manage new renewable energy plants for a greener future... (MORE - missing details, no ads)