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"We are all repositories for genetically-encoded information that we're all spreading back and forth amongst each other, all the time. We're just lousy with information."
- Neal Stephenson
 |
| 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 fixing machine from Frankenstein - Unlimited 1936) by H.A. Highstone, 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 and the repair drone from Neuromancer (1984) by William Gibson.
The weaponized hammers from Vulcan's Hammer (1960) by Philip K. Dick mentions that they evolved from repair drones.
Compare to automated apartment maintenance from Ubik (1969) by Philip K. Dick,
the Powered Suit with Trauma Maintenance from The Forever War (1974) by Joe Haldeman,
the service drones from The Two Faces of Tomorrow (1979) by James P. Hogan,
the Christmas Bush Motile Robot from Rocheworld (1985) by Robert Forward,
the maritime robots from Mare Nostrum (2022) by Bruce Sterling and the
maintenance drone (holon) from The Mountain in the Sea (2022) by Ray Naylor.
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
| Atlas Robot Makes Uncomfortable Movements |
| Humanoid Robots Tickle The Ivories |
| Golf Ball Test Robot Wears Them Out |
| PaXini Supersensitive Robot Fingers |
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'...there's a narrow belt where the climate is moderate.'
'... with the Master-operator all you have to do is push one! A remarkable achievement!'
'Not like me. A T-1000, advanced prototype. A mimetic poly-alloy. Liquid metal.'
'It was riddled with holes that were the mouths of tunnels.'
'The massive feet working the pedals, arms and hands flashing and glinting...'
'There were cubic miles of it, and it glistened like a silvery Christmas tree...'
'Jason had been guiding the caravan of cars as usual...'
"The robot solemnly hit a ball against the wall, picked it up and teed it, hit it again, over and again...'
