Building Swarms: Break Problems Into Layers

This episode is a special crossover between the Practical AI podcast and The Changelog podcast. Chris was recently invited by longtime friends Jerod Santo and Adam Stacoviak, cohosts of The Changelog, to join them on the show. They discuss AI, drones, robotics, swarming technology, and the rise of high-performance edge computing with Rust.  Chris points out that open source software, small AI models, and affordable hardware are making home automation and local AI accessible to everyone. From automating household functions to experimenting with drones and single-board computers, Chris describes how hands-on maker projects are shaping a bright future for physical AI, on small budgets and right from the comfort of your own home.

Featuring: 

• Jerod Santo – LinkedIn
• Adam Stacoviak – LinkedIn
• Chris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, X

Sponsors: 

• Miro – Get the right things done faster with Miro's Innovation Workspace. AI Sidekicks, instant insights, and rapid prototyping—transform weeks of work into days. No more scattered docs or endless meetings. Help your teams get great done at Miro.com.
• Shopify – The commerce platform trusted by millions. From idea to checkout, Shopify gives you everything you need to launch and scale your business—no matter your level of experience. Build beautiful storefronts, market with built-in AI tools, and tap into the platform powering 10% of all U.S. eCommerce. Start your one-dollar trial at shopify.com/practicalai

Upcoming Events: 

• Register for upcoming webinars here!

This week we have extended show notes below from Chris!

Swarming & Fully Autonomous Multi-Agent UxV Systems

Chris’s Definition of Swarming (anchor link in show notes)

Conceptual Foundations

• Swarm Robotics – Wikipedia
  High-level overview of swarm robotics as decentralized robot collectives.
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swarm_robotics
• Swarm Robotic Platforms – Wikipedia
  Survey of hardware platforms used in swarm robotics research.
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swarm_robotic_platforms
• Swarm Intelligence – Wikipedia
  Broader algorithms and theory behind collective intelligence (beyond robots).
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swarm_intelligence
• Ant Robotics – Wikipedia
  Nature-inspired “ant-like” robotics as a special case of swarm robotics.
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant_robotics

Open Research & Multi-Robot Resources (Stepping-Stones Toward True Swarms)

• Programming Multiple Robots with ROS 2 (online book)
  Free book on multi-robot systems, ROS 2, and the Robot Middleware Framework (RMF).
  https://osrf.github.io/ros2multirobotbook
• Simulation with ROS 2 & Gazebo (ROS 2 Humble tutorial)
  Official tutorial on connecting ROS 2 to Gazebo simulation.
  https://docs.ros.org/en/humble/Tutorials/Advanced/Simulators/Gazebo/Gazebo.html
• Spawning Multiple Robots in Gazebo with ROS 2
  Hands-on tutorial to launch N robots in Gazebo, each with its own namespace.
  https://www.theconstruct.ai/spawning-multiple-robots-in-gazebo-with-ros2
• ROS 2 Multi-Robot Simulation Best Practices (Discourse thread)
  Discussion of patterns for multi-robot systems (domains, namespaces, Nav2, etc.).
  https://discourse.openrobotics.org/t/multi-robot-simulation-best-practices/38987

Getting Hands-On: Consumer Robotics, ROS 2 & Gazebo

ROS 2 (Robot Operating System 2)

• Official ROS 2 Documentation – Humble (LTS)
  Main docs for ROS 2 Humble (recommended distro) with tutorials and APIs.
  https://docs.ros.org/en/humble
• ROS 2 Installation Guide (Humble)
  Step-by-step install on supported platforms.
  https://docs.ros.org/en/humble/Installation.html
• “From Zero to Robotics Hero: A Beginner’s Guide to ROS 2” (article)
  Beginner-friendly overview with ideas for where to go next (MoveIt, Nav2, multi-robot, etc.).
  https://riyagoja.medium.com/from-zero-to-robotics-hero-a-beginners-guide-to-ros-2-90ac9c3b87ba
• ROS 2 Tutorial for Beginners (2025 guide)
  Up-to-date intro that walks you from install to simulating your first robot in 2025.
  https://www.timesofexplore.com/2025/10/ros2-tutorial-beginners-build-first-robot-2025.html

Gazebo Simulation

• Gazebo Sim – Official Site
  Modern Gazebo (Ignition) simulator; models, worlds, and docs.
  https://gazebosim.org
• Getting Started with Gazebo (Docs)
  Official “start here” guide for using Gazebo and Gazebo Fuel assets.
  https://gazebosim.org/docs/latest/getstarted
• Classic Gazebo Tutorials (still useful for fundamentals)
  https://classic.gazebosim.org/tutorials

micro-ROS (ROS 2 on Microcontrollers)

• micro-ROS – ROS 2 for Microcontrollers
  Official site for running ROS 2 on tiny embedded boards.
  https://micro.ros.org
• micro-ROS GitHub Organization
  Repositories, examples, and tutor...