Outline for Paper 1

Brown, Alan S. "Fishing for Robots." Mechanical Engineering 132.10 (2010): 32-5. Print.


Summary:
     In "Fishing for Robots," Alan S. Brown explores the concept of "robot" drones acting like a school of fish.  Naomi Ehrich Leonard and her team have built a type of drone or glider that can explore the depths of the ocean and bring back scientific readings.  The first drone that her team made was easily influenced by the tides and the currents, but could stay at sea for weeks.  They continued their work on these drones and came up with a better design.  In 2002, Leonard received a grant to continue her work and for her to research collective behavior.  She began off of the shore of Monetary Bay.  She soon figured out that her drones would stay in a formation much like a school of fish would.  When continuing her research she set another group of drones out to try a different pattern of searching.  She figured out that if they could keep to a tighter formation then she could get better feedback from them.  This research has brought up many questions about how does a school of fish or a herd of animals move without an individual leader.  She has come to believe that the "neighbors" only follow their immediate neighbors and not every person in the group.  "If everyone is only sensing their next-door neighbors on either side, moving uniformly around in a circle is a stable solution.  As soon as everyone starts sensing everyone else, the only stable solution is the whole group moving in a straight line direction."(35)


Paper Outline:
I. Introduction
Thesis: This article was written for a more educated person.  This person is more science minded than the average person.  It is not necessarily for a scientist or a professional but someone in the science field.


II. Body
     A. Language
          1. Style
     B. Visual Elements


III. Conclusion