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My colleagues and I have built a robot composed of many building blocks like the cells of a multicellular organism. Without a “brain” or a central controller in the system, our robot, dubbed Loopy, relies on the collective behavior of all of its cells to interact with the world. In this sense, we call Loopy a robotic swarm. But Loopy can also be seen as a single robot since all the cells are connected; therefore, Loopy is also “a swarm of one.” This research could lead to adaptive robots that tailor their shapes and movements to their environments – for example, in environmental cleanup applications. Loopy is a primitive form of multicellu...... Read Full article on HadNews

Cotton is one of the most valuable crops grown in the U.S., with a harvest value of some US$7 billion yearly. It is cultivated across a crescent of 17 states stretching from Virginia to California and is used in virtually every type of clothing, as well as in medical supplies and home goods such as upholstery. Cotton grows inside a hard, fibrous case called a boll. About 100 days after planting, the bolls mature and split open, revealing thousands of fluffy white fibers inside. Each boll contains 20 to 40 seeds with fibers attached to them, which is why the cotton plant’s fruit is called seed cotton. Picking cotton manually, as is s...... Read Full article on HadNews