Wired: LinuxWorld Opens Hunting Season

“Robots will be hunting penguins at the LinuxWorld Conference
and Expo this week.

“The robots aren’t part of some nefarious plot to replace
Linux’s cuddly mascot, Tux, with a fiercer emblem. The bots will be
conducting demonstration search-and-rescue missions.

“During the demos at LinuxWorld, the Linux-running Centibots,
developed by SRI International and funded by the U.S. Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency, will be shown a stuffed penguin,
which will then be hidden within an obstacle course. The first
team, composed of mapping robots with laser-range finders, will
scan and chart the maze-like course and attempt to locate the
hidden penguin. They will then issue orders over a wireless command
center network to the team of tracking robots. The tracker team
will then be set loose to search for and, hopefully, rescue the
beleaguered penguin…”

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