The Ant and the Trap: Evolution of Ant-Inspired Obstacle Avoidance in a Multi-Agent Robotic System

Interest in swarm robotics, particularly those modeled on biological systems, has been increasing with each passing year. We created the iAnt robot as a platform to test how well an ant-inspired robotic swarm could collect resources in an unmapped environment. Although swarm robotics is still a loosely defined field, one of the included hallmarks is multiple robots cooperating to complete a given task. The use of multiple robots means increased cost for research, scaling often linearly with the number of robots. We set out to create a system with the previously described capabilities while lowering the entry cost by building simple, cheap robots able to operate outside of a dedicated lab environment. Obstacle avoidance has long been a necessary component of robot systems. Avoiding collisions is also a difficult problem and has been studied for many years. As part of moving the iAnt further towards the real-world we needed a method of obstacle avoidance. Our hypothesis is that use of biological methods including evolution, stochastic movements and stygmergic trails into the iAnt Central Place Foraging Algorithm (CPFA) could result in robot behaviors suited to navigating obstacle-filled environments. The result is a modification of the CPFA to include pheromone trails, CPFA-Trails or CPFAT. This thesis first demonstrates the low-cost, simple and robust design of the physical iAnt robot. Secondly we will demonstrate the adaptability of the the system to evolve and succeed in an obstacle-laden environment

Wissenschaftler, Unternehmer, Mäzen, NS-Opfer : zur Erinnerung an Arthur von Weinberg (1860 –1943)

Im öffentlichen Bewusstsein sind die Brüder Arthur und Carl von Weinberg vielleicht wenig präsent. Aber bei den ehemaligen »Cassellanern«, in der Universität, im »Senckenberg«, im »Städel«, in der Frankfurter Gesellschaft für Handel, Industrie und Wissenschaft, bei den Leitern von Zoo oder Palmengarten, auf dem Rennplatz in Niederrad oder im dortigen Golfclub weiß man sehr wohl, wer die Brüder von Weinberg waren. Es gibt auch ausreichend Literatur, in denen ihre Verdienste hervorgehoben werden. Anlässlich der Übergabe des Schreibtischs von Arthur von Weinberg an die Universität sei versucht, die Geschichte der Familie Weinberg, insbesondere die von Arthur von Weinberg, aus fünf verschiedenen Perspektiven wenigstens anzudeuten

Lessons from the Past? Rule of Law, Institutional Arrangements, Constitutional Review

After the experiences of National Socialism and Fascism, Western Europe increasingly turned to the classical constitutional state, fundamental rights and the ideal of the constitutional state, most recently Spain and Portugal. After 1990 the individual states of the former Soviet empire followed. At the same time, however, European integration dissolved the traditional framework of the nation-state. Although a European constitution has emerged in recent decades, its impact on integration is weak. At the same time, globalization is making land borders disappear in part. Goods and services, information, data and finances lose their old ties to the territories. This changes the role of the national constitutional state, even though it is still solely responsible for the basics. New transnational forms of the constitutional state are missing or still unusual. Developing them is a key task for the next generation

The crushing of Syria's civil actors: survival of grassroots structures is crucial for country's future

The Syrian regime’s strategy of using sieges and bombardments to force rebel-held areas to surrender is bringing it closer to its goal of eliminating independent civil-society engagement and alternative governance structures. Over the past six years, civil structures – that is, non-state non-military organisations and institutions – have been established and consolidated across Syria in areas out of government control to organise local affairs and provide the most essential community services. With the international debate on Syria concentrating on local military developments and regional power struggles, Syria’s civil actors have been shifted out of focus. However, the marginalisation of these local and decentralised actors and structures represents a major risk for Syria’s future. They not only constitute the bedrock for implementing any potential political agreement on the ground, they are also crucial for providing Syrians with an alternative to so-called Islamic State (IS) and other Islamist groups, which cannot be fought successfully by military means alone. (Autorenreferat