[ale] robots

[Jeff Hubbs]

> Presumably if the cutters cut slowly enough, the curious
> critters will have time to get out of their grip before
> any serious damage is done. And a minor nip might
> discourage further investigation.
> 
> Still, I think the blade-jam-detection-and-reverse
> plan might be better.
> 
> -- Joe

Yeah, I'm talking about real slow and unexciting movement here.  Not all
of the electrical power generated can go to the motors and electronics;
some of it has to be stored.  I can envision a failure mode where at
dusk a bot has crawled into a place that's shaded all day and therefore
could never really wake up.  I envision a two-level reserve system such
that it can run itself adequately in shade for a while but has the
tendency to break off from its usual dumb mowing state and get itself
into some sunlight.  That would take a little work, but I think it's
necessary to ensure the success of the system.

You know, it would be great to add the Tilden concepts to the GOLEM
project concepts, in which you use evolutionary principles to "grow"
progressively more effective version of bots.  In so doing, the
designers eventually lose control over the details of *how* the
"organism" obtains the desired behaviors, therefore uncannily resembling
biological systems


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