2003 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize Winner

"Understanding nature is the key to unlocking the secrets of intelligence," says MIT graduate student James McLurkin. Intrigued by the behavioral patterns of swarm reproductive labor groups, McLurkin has developed 'swarm' microrobots based on the principles of nature to carry out cooperative, real-world tasks. An inventor who has pushed the frontier of microrobotics, McLurkin was named the 2003 winner of the $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize.

Measuring 4.5 inches, McLurkin's swarm robots are programmed to emulate the behavior of bees, with capabilities to cluster, disperse, follow and orbit. Equipped with bump sensors, a self-charger, a radio modem and an audio system, they are autonomous yet travel in a fleet. When one robot makes a discovery, it signals the group to execute the task together.

McLurkin, whose swarm robots were originally built under a team he managed at iRobot in Somerville, MA, is now continuing his focus on complex group behavior with the swarm, as part of his doctoral research at MIT. McLurkin's goal is to write software to implement behavior and see how the robots respond to one another, while creating the largest swarm of robots, thus increasing their collective power. Potential uses of the swarm include organizing groups of 20,000 robots to detect land mines, search through earthquake rubble or explore Mars.

For McLurkin's undergraduate thesis, he invented 12 cubic-inch robotic ants—the world's smallest self-contained autonomous robots, based on the characteristics of an ant colony. During the project, he kept a large container of ants on his desk to observe their roles and interactions. His robotic ants were programmed to hunt for food, send messages to each other and even play tag.

Inventing since the age of three, McLurkin's inspirations sprung from Lego® bricks, model trains, video games, BMX bicycles and his parents—who were key role models. Now a role model to many as a teacher in The Saturday Engineering Enrichment and Discovery Academy at MIT (a college preparatory program), he illustrates the fun in inventing and engineering by incorporating his favorite toys into activities and demonstrations. According to McLurkin, "It is important that teens truly understand how much fun and exciting inventing can be."

McLurkin received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from MIT in 1995, followed by his M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. Currently an MIT graduate student in computer science, he expects to receive his Ph.D. in 2007. His words of advice to aspiring inventors, "Empowerment and go."

Current Update:
In January 2008, McLurkin received the "Strong Men & Women: Excellence in Leadership" award for his headship in the field of Distributed Robotic Systems. This annual honor from energy producer Dominion is presented to nine renowned African-American role models across the country for their accomplishments and leadership.

Web Links:
McLurkin's personal web site
Invention At Play
SEED Academy
2005 Innovation Forum
Podcast: James McLurkin explores robot communities; by the Lemelson Center