Roaches follow their robo-leader

Any port in the storm: Robots can make good leaders for roaches, European researchers have found. These roaches followed their cybernetic overlords to shelter–this time.

by Mark Baard

A group of European scientists will report in the Nov. 16 issue of Science that cockroaches are as likely to follow a robot leader as they are another cockroach.

“Individuals, natural or artificial, are perceived as equivalent,” the report says. “Even when in the minority, robots can modulate the collective decision-making process and produce a global pattern.”

The lead researchers in the “robo-roach leader” study suggest their results might provide further insights into group and collective behavior.

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