View source for S-bot mobile robot

{{Infobox information appliance
| name         = S-bot
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| image        = Sbots.jpg
| caption      = S-bot mobile robot.
| developer    = LIS (Laboratory of Intelligent Systems<ref>{{cite web|title=EPFL - LIS|url=http://lis.epfl.ch/}}</ref>)
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| lifespan     = between 2001 and 2004
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The '''s-bot''' is a small (15&nbsp;cm) [[Differential wheeled robot|differential wheeled]] (with additional [[Kégresse track|tracks]]) [[mobile robot]] developed at the LIS (Laboratory of Intelligent Systems<ref>{{cite web|title=EPFL - LIS|url=http://lis.epfl.ch/}}</ref>) at the [[École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne|EPFL]] in [[Lausanne]], [[Switzerland]] between 2001 and 2004. Targeted to swarm robotics, a field of [[artificial intelligence]], it was developed within the Swarm-bots project, a Future and Emerging Technologies project coordinated by Prof. [[Marco Dorigo]]. Built by a small team of engineers ([[Francesco Mondada]], [[André Guignard]], [[Michael Bonani]] and [[Stéphane Magnenat]]) of the group of Prof. [[Dario Floreano]] and with the help of student projects, it is considered at the time of completion as one of the most complex and featured robots ever for its size. The s-bot was ranked on position 39 in the list of “The 50 Best Robots Ever” (fiction or real) by the [[Wired (magazine)|Wired magazine]] in 2006.<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Capps|first1=Robert|title=The 50 Best Robots Ever|url=https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.01/robots.html|magazine=Wired|issue=1|date=January 2006|volume=14}}</ref>

== Purpose and use of the s-bot ==
This is a research robot, aimed at studying teamwork and inter-robot communication. To do this, the s-bots have several special abilities:
* Using their gripper (red in the photos), they can connect. Then they can, for instance, pass over gap and steps where a single robot would have failed.
* Using their integrated [[force]] [[sensor]], they can coordinate to retrieve an object to a certain location  without the use of explicit communication. This is the way [[ants]]  bring preys to the nest.
Of course, all other sensors and actuators, also found on other robots, can be used to do teamwork such as food foraging.

== Technical details ==
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Sbot mobile robot gripper closeup.jpeg|thumb|Closeup of s-bot fixed gripper, used to hold and lift another robot.]] -->

=== General ===
* 12&nbsp;cm diameter
* 15&nbsp;cm height
* 660 g
* 2 [[LiIon]] batteries
* 1 hour autonomy moving

=== Control ===
* 400 [[MHz]] custom [[XScale]] [[CPU]] board, 64 MB of [[random-access memory|RAM]], 32 MB of [[flash memory]]
* 12 distributed [[PIC microcontroller]] for low-level handling
* Custom [[Linux]] port running Familiar
* [[Wi-Fi]]

[[Image:Sbot mobile robot passing step.jpeg|thumb|Image of the s-bot mobile robot climbing a step in the swarm-bot configuration.]]

=== Actuators ===
* 2 treels{{typo help inline|reason=similar to streels|date=November 2019}}
* turret rotation
* rigid gripper elevation
* rigid gripper
* 3 axis side arm
* side arm gripper

=== Sensors ===
* 15 [[infrared]] sensors around the turret
* 4 [[infrared]] sensors below the robot
* position sensors on all degrees of freedom except gripper
* force and speed sensors on all major degrees of freedom
* 2 humidity sensors
* 2 temperature sensors
* 8 ambient light sensors around the turret
* 4 [[accelerometer]]s, which allow three-[[dimension]]al orientation
* 1 640×480 [[digital camera|camera]] sensor. Custom optic based on spherical [[mirror]] provides omnidirectional vision
* 4 [[microphones]]
* 2 axis structure deformation sensors
* optical barrier in grippers

[[Image:Sbot mobile robot by night.jpg|thumb|S-bot by night showing color ring.]]

