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In lugnet.events.brickfest, Suzanne Rich Green wrote:
> Have RCX owners considered pooling their units to
> run an event-long simulation?
I've never thought of doing it at a mass event (OK, possibly because I've not
been to any), but I've thought of doing it on my own. I suspect the biggest
drawback is having your RCX's already built into a MOC to bring to BrickFest.
> Each RCX unit is configured in exactly the
> same way for this group project.
If that's the case, the first thing is to make these 'bots as minimalist as
possible, to encourage the maximum participation. In the same vein, make them
modular (so folks can use their RCX in a differne MOC if the simulation isn't
running at the time).
> Example projects:
>
> - Watch the Game of Life, Live.
That takes a *LOT* of computing units, for minimal return... although it's an
interesting experiment in communication.
> Proof of Emergence. units are given "termite
> woodchip piling" rules [1].
I like that one. Can it be done with a two-motor 'bot? Adding a third motor
for an "arm" would be good, but limiting the parts to, say, a single RIS set
might be better.
"Woodchip elements"... cubes (2x2 up to 4x4)? Two colors give a lot more
possibilities for interesting behaviors.
Another possibility is to have two very different behaviors in the
"termites", collectors & dispersers. The individual robots could switch between
behaviors based on any number of things (number of collection trips taken,
number of times an object is hit, etc.).
Two other options. (1) "Ants" that run around line-following and
line-drawing. (2) "Worms": these are based on an old Scientific American article
(70's?) about simulating ocean-bottom worms. The worms live on an isometric grid
(equilateral triangle graph paper). Warms crawl along the lines, and there are
set rules for how to turn at each junction. Nothing eaten at the junction? Turn
120° to the right. One segment eaten on the left? Continue straight. The
patterns were amazing. With real robots on a real (melamine) floor, it wouldn't
be exact, or even repeatable... but it would be cool to watch.
If you have a system of simple robots following such "hard-wired" rules, make
it a genetic evolutionary system. After a set period of time, all the robots
stop, and one (chosen at random) becomes the master, while the rest are numbered
slaves. The master compares scores, and based on them the most successful rule
sets are copied into the "offspring", and they run it again.
Drat. I think I need more RCXs... "Um, honey? What's my spending limit on
LEGO again?..." ;-)
--
Brian Davis
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