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"I feel like I've been very fortunate in that I've stuck like a burr to the dog-leg of the next generation of nerdism. I've been carried into the XXIth century on Bill Gates' pants-cuff."
- William Gibson
 |
| Nutri-Matic | ||
| A drink dispenser that scans the person to determine what might go down well. |
Arthur Dent has had a difficult day. Perhaps a beverage?
| He had found a Nutri-Matic machine which had provided him with a plastic cup filled with a liquid that was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea. The way it functioned was very interesting. When the Drink button was pressed it made an instant but highly detailed examination of the subject's taste buds, a spectroscopic examination of the subject's metabolism and then sent tiny experimental signals down the neural pathways to the taste centers of the subject's brain to see what was likely to go down well. However, no one knew quite why it did this because it invariably delivered a cupful of liquid that was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea. |
| Technovelgy from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,
by Douglas Adams. Published by Harmony Books in 1979 Additional resources -
|
Machines that create food (without cooking) have a long and honorable history in science fiction. Compare the Nutri-Matic with the synthetic food dispenser from John W. Campbell's 1934 story Twilight and the food factory from Frederik Pohl's 1980 novel Beyond the Blue Event Horizon.
Apparently, people were not entirely happy with the output from the Nutri-Matric:
Thanks to Erik Nodacker for suggesting this item.
The Nutri-Matic was designed and manufactured by the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation whose complaints department now covers all the major landmasses of the first three planets in the Sirus Tau Star system.
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Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
More Ideas
and Technology by Douglas Adams
Tech news articles related to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Tech news articles related to works by Douglas Adams
Nutri-Matic-related
news articles:
- Dr. Whippy Ice Cream Machine Makes Sure You're Happy
- Unilever Smile-Based Ice Cream Vending Machine
- Kiosk Looks At You, Then Decides On Your Meal
| Holland Factory 3D Printing 500 Tons Of Steak Per Month |
| Robochef Robotic Food Prep |
| Drone Deliveries Instead Of Waiters In Restaurants? |
| SliceIt! Why Not Teach Robots To Use Knives? |
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'...war-balloons, or, as it would be more correct to call them, navigable aerostats.'
'This robot is a creature... It is a manlike being. Therefore, like any other talking, thinking man, he is entitled to a court trial!'
'...small electric motors at the principal joints worked the prosthetic framework by means of steel cables...'
