They are claimed to be the world’s first ever fully-functioning robots. The drones are able to transmit commands to each other’s robots which they can then execute at exactly the right moment. Dr. Rob Seligman, an associate professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute, made the claims to the magazine IEEE Spectrum. Speaking about the creation of the drones, he said: “Today, for both people and machines, there’s a difference between the know-how and knowledge. That’s one thing we’re solving.” Dr. Seligman says the bots can carry out tasks like picking up dirt and smelly chemicals, such as asbestos, and put them in containers.
The drones can also demonstrate behaviors, like opening or closing containers to show they are efficient and effective. It is also claimed that their functionality means that they could soon become part of everyday life. For example, a major goal of the research would be to develop robots that can pick up groceries off the floor, or perform other tasks that are currently done by people. “You could have a remotely controlled robot control a helper robot to wash the counter or if you needed to restock something, get the extra change and put it on the counter and straighten up,” Dr. Seligman said.
Others have said that the development could be bad news for humans, especially for the safety of planes. Dr. Daniel Braun, a neuroscientist at University College London, told the Sunday Times: “Once you have real, working machines, they could do some incredible things like pilot a plane.”