San Francisco Chronicle: Linux on a Mission

“It took two robots five minutes, more or less, to locate a
penguin at Moscone Center on Wednesday.

“Granted, any idiot — human or animatronic — could have found
a penguin there pretty easily this week, since the bird is a
ubiquitous icon featured in the logo of the LinuxWorld Conference
and Expo. Conference-goers carry wires with foam penguins bobbing
at the ends, inflated and stuffed penguins are piled on most flat
surfaces, and two-dimensional penguins adorn shirts and bags all
over the trade show.

“But these robots are no idiots. They’re part of a
government-funded Silicon Valley research project aiming to create
a 100-robot swarm that could help rescue hostages, detect chemical
attacks or remove people from burning buildings…”

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