A line of 334 self-designed robots: that is the new world record for the longest chain of robots ever, which was set during the Nerdland Festival in Brussels this weekend.
Researchers and academics from the Brussels university VUB and Leuven-based digitech organisation IMEC have won themselves a place in Guinness World Records after making the longest chain of robots ever. The chain was created at the Nerdland Festival, Belgium's largest open-air science festival, together with attendants, who helped assemble, programme and decorate the robots.
"Without their help, we certainly wouldn't have been able to reach 334 robots and therefore no record," VUB researcher Ellen Roels said. The previous record was held by a school in Hong Kong with a chain of 255 robots and dates back to 2007.
Bringing robots to the people
The robots used to break the record were designed by BruBotics, VUB's Brussels Human Robotics Research Centre and respond to light with the sensors built into their systems, which was an important factor, because to achieve the record, the robots had to respond to something in their environment.
"The more light, the faster the little arms and heads move. They also have a heart that can change colour via adjustments to the base code," Roels explained.
The long robot chain stood on a pedestal made by the joinery shop of the VUB infrastructure department. Credit: VUB
With its record, the VUB research group BruBotics aims to bring robots closer to people, as visitors were allowed to roll up their sleeves and work on the robots themselves, giving them a better idea about what the technology actually entails.
"Building a robot is a multidisciplinary activity that brings together technical, social, human and medical sciences. We wanted to make that clear with the world record. Together we can achieve greatest things and everyone can contribute based on their strengths," said VUB/IMEC professor Bram Vanderborght.
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"Our objective was mainly to introduce participants to robots in an interactive way, and we are proud that we succeeded," Vanderborght concluded. The tower of robots will soon be on display at Technopolis, the "do-centre" for science and technology in Mechelen.
