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"I forged a concept which is relatively simple and possibly unique in theology, and that is, the irrational is the primordial stratum of the universe."
- Philip K. Dick
 |
| Repair Robots | ||
| Autonomous robots that carry out maintenance functions on a space ship. |
"Doc" was a repair robot:
As far as I know, this is the first use of "repair robot".
Doc rolled in. He was an adaptation of the same model as Sinner and Adder, with digits specialized for repairing machinery, including other robots. His cylindrical body housed a “memory” file of repair instructions recorded on tape.
| “Didn’t I ask you to do something about Liar?” [William "Ed" Moran, editor of Stupendous Stories] demanded when the repair robot rolled in. “You were supposed to find a way weeks ago to stop his editing stories as he works.” Doc hesitated a moment in acute embarrassment. “To tell the truth,” he said, “I fear to tamper with as complex a mechanism as Liar. I am only a Model 255-C.” "Oh, get out!" growled Ed, discouraged. |
| Technovelgy from The Well-Oiled Machine,
by H.B. Fyfe. Published by Fantasy Science Fiction in 1950 Additional resources -
|
In Stanislaw Lem's 1954 novel The Invincible, a heavy cruiser powered by photon drive, came within range of a star system worthy of exploration, the crew was brought out of hibernation and the ship prepared for their use.
Interesting early use of this concept; we all remember the helpful droids from Star Wars, like R2D2.
Compare to the Self-Maintaining Circuit Monitoring and Repair from Gramp and his Dog (1952) by Frank Quattrocchi, the
self-repairing robot from Accidental Flight (1952) by W.F. Wallace, the blue collar robot from The Velvet Glove (1956) by Harry Harrison, the
service drones from The Two Faces of Tomorrow (1979) by James P. Hogan and the repair drone from Neuromancer (1984) by William Gibson.
Faint rattling noises came from inside the hull as if swarms of tiny animals were busily scurrying about scratching the metal walls with their sharp little claws. This was the sign that the repair robots had started out on their rounds, checking the solidity of the braces of the ship's framework; making sure that the hull had not been damaged anywhere and that all seams were still welded tight. The entire ship came to life, filled with myriad noises and activities . . . only the crew had not yet awakened...
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Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from The Well-Oiled Machine
More Ideas
and Technology by H.B. Fyfe
Tech news articles related to The Well-Oiled Machine
Tech news articles related to works by H.B. Fyfe
Repair Robots-related
news articles:
- SRI International's Speedy, Ant-Sized Microrobot Swarm
- Bridge-MINDER Repair Robot
- SPIDER Repair Robots From Lockheed Martin Blimps
- Rolls Royce 'Cockroach-Sized' Repair Robots To Crawl Inside Engines
| SpaceHopper Microgravity Robot Lands On Its Feet |
| No Tips! Robotic Food Delivery In Phoenix |
| Micro-Robots Are Smallest, Fully Functional |
| DIY Robotic Hand Made After Loss Of Fingers |
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'Tell me your torments,' the Padre said, in an elderly voice marked with compassion.
'...a slender-legged tripod surmounted by a spherical body no larger than a football.'
'... making the point that their likenesses, every move they made, were being transmitted.'
'But the stars are only atoms in larger space, and in that larger space the star-atoms could combine to form living matter, thinking matter, couldn't they?'
'...to build up a video picture would require, say, ten million decisions every second. Mike, you're so fast I can't even think about it. But you aren't that fast.'
'The area affected was five hundred kilometres across, and perfectly circular.'
'Hasan always pitched a Gauzy - a one-molecule-layer tent, opaque, feather-light, and very tough.'
