“Distributed 3-D Mapping”
My concept is to combine current or future 3D camera and visualization techniques w/ autonomous distributed nano robots. The autonomous “visual documenting” robots would be aware of each other, and work as a group to map an environment. The result would be a real time 3D model of an environment.
The potential applications could be:
- search and rescue
- exploration
- field scientific study
3D Imaging
Currently there are various laser techniques to create a map of an object or environment. Ideally, this would also include image analysis to gather data beyond just the geometry (material, color, lighting).
In the “House of Cards” video a few laser scanning technologies are used:
LIDAR to scan large landscapes and Geometric Informatics to scan close up
Nano Technology/Distributed robotics
The distributed bots/nanobots would always be aware of relative distances, and stitch together the constantly changing, real time environment. The high level of AI needed for the system would also dictate where more or less nanobots would be needed to capture the greatest amount of data.
“Robots in the RoboCup competition aren’t quite ready to compete against humans. But a group of scientists predicts that by 2050 they’ll build a team of fully autonomous humanoid robot soccer players that will do just that, and win the real World Cup.”
Using techniques like those of soccer playing robots, “visual documenting” robots would be aware of each other, and learn how to work in groups.
