Of course they are using the ti msp430 processor but I thought the idea could be adapted to an avr processor or any other. Check it out there is heaps of information and ideas on this website including a 40 min video presentation where he explains the capabilities of his swarm and ideas for improvement which included wireless.
This idea does seem a very economical way to create a swarm. There’s a lot of good ideas implemented like the way they recharge their batteries and upgrade their software.
which is very interesting reading as well. But the formica bots win on price per bot and have heaps of features implemented. I look forward to seeing your implementation of swarm robots. It’s an interesting area and you are lucky to have an advisor as such.