Intelligent swarms of autonomous, decentralized robots that look like insects could soon be deployed for military information-gathering and reconnaissance.

NASA researchers on developing swarms of micro "nanobots" that have "abundant flexibility" to change shape into land rovers, antennas, or other devices as needed when exploring distant worlds.

"Military brainstormers think that scores or hundreds or even a few thousand cheap robots working in concert may play an important role in future operations such as land-mine disposal or taking over buildings held by bad guys."

Using technology known as multi-modal sensor arrays, researchers from the University of Wyoming have developed small, swarming robots that have been programmed to detect and disable chemical targets in the war on terrorism.

DARPA has funded a project to equip a battalion of 120 military robots with swarm intelligence software to enable them to mimic organized insect behavior.

A review of new research on swarming, a behavior that is transforming social, work, military and even political lives worldwide, especially among the young. It is the unintended consequence of people, cell phones in hand, learning that they can coordinate instantly and leaderlessly.

An interview with Howard Rheingold on his theory that the convergence of wireless communications technologies and widely distributed networks allow swarming on a scale that has never existed before. He envisions shifts along the lines of those that began to occur when people first settled into villages and formed nation-states. "We are on the verge of a major series of social changes that are closely tied into emerging technologies," he said.