People of all ages love robots that express behaviors. Like the toy Furby, or the movie Batteries Not Included, or Short Circuit, people like anthropomorphic robots. I think Harvard's Kilobot should be available for purchase. Not only a great way to learn about electronics, programming, and robotics, give children and adults access to the inexpensive Kilobot, $15 each, but a great way to see some rather innovative uses from the masses. Until then, we have to see what the researchers can do.
Like John Conway's Game of Life, a set number of rules governing behavior is given to the robots. The result showcases swarm behavior. (Though, I prefer the altruistic behavior of the EPFL bots.) Harvard's Kilobot is simple to assemble in just a few minutes. They move using vibration inducing motors, giving the Kilobot the ability to turn left, right, and move forward. The controlling processor is an Atmega328 running at 8Mhz with 32K of memory. The vibration motors are controlled via two PWM signals from the MCU. Onboard 10-bit analog-to-digital converters handle the incoming infrared communication between the bots as well at the overhead group controller. Everything is powered from a 3.4V 160 mAh lithium-ion battery, giving 3-10 hours of operation.
Eavesdropper