| Then, when they reached the Valley of the | | | | might be assigned in the future: |
| Ants, an ant said: "Ants! Enter your | | | | |
| dwellings, so that Sulayman and his troops do | | | | Nuclear and hazardous waste cleanup with |
| not crush you unwittingly." (Qur'an, 27:18) | | | | robotic "swarms," mining (including material |
| | | | removal and search-and-rescue), mine sweeping |
| The "Valley of the Ants" refers to a special | | | | (both land and water), surveillance and |
| place and special ants. In addition, the fact | | | | sentry, planetary surface exploration and |
| that Prophet Sulayman (as) could hear the | | | | excavation. 1 |
| ants talking among themselves may contain | | | | |
| striking references to future developments in | | | | In a report by Israel A. Wagner, an expert on |
| computer technology. The present-day term | | | | ant robot technology, the ant robot projects |
| "Silicon Valley" refers to the centre of the | | | | were described in these terms: |
| world of technology. It is most significant | | | | |
| that a "valley of the ants" appears in the | | | | Ant-robots are simple physical or virtual |
| account of Prophet Sulayman's (as) life. | | | | creatures designed to cooperate in order to |
| Allah may be drawing our attention to the | | | | achieve a common goal. They are assumed to |
| advanced technology of the future. | | | | have very limited resources of energy, |
| | | | sensing and computing, and to communicate via |
| Furthermore, ants and other insect species | | | | traces left in the workspace or on the |
| are widely used in advanced technology as | | | | ground, like many insects naturally do... |
| models in robot projects and are intended to | | | | |
| serve in a wide range of areas, from the | | | | The distribution of work among multiple |
| defence industry to technology. The verse may | | | | a(ge)nts can be made by either a central |
| also be referring to these developments. | | | | controller who sends orders to the agents, or |
| | | | by an a-priori agreement on a certain |
| Latest Developments in Miniature Technology: | | | | partitioning that, if obeyed by the agents, |
| Army-Ant Robots | | | | eventually leads to a completion of the given |
| | | | mission. A third way, used throughout the |
| The best known project using ants as a model | | | | current work, is to design the behavior of |
| are the "Army-Ant Robot" projects being | | | | individuals such that cooperation will |
| carried out independently in several | | | | naturally emerge in the course of their work, |
| countries. One study being carried out by the | | | | without making a-priori decisions on the |
| Virginia Polytechnic Institute and Virginia | | | | structure of the cooperation. The specific |
| State University seeks to develop small, | | | | application that we address is covering, |
| inexpensive, and simple physically identical | | | | which is also known as exploring or |
| robots that can be used as a robot army. | | | | searching. This variety of names hints to the |
| Project officials explain these robots' | | | | many applications this problem might have: |
| functionality in the following terms: "The | | | | from cleaning the floor of a house to mapping |
| way they behave as a group, in a coordinated | | | | an unknown planet or demining a mine field. 2 |
| manner, perform a series of physical actions, | | | | |
| and take joint decisions." These robot | | | | As can be seen in these examples, an ant's |
| armies' mechanical and electrical designs | | | | social lifestyle forms the basis of many |
| have been based on the behaviour of an ant | | | | projects, and the various ant-based robot |
| community. They are called the "army-ant" | | | | technologies are providing benefits for human |
| robots because of their similarities to their | | | | beings. That is why it is so important that |
| insect counterparts. | | | | ants and their valley are referred to in the |
| | | | Qur'anic account of Prophet Sulayman's (as) |
| The "army-ant" robot system was originally | | | | life. The term "ants" in the verse may refer |
| designed as a "material-carrying system." | | | | to an army consisting of robots, future |
| According to this scenario, several small | | | | developments in robot technology, and how |
| robots would be charged with jointly lifting | | | | robots will play an important role in human |
| and carrying objects. It was later decided | | | | life. For example, they may perform many |
| that they could be used for other tasks. One | | | | arduous tasks and thus make people's lives |
| report describes other tasks to which they | | | | more comfortable. (Allah knows best. |