Robotic ant next to a real ant (Dinoponera gigantea). This mobile micro-robot, nicknamed 'Alice', was designed by researcher Gilles Caprari at the Ecole Polytechnique Federal de Lausanne (EPFL), in Switzerland. 'Alice' is used in experiments to examine the interactions between robot ants and live ants. This research aims to better understand the social behaviour of real ants. The findings may be applied to communication networks and transport organisation. D. gigantea ants can reach 3 centimetres in length. The species is native to South America.