Nissan announced Thursday [press release in English] that it has developed robots that are able to move in a group without colliding into each other. Much like a school of fish, the so-called Eporo can also avoid obstacles standing in their way safely. Nissan claims this is the first time the world sees robots that are able to show group behavior.
The company doesn’t necessarily plan to commercialize the cute little robots themselves but aims at employing the underlying technology in their future vehicles. Obviously, the experience gained in the process of designing the Eporo could be used for vehicles that could communicate with each other to avoid collisions. Another potential side effect, according to Nissan, would be that the technology could reduce the number of traffic congestions in the future.
Nissan presented the BR23C robot car, Eporo’s first version, back in September 2008. The general public will be able to see a group of six Eporos next week during the CEATEC 2009 that will take place just outside Tokyo.