MONDAY 24 FEBRUARY 2014 • [email protected] • www.thepeninsulaqatar.com • 4455 7741 inside David O Russell weaves Oscar CAMPUS • Noble International pattern from his School holds own reinvention 7th Annual Day P | 4 P | 8-9 COMMUNITY • Total staff mark Marhaba Day in traditional Qatari style P | 5 FOOD • Peanut recipes: A culinary winter cure-all P | 7 HEALTH • Hookah is not harmless, say experts P | 11 TERMITES INSPIRE TECHNOLOGY • Widescreen TVs, sliding steering wheels: The future of driverless cars ROBOTS P | 12 The termite, a wood-eating nemesis of buildings and homes, Learn Arabic has inspired a new batch of construction robots. The automated • Learn commonly machines, each about the size of a small brick, can work as a used Arabic words and their meanings team to build any predefined structure given to them — without a leader or step-by-step instructions, as termites are thought to do. P | 13 2 PLUS | MONDAY 24 FEBRUARY 2014 COVER STORY Termites inspire robots that can build houses By Meeri Kim actions by assessing what work has thought to create huge, towering nests. biologists even believe they provide he termite, typically reviled already been done and adding to it. So, “Around here, you hear about the colony with air conditioning and as the wood-eating neme- say, the first robot puts down a block. termites destroying buildings,” said atmosphere control. sis of buildings and homes, As it leaves the site, another comes study author and Harvard University Werfel and his colleagues wanted to has ironically inspired a along and senses the block’s location. computer scientist Justin Werfel. use robotics to harness the power of new batch of construc- Based on this local information, as well “But in Africa and Australia, they stigmergy — a process where agents Ttion robots. The automated machines, as knowledge about the end product, are known for building enormous, communicate indirectly by sensing each about the size of a small brick, can it decides to put down its own load on complicated mounds of soil.” and modifying the immediate world work as a team to build any predefined top of the first. These oddly shaped towers can be around them. structure given to them — without a Such a process keeps going — ide- as tall as 40 feet — about the equiva- “They’re all independent, with each leader or step-by-step instructions, as ally with many robots toiling away at lent of a three-story building. And termite is doing what it wants to,” termites are thought to do. once to finish the job faster — until while they may look like big piles he said. “It’s not like they’re getting Instead of communicating directly the structure is complete. This decen- of dirt, their simple exterior hides assigned instructions by the queen — with one another or following a central tralised method of construction is a complex network of ever-evolv- they are just reacting to what they command, the robots coordinate their very similar to how the tiny termite is ing tunnels and chambers. Some encounter.” PLUS | MONDAY 24 FEBRUARY 2014 3 Each termite is an organism of fairly low complexity, but, using stigmergy, a colony is capable of building a highly complex structure. So the team started with this simple framework: Each robot must have its own basic brain and sensors, as well as be programmed with certain “traffic rules” it must obey. Each termite is an organism of fairly low complexity, but, using stigmergy, a colony is capable of building a highly complex structure. So the team started with this simple framework: Each robot must have its own basic brain and sensors, as well as be programmed with certain “traffic rules” it must obey. The sensors enable them to see bricks and robots next to them, and the traffic rules depend on the final random component involved; given the programming termite-like robots over far, his investigations have found that structure. They prevent robots from same starting place, a colony will build 15 years ago but didn’t start hacking they may help gas exchange more than placing bricks in places where they a slightly different structure every away at the problem until 2003. temperature regulation. might easily collapse, or constructing time. But for constructing a house, for Years later, he met study co-author “The authors have a proof of concept a scenario where a brick would have instance, we would want the robots to Kirstin Petersen, a robotics engineer of a system that exhibits collective to be squished in between two others. follow a specific blueprint. So Werfel who had independently worked on a behavior, without a leader, using only Each robot, about 8 inches long, created the option for a user to input collaborative construction project for local information,” said roboticist consists of internal metal gears and a picture of a predefined structure, and her master’s thesis in Denmark. The Vijay Kumar of the University of hardware as well as 3-D printed