A swarm of tiny robots destined to search for life on a faraway moon recently began its journey in a swimming pool here on Earth.
The SWIM robots — short for Sensing With Independent Microswimmers — demonstrated impressive maneuverability during recent tests in the swimming pool at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Pushed along by propellers, the miniature, wedge-shaped robots steered themselves to stay on course, executed a back-and-forth "lawnmower" pattern, and even spelled out "J-P-L," according to a NASA statement.
Designed to one day search for evidence of life in the briny ocean beneath the icy shell of Jupiter's moon Europa, these robots could play a key role in detecting chemical and temperature signals that might indicate alien life, according to scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), who designed and tested the robots.
A swarm of tiny robots destined to search for life on a faraway moon recently began its journey in a swimming pool here on Earth.
The SWIM robots — short for Sensing With Independent Microswimmers — demonstrated impressive maneuverability during recent tests in the swimming pool at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Pushed along by propellers, the miniature, wedge-shaped robots steered themselves to stay on course, executed a back-and-forth "lawnmower" pattern, and even spelled out "J-P-L," according to a NASA statement.
Designed to one day search for evidence of life in the briny ocean beneath the icy shell of Jupiter's moon Europa, these robots could play a key role in detecting chemical and temperature signals that might indicate alien life, according to scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), who designed and tested the robots.