Robot fighting machines of the future should adopt the tactics used by swarming insects, says Neal Solomon of Oakland, California. Insects coordinate their activity via chemical pheromones, with one individual acting as leader. If that insect dies, another takes its place.
Such tactics are easily programmed into robots, says Solomon in US patent application 2004/30450. In his scheme, unmanned battlefield aircraft, submersibles and land vehicles (see “Wacky races”) will emulate insects, communicating by radio and following a leader until it is destroyed – and then following its replacement.
