Nasa-ants

We have been interested in ANTS for some time, and were looking at this technology in development by NASA at the start of the IaaC2 competition in 2007. This time around ANTS is being looked at again for the Huron Rivershed project: autonomous swarms. This technology offers a multitude of opportunities for building technology in architecture and the built environment. This technology is currently also being developed for use by soldiers in the ARMY, and if technology stays true to Moore’s law, the rather bulky construction, will undoubtedly become more lean and flexible. As the project unfolds more information will come available as to our take on the building system and it’s use in our project. –jon bailey

‘ANTS is an acronym for Autonomous Nano-Technology Swarm. ANTS technology builds on and advances recent trends in robotics, artificial intelligence, and materials processing to minimize costs and maximize effectiveness of space operations. A tetrahedron is a pyramid with three sides and a base. The tetrahedral pyramid shape is a fundamentally stable structure and the simplest space-filling solid. The short answer is by moving the center of mass in a direction just off to the side of a target in the direction of a tetrahedral side until the tetrahedron tips over in that direction, and then moving the center of mass in the direction of an adjacent tetrahedral side just off to the other side of the target until the tetrahedron tips over in the other direction. The center of mass is moved off-center by lengthening and tilting above ground struts in the direction of alternating adjacent sides, creating a flip/flop motion.’ -NASA