From Formica

Formica is an open-source swarm robotics project. This website started with the discovery that there are a number of people from around the globe who are interested in building their own swarm robots.

The hope is that this website will form the hub for a thriving community of open-source robot developers.

Origins

The Formica project was started by Stephen English, Jeffrey Gough, Alexis Johnson, Rob Spanton and Joanna Sun whilst doing the Biologically-Inspired Robotics Module at the University of Southampton. This was a 10 week project, running parallel to a number of other modules, that contributed to the group-members' MEng degrees.

The original philosophy behind the Formica robotics project was that the number of robots in a swarm should be maximised by reducing complexity and thus manufacturing costs. This philosophy was initially settled upon because of budgetary constraints and, once a functioning swarm had been realised, became an important feature of the swarm.

One of the first prototype Formica robots (shown on right) was constructed from bits and pieces scavenged from the house of Steve, Jeff and Rob.