=== LEDS ===
* 8 × RGB [[Light-emitting diodes]] around the turret
* red [[Light-emitting diodes]] in grippers

[[Image:Sbot mobile robot passing gap.jpeg|thumb|Several s-bots in swarm-bot configuration passing over a gap.]]

== Special abilities ==
S-bots can connect to other s-bots to create a bigger structure known as the swarm-bot. To do so, they attach together using their rigid gripper and ring. An s-bot has sufficient force to lift another one.

== Integrated software ==
The s-bot features a custom Linux port running the [[Familiar Linux]] distribution. All sensors and actuators are easily accessible through a simple [[C (programming language)|C]] [[application programming interface|API]].

== References ==
{{reflist}}
;Notes
{{refbegin}}
* [[Francesco Mondada|Mondada, F.]], [[André Guignard|Guignard, A.]], [[Michael Bonani|Bonani, M.]], Bär, D., Lauria, M. and [[Dario Floreano|Floreano, D.]] (2003) '''SWARM-BOT: From Concept to Implementation'''. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems 2003, IEEE Press. pp.&nbsp;1626–1631. [http://lis.epfl.ch/publications/856.pdf PDF] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050512032954/http://lis.epfl.ch/publications/856.pdf |date=2005-05-12 }} [http://lis.epfl.ch/bibtex.php?ID=364 BibTeX]
* [[Francesco Mondada|Mondada, F.]], Pettinaro, G. C., [[André Guignard|Guignard, A.]], Kwee, I., [[Dario Floreano|Floreano, D.]], Deneubourg, J.-L., Nolfi, S. and Gambardella, L.M., Dorigo, M. (2004) '''SWARM-BOT: a New Distributed Robotic Concept'''. Autonomous Robots, special Issue on Swarm Robotics, Volume 17, Issue 2–3, September - November 2004, Pages 193 - 221. [http://lis.epfl.ch/publications/swarmbot-hardware-final-lr.pdf PDF] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051028145309/http://lis.epfl.ch/publications/swarmbot-hardware-final-lr.pdf |date=2005-10-28 }} [http://lis.epfl.ch/bibtex.php?ID=365 BibTeX]
* [[Marco Dorigo]], V. Trianni, E. Sahin, T. H. Labella, R. Gross, G. Baldassarre, S. Nolfi, J.-L. Deneubourg, [[Francesco Mondada|F. Mondada]], [[Dario Floreano|D. Floreano]] & [[Luca Maria Gambardella|L. M. Gambardella]] (2004). '''Evolving Self-Organizing Behaviors for a Swarm-bot'''. Autonomous Robots, 17 (2–3): 223–245. [http://lis.epfl.ch/publications/swarmbot-control-lr.pdf PDF] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051028154242/http://lis.epfl.ch/publications/swarmbot-control-lr.pdf |date=2005-10-28 }} [http://lis.epfl.ch/bibtex.php?ID=395 BibTex]
* [http://www.swarm-bots.org/index.php?main=2&sub=21 Peer-reviewed scientific publication record] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071010215548/http://www.swarm-bots.org/index.php?main=2&sub=21 |date=2007-10-10 }}
* [http://www.swarm-bots.org/index.php?main=2&sub=24 General public press coverage] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071007232734/http://www.swarm-bots.org/index.php?main=2&sub=24 |date=2007-10-07 }}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.swarm-bots.org/ Swarm-bots project homepage] - The project in which the s-bot was developed.
* [http://www.cordis.lu/ist/fet Future and Emerging Technologies] - The IST program in which the swarm-bots project takes place.
* [http://www.cordis.lu/ist Information Society Technologies] - The European Union research activity in which the FET program takes place.
* [http://lis.epfl.ch LIS] - The lab where the s-bot was developed.
* [http://lis.epfl.ch/research/projects/SwarmBots/index.php Swarmbots page at LIS] - Pictures and video of the s-bot

[[Category:Hobbyist robots]]
[[Category:Differential wheeled robots]]
[[Category:2004 robots]]
[[Category:Robots of Switzerland]]
[[Category:Multi-robot systems]]
[[Category:Tracked robots]]
[[Category:Micro robots]]