the robots will go to town on building two came together, each using their Pennsylvania in an email, who was not parts. The bricks themselves are also it. individual expertise to make the little involved with the study. “This can have specially made in a way that helps the He envisions potential applications insect-inspired robots a reality. far reaching consequences as we try to robots climb and align them better. for his easily programmable team Then a few years ago, they teamed create swarms of robots for search and “In our system, each robot doesn’t of robots to work in places where up with termite expert Scott Turner rescue, and for first response.” know what others are doing or how sending humans would be dangerous to try and get a deeper look inside the His lab has developed agile, flying many others there are — and it doesn’t and expensive — underwater or on insect’s head. Turner, a biologist at quadrotor robots capable of tightly matter,” Werfel said. Mars, for instance. Or using robots the SUNY College of Environmental controlled acrobatics, and he has The main difference from the real- for tedious tasks, like building levies Science and Forestry, has a lab in also experimented with automated life insect is that termites don’t have a with sandbags. Namibia where he hopes to discover construction. desired end product. Rather, there is a Werfel came up with the idea of the purpose behind the mounds. So WP-Bloomberg 4 PLUS | MONDAY 24 FEBRUARY 2014 CAMPUS Awsaj Academy hosts QU’s ITS Department ‘Teachers Teaching awarded ISO/IEC 27001 Teachers’ workshops atar University’s Information Technology Services wsaj Academy hosted the sec- QDepartment (ITS) has attained ond round of Qatar Reads’ ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation, a world- Ahugely successful ‘Teachers recognised standard for information Teaching Teachers’ workshops (TTT) security management systems (ISMS). this week, attended by nearly 150 This comes in recognition of the teachers and teaching assistants from department’s successful establishment different schools across Doha. of an ISMS as part of QU’s commit- Formed 15 years ago, Qatar Reads is ment to protecting the confidentiality, a non-profit teacher-directed organisa- integrity and availability of information tion that seeks to improve the teach- of all its members. In implementing the ing of literacy throughout Doha. To system, the department adopted a risk accomplish its mission, the organisation management-based approach to infor- runs two ‘Teachers Teaching Teachers’ mation security that empowers QU’s events every year. Each event is then administrative authorities to oversee hosted by one of its member schools Dina Zebib, Awsaj Academy and control the handling of its informa- with Awsaj Academy responsible for Teacher, giving a presentation. tion assets. The ITS department plans the latest event. to pursue compliance with the Qatar Eight teachers from Awsaj Government Information Assurance Academy, along with other teachers (GIA) policy whose features are consid- from Qatar Academy, The American by Lamya Beydoun and Jeff Coleman. students were fantastic at helping the ered to have more specific and stringent School of Doha and The International Cherie Litwiller, an Academic participants find their way around the controls than the international standard. School of London Qatar presented a Affairs Senior Coordinator at Qatar school.” Commenting on the accredita- total of 18 sessions. The Awsaj pres- Foundation Pre University Office, was In addition to the ‘Teachers tion success, Information Security entations, which were conducted one of the many attendees impressed Teaching Teachers’ event, Qatar Manager Mohamad Eljazzar said: “It mainly in Arabic, included ‘Discipline by the workshops. Reads invites authors and illustrators highlights the level of commitment of the Secondary Classroom’ by Issam Cherie said: “I had a great time from around the world to Doha, to Qatar University to ensuring optimum Qased; ‘Amazing Words’ by Manal Al at the conference. It was really well visit the students of its three mem- security of its information as well as Absi and Amal Al Hafi: Awsaj way of organised and the sessions that I ber schools: Qatar Academy, Awsaj the processes involved in handling it”, teaching (Direct Instruction) by Reem attended were excellent. Each ses- Academy and The American School noting that accreditation does not Al Ahmed and Eiman Ismaeel; How to sion provided great hands on activi- of Doha to encourage learning and guarantee the security of information. Motivate Even the Most Challenging ties that could be implemented into creativity. The Peninsula Students by Dina Zebib and Coaching the classroom right away. Plus the The Peninsula Noble International School holds 7th Annual Day oble International School (NIS) organised the 7th NAnnual Day recently at the open air auditorium on its Abu Hamour Campus.