In the aftermath of a major disaster, the last thing you want to do is send first responders running into mounds of unstable, potentially dangerous rubble. But right now, if rescuers want to look for survivors, measure radiation levels, or just see what’s going on inside, they don’t have many other options. Nuno Martins, an associate professor of computer and electrical engineering, and his fellow researchers at the University of Maryland Robotics Center think the best way to solve this problem is with robots. Hundreds of tiny, ant-sized, autonomous, communicating robots. Their project, ... Read More