Future Foglets of the Hive Mind

Future Foglets of the Hive Mind: "The concept of utility fog – flying, intercommunicating nanomachines that dynamically shape themselves into assorted configurations to serve various roles and execute multifarious tasks – was introduced by nanotech pioneer J. Storrs Hall in 1993. Recently in H+ Magazine, Hall pointed out that swarm robots are the closest thing we have to utility fog. This brings the concept a little bit closer to reality.

For instance, a few years ago Dr. James McLurkin of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) demonstrated 112 swarm robots at the Idea Fest in Louisville Kentucky. They communicated with one another and operated as a cohesive unit to complete their tasks. Currently, some swarm robots can even self-assemble and self-replicate. These precursors to future foglets measure about 4.5 inches in diameter – a far cry from the nanoscale, but nevertheless demonstrating some scale-independent principles of collective intelligence. These kinds of swarm robots may be seen as early steps toward the creation of utility foglets. In time, it will become possible for self-replicating robots to be built on the scale of nanoparticles, even as their intelligence is increased to carry out missions which humans are either unwilling or unable to perform themselves."