Observe the testing of micro-robots to sort out the better equipped and the more intelligent

NARRATOR: These are robots that are capable of working in teams. Experts have already developed several hundred of these machines that measure mere centimeters. A colony whose members function as a whole, exhibiting a collective intelligence of sorts, as that of insect communities. This swarm of machines can coordinate collective action, flexibly and autonomously. This system's great advantage is that it needs no central control system.

MARC SZYMANSKI: "The problem with having a centrally controlled system is that if the central computer crashes, the whole system is down. Nothing works. So people are looking for ways to control a large number of autonomous robots and nature is, of course, the place we automatically look to for guidance. How is it done in nature? With swarms, like ants and bees, each individual organizes itself inside the swarm, they flourish as a collective and are able to complete larger tasks."

NARRATOR: Robots with swarming intelligence: These machines learn - as larger groups of animals do - from their community. A ground-breaking project at the Universities of Stuttgart and Karlsruhe even has these micro-robots reproducing. The scientists want to get to the point where the machines develop on their own - robot evolution of a sort. All the members of the swarm will be programmed almost identically, equipped with a kind of genetic code, if you will. They've been assigned to complete a task-based experiment, to find cheese. But first, they have to mate. This consists of them exchanging parts of their programming - as in nature, this creates new combinations. This can be good for the individual, but it can also offer disadvantages. The winners of this evolutionary exchange are better equipped - more intelligent - than the others. They immediately start navigating the labyrinth in search of cheese. Those who did best are done quickly. In the next phases of the experiment the robots that performed better can only transfer their programming to lesser robots. This gradually enhances the performance capacity of the entire swarm. This experiment with artificial intelligence reminds us of nightmare science fiction scenarios - robots who form a collective and are able to exist without human intervention. But robots remain programmed machines that could be used to help search for mines, or even help explore - and do research in - space.