Human construction projects are generally centrally planned. People in leadership roles supervise how everything is put together, and builders aware of the overall progress. But termites and other animals go about building in a different way, working independently

1. TERMES
TERMITE INSPIRED ROBOTS THAT CAN
BUILD FOR US…
TERMES 1

2. CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION
2. INSPIRATION
3. CONSTRUCTORS OF THE
FUTURE
4. APPLICATION
5. SPECIFICATIONS
6. KEY IDEA
7. ADVANTAGES
8. REFERANCES
TERMES 2

3. 1. INTRODUCTION
Human construction projects are generally
centrally planned.
People in leadership roles supervise how
everything is put together, and builders
aware of the overall progress.
But termites and other animals go about
building in a different way, working
independently.
TERMES 3

4. Collectively, the insects can create
a mound much larger than
themselves.
“They do all of their coordination
indirectly, by changing their shared
environment.” - Justim Werfel
TERMES 4

5. 2. INSPIRATION
This is a six meter walk-in solid timber
structure made up by the namibian
termite mounds.
TERMES 5

6. INTERNATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL AT LONDON
TERMES 6

7. 3. CONSTRUCTORS OF THE
FUTURE
The first thing that comes to mind
when you think about termites is
probably their destructive nature.
However, instead of tearing down
foundations, these robots are
designed to construct structures
instead.
TERMES 7

8. ROBOT(NAMED KALI) BUILDING STAIRS
TERMES 8

9. 4. APPLICATIONS
For construction
projects that are
too dangerous for
humans such as:
• UNDERWATER
RESEARCH STATIONS.
• OUTER SPACE
CONSTRUCTION.
• BUILDING LEVEES OUT
OF SANDBAGS IN
FLOOD ZONES.
TERMES 9

10. 5. ROBOT’S
SPECIFICATIONS
These robots are small : 4.7 inches high.
Footprint of about 4 * 7 inches.
Weight of each robot : 4.5 – 4.7 kilograms.
The “bricks” that they can manipulate are made
of expanded urethane foam.
• Size bigger than these critters : 8.5 * 8.5 * 2 inches.
TERMES 10

11. 6. KEY IDEA
Robots obtain information about where bricks have been
attached only through direct inspection.
They have four types of sensors, a pattern recognition
system , acomposed of seven infrared sensors, can
detect black and white patterns on the bricks and helps
with navigation.
In addition to tactile sensing, the robots have a pattern
recognition system, an accelerometer to sense tilt, and
five ultrasound sonar units to detect other robots and help
maintain distance from the perimeter of the structure.
TERMES 11

12. 7. ADVANTAGES
A decentralized system of robots has
some advantages over a centrally
planned methd of building.
“IF HALF THE COLONY GETS EATEN BY
AN AARDVARK, THE REST CAN CARRY
ON.”
- JUSTIN WERFEL
TERMES 12

13.  Locomotion possible on different
terrains as well as different structures.
 Autonomous navigation.
 Multi robot simulation.
 High-Risk free constructions possible.
 A cheaper overview in field of
construction.
 Wide applications in the subject of
construction in outer space.
 Each unit is entirely expendable
allowing others to simply carry on the
work regardless of losses.
TERMES 13

14. 8. REFERANCES
1. www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-26025566
2. www.cnn.com/2014/02/13/tech/innovation/termite-robots-
aaas
3. www.stuff.co.nz/technology/gadgets/.../termites-inspire-
builder-robots
4. http://www.engineering.com/DesignerEdge/DesignerEdgeA
rticles/ArticleID/7169/Autonomous-Termite-Inspired-Robots-
That-Build-Like-Mad.aspx
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Termite-inspired_robots
6. TERMES: An Autonomous Robotic System for Three-
Dimensional Collective Construction, Kirstin Petersen,
Radhika Nagpal, Justin Werfel, Robotics: Science and
Systems Conference (RSS), 2011.
7. Distributed Multi-Robot Algorithms for the TERMES 3D
Collective Construction System, Justin Werfel, Kirstin
Petersen, Radhika Nagpal, Workshop on Reconfigurable
Modular Robotics, at IEEE/RSJ Intl. Conf. on Intelligent
Robots and Systems (IROS), 2011.
TERMES 14

15. THANK YOU!!
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technology and science)
TERMES 15