Latest By
Category:
Armor
Artificial
Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual
Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work
 |
Comments on TrackingPoint Smart Rifle
Not your typical 'smart bullet' approach. (Read
the complete story)
| "I'm not sure I'd want a gun that won't fire when I pull the trigger. Sounds like a major accident waiting to happen." (Dewtey 5/16/2013 4:06:25 AM) |
| "I know what you mean. I have a Camry hybrid car that uses sensors to determine how much traction the wheels have. When the road is slippery, this can result in a situation in which I push down on the accelerator pedal, but nothing happens. I like the car, but it's very frustrating and a little bit unnerving to have the car decide when to go forward." (Bill Christensen 5/16/2013 5:31:25 AM) |
| "While I know it's in many other spots, the oldest one I know of is in Timothy Zahn's Cobra series. They had implanted weaponry, sensors, and targeting computers, but it was all on the gun side. (since they were using energy weapons rather than projectile, mostly)
Another example is the "Smartlinks" and "Smartguns" in the Shadowrun RPG, which are pretty much exactly what this is describing, but are more recent than the Cobra reference." (Ashley 5/18/2013 8:52:58 AM) |
| "Ashley, thanks. I'll try finding it, but if you have a text reference that would be great." (Bill 5/18/2013 11:24:35 AM) |
| "The Cobra reference isn't perfect, since they use primarily energy weapons (lasers and sonics), and the setup deals with more than just aiming the guns. The Cobras have bone reinforcement, motors to boost strength, hearing/sight augmentation, etc, and it's all linked to a nanotech battle computers with pre-programmed "battle reflexes" to shortcut the normal training time. One of the things that was described in the books is that while they can tell the battle computer to do a sequence of actions, then let it take control (so they can do some of the more complex tricks, or have perfect timing with their teammates), they could also use it just to augment their own abilities. When using it that way, they were described as selecting a target so the computer would know what they wanted to shoot, and then they'd just have to wave their hand in that general direction and the computer would make the laser fire when it was actually pointed in the right direction. (so as to avoid always being locked into pre-programmed patterns and thus being too predictable)
In Shadowrun, the Smartlinks and Smartguns are a much more direct example of what this article is about, tho it's slightly newer than the Cobra series. References to it are available online, tho a quick search is only turning up the lesser versions of the things (higher cost/rarity for ones that go the whole nine yards):
http://kolidascope.wikia.com/wiki/Smartlink_%28Shadowrun%29
http://kolidascope.wikia.com/wiki/Smartlinked_%28Shadowrun%29" (Ashley 5/19/2013 1:07:55 PM) |
Get more information on TrackingPoint Smart Rifle
Leave a comment:
Tediously, spammers have returned; if you have a comment, send it to bill at this site (include the story name) and I'll post it.
More Articles
LLM 'Cognitive Core' Now Evolving
'Their only check on the growth and development of Vulcan 3 lay in two clues: the amount of rock thrown up to the surface... and the amount of the raw materials and tools and parts which the computer requested.'
Has Elon Musk Given Up On Mars?
'There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.'
Bacteria Turns Plastic Into Pain Relief? That Gives Me An Idea.
'I guess there's nobody round this table who doesn't have a Crosswell [tapeworm] working for him in the small intestine.'
When Your Child's Best Friend Is An AI
'Figments of his mind in one sense, of course, for he had shaped them...'
China's Drone Mothership Can Carry 100 Drones
'So the parent drone carries a spotter that it launches...'
Drones Recharge In Mid-Air Like Jets Refuel!
'...nurse drones that would cruise around dumping large amounts of power into randomly selected pods.'
Australian Authors Reject AI Training Of Llama
'It's done with a flip of the third joint of the tentacle on the down beat.'
Is China Mining Helium-3 On The Moon's Farside?
'...for months Grantline bores had dug into the cliff.'
Maybe It's Too Soon To Require Autonomous Mode
'I hope all those other cars are on automatic,' he said anxiously.
Is Agentic AI The Wrong Kind Of Smartness?
'It’s smart enough to go wrong in very complicated ways, but not smart enough to help us find out what’s wrong.'
Heat Waver - The First Ever Combo Solar Collector And Wind Turbine
'...like a spray of tulips mounted fanwise.'
Tesla 'Fleet Response Agents' Bolster FSD Autonomy
'You hate the whole idea that some bored drone pusher in a remote driving centre has got your life... in his hands.'
Mori3 Autonomous Shapeshifting Robot
'My homeland is being threatened by the Replicators. Thus far all attempts to stop them have failed.'
Tesla Seeks 'Tesla Robotaxi' And 'Robobus' Trademarks Ignoring Prior Art
'A robobus had just rolled up to the curb.'
Scary Grid Safety Robots
'The ultimate horror for our paranoid culture...'
Does AI Provide A Way Forward For Talk Therapy
'And there in the next room by the sofa sat a familiar suitcase, that of his psychiatrist Dr. Smile.'
Robotic Barber Programmed With a Number of Styles
'He found a barber shop which, he thought, would be good for an idle hour.'
Humanoid Boxing Robot KO's Opponent - It's A Knockout!
'Thirty rounds of fighting is tough work. Even for machines.'
Caterpillar Electric Mining Loader Not Yet Ready For Moon
'...the excavations were already in progress, for he saw gray slopes of rubble.'
Centipede Robots Down On The Farm
'...the walking mills of Puffy Products began to tread delicately on their centipede legs across the wheat fields of Kansas.'
