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A newly granted U.S. patent describes a system where heterogeneous robots and sensors coordinate using minimal, high-value data exchange, forming a distributed “collective intelligence” network.

Chinese Scientists Bioengineering Plants With Firefly Genes to Glow, in Effort to Light Cities at Night The bioluminescent flora were created by splicing genes from fireflies and glowing fungi into the plant cells, allowing them to emit a soft glow.

[Unverified] Reports indicate that SWARM Biotactics has conducted trials and begun supplying bioelectronic insect swarms for reconnaissance, combining living organisms with sensors and coordinated control systems.

Researchers built modular “SGbots” that communicate locally and collectively adjust their shape—blooming or retracting—to regulate sunlight in real-world window tests.

Georgia Tech researchers developed swarms of simple robotic particles that coordinate and self-organize without electronics, software, or sensing, relying entirely on physical design and local interactions.

By encoding interaction rules directly into physical structure, researchers showed that coordinated group behavior can emerge without digital control, sensors, or centralized systems.

Researchers at Tufts University have developed a biomimetic coating that changes color when struck, revealing both the location and approximate strength of an impact without needing embedded electronics.

Sparxell is on a mission to revolutionise the world of industrial colourants. Its patented technology uses cellulose from wood pulp to create structural colour – the same principle that creates iridescent butterfly wings – eliminating petroleum-based chemicals, titanium dioxide and toxic heavy metals and minerals.

This moth-wing-inspired acoustic technology is a strong near-term applicability story because the biological idea is being turned into ultra-thin sound absorption for real interior environments.

In the future, tiny flying robots could be deployed to aid in the search for survivors trapped beneath the rubble after a devastating earthquake.