Rover (1988)

“Run, Robot, Run,” empowered McLurkin to roll out his first robot. McLurkin read this multi-series article, from the monthly Atari computer software and programming magazine, Antic, from which he learned to program while a high school student. Armed with this knowledge, his cousin soon introduced him to electronics, which gave him the tools to embark upon his first construction of a robot. Devoid of a robotics parts kit and instruction set, and relying on electrical text books, Rover was McLurkin’s creation using casing from one of his remote-control cars and a store-bought 6502 processor. Rover had two critical functions: it had an eight character alphanumeric display panel that showed a number that was one higher than what was inputted via its keypad, and it was equipped with a mechanical pump powered by an electric motor, which worked as a water gun.

Stomper and Tracker (1989 - 1991)

Designed in tandem, McLurkin first brainstormed a prototype for a very small robot - Stomper - as a high school senior. Lacking necessary tools and resources, he completed Stomper when he arrived at Rodney Brooks’ Mobile Robot (Mobot) Lab at MIT. The sophisticated Tracker, McLurkin’s first full-metal robot built from scratch (and not scrounged parts), followed once he learned to use the Artificial Intelligence Lab’s machine shop at MIT.

The illustrious silver-clad Tracker, which has the semblance of a flattened bull-dozer, serves as a transporter for Stomper. It has a docking bay with a door that stores the small purple Stomper, built from the modified toy truck that bears its name. Each duo member has a small microcontroller (microprocessor that has circuitry to control all input and output, enabling robotics) and simple infrared communications system for tracking each other’s location.

The Dwarves (1992)

McLurkin’s first foray into cooperative robotics was the Dwarves - seven ambitiously designed palm-sized robots. Conceived as a project while employed by the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program at the MIT Artificial Intelligence (AI) Lab (as a sophomore), the Dwarves were intended to study cooperative construction among a small robot community. They had two interchangeable top pieces to function as a bulldozer or backhoe for sand construction. Implementing such labor among the group, however, proved to be a difficult challenge. The Dwarves were a classic case of the “Second System Syndrome,” which is often the consequence when junior engineers complete their second robot and they are flushed with hubris.
“Without adult supervision, that second system is almost always over-ambitious…”

Goliath (1993)

In 1993 while still working at the AI Lab, McLurkin built what was probably the world’s smallest autonomous robot - Goliath, sizing up to approximately one inch per side. Goliath’s moves were powered by motors that were used to cause vibrations in pagers. It was also manned with bump sensors and photodectors to derive sensory input.

The Ants (1993 – 1995)

Modeling robots after insects was dreamed up at the Mobot Lab, which at the time was themed on biological principles. For his undergraduate thesis project, McLurkin transferred his love of nature to artificial intelligence. He was always intrigued by ants, which evolved from watching Discovery Channel programs with his parents as a kid to reading about them as an undergraduate student. Marinating in biologically inspired ideas and notions of small-sized applications in the Mobot Lab spurred The Ants, twelve robots that worked cooperatively and functioned as natural insects.

Measuring slightly over one inch per side, The Ants have 17 sensors, which act as feelers and allow them to touch to find food, communicate using infrared transmissions, and navigate toward sun light. A small computer programs The Ants’ motors - two motors to move and one motor to act as mandibles for eating.

McLurkin housed a container of real ants on his work desk to closely monitor and observe the behaviors of ants, while he built his own colony. In addition to programming The Ants to emulate natural insect behaviors such as hunting for food, these autonomous creatures were also instructed to play a game of tag.

Hopette (1996)

Named after the famous Rocky series of mars rover prototypes from NASA Jet Propulsion Lab (Rocky -> Rockette (a smaller Rocky) -> Hopette (a smaller Rocky that hops), Hopette was designed to study mobility issues for 10-gram microrovers. Videos if this robot in action can be found in the robotography images directory.

Solette (1996)

Named after the famous Rocky series of mars rover prototypes from JPL (Rocky -> Rockette (a smaller Rocky) -> Solette (a solar-powered smaller Rocky), Solette was designed to study power issues for 10-gram microrovers.

The Swarm (2001-Today)

Further development of autonomous robots modeled after insects succeeded with The Swarm, which focused on bees. The Swarm was crafted on a much larger scale to research the cooperative efforts of a fleet of 100 or more robots. Read about McLurkin’s Swarm Research.