http://phys.org/news/2017-01-pentagon-successfully-micro-drone-swarm.html
The Pentagon may soon be unleashing a 21st-century version of
locusts on its adversaries after officials on Monday said it had
successfully tested a swarm of 103 micro-drones.
The important step in the development of new autonomous weapon
systems was made possible by improvements in artificial intelligence,
holding open the possibility that groups of small robots could act
together under human direction.
Military strategists have high hopes for such drone swarms that would
be cheap to produce and able to overwhelm opponents’ defenses with
their great numbers.
The test of the world’s largest micro-drone swarm in California in
October included 103 Perdix micro-drones measuring around six inches (16
centimeters) launched from three F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets, the
Pentagon said in a statement.
“The micro-drones demonstrated advanced swarm behaviors such as
collective decision-making, adaptive formation flying and self-healing,”
it said.
“Perdix are not pre-programmed synchronized individuals,
they are a collective organism, sharing one distributed brain for
decision-making and adapting to each other like swarms in nature,” said
William Roper, director of the Pentagon’s Strategic Capabilities Office.
“Because every Perdix communicates and collaborates with every other
Perdix, the swarm has no leader and can gracefully adapt to drones
entering or exiting the team.”
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