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Related story: Robotic Construction Crew Rolls Up Its Sleeves

Robot Work Crews

Researchers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., recently demonstrated the first use of multiple rovers that work tightly in sync to perform tasks such as coordinated grasping, lifting and moving of an extended payload, while navigating through obstacles on natural terrain. During recent tests in which the deployment of a solar power station was simulated, two such cooperating rovers autonomously approached, gripped and carried a 2.5-meter (8-foot) long container over distances of more than 50 meters (164 feet). Although work on the rovers is in the early stages, the underlying multi-robot cooperation technologies appear essential to building outposts for a sustained human and/or robotic presence on Mars and the creation of large surface science networks.

More information is available at: http://prl.jpl.nasa.gov/projects/rwc/rwc_index.html