The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $650,000 Convergence Accelerator Track M grant to the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) to develop a bio-inspired robotic system that can autonomously construct a floating conveyor network to transport palletized goods during flood events. This 12-month project, which commenced on January 15, 2024, seeks to address the growing threat of flooding in the New York City area by leveraging insights from slime mold behavior to craft swarm robot algorithms capable of adaptively forming a transport network in flooded urban environments. The research team plans to build prototype robots and demonstrate their ability to self-assemble a conveyor system, as well as investigate how to best integrate this technology into existing disaster relief workflows. The overall goal is to create a user-focused robotic solution that can revolutionize flood response by empowering rescue workers to operate more efficiently, thereby saving lives and safeguarding critical infrastructure.
Generated 8/13/24, 9:45 AM