Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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
"Every scientist worth his salt that I know of has read science fiction."
- Greg Bear
 |
| Recon Spiders | ||
| Tiny spider-sized robots that are able to search buildings and identify occupants. |
When searching for the renegade John Anderton, two officers search a flophouse. A thermal scan reveals 28 warm bodies.
What's the best way to quickly search a building full of people who might fight back or have weapons or might try to hide?
 (Minority Report spider robot swarm) "I confirm 28 warm bodies... What do you think - four spiders, one per floor?" "Let's do eight - I gotta eat!" |
| Technovelgy from Minority Report (Movie),
by Steven Spielberg. Published by Dreamworks in 2002 Additional resources -
|
The spider robots are stored in each officer's belt with their legs retracted; the officers throw them across the floor.
(Minority Report spider robot)
Most of the occupants of the building have been through this before, and submit to the robot spiders as they climb onto their faces to scan their eyes.
(Minority Report spider robot)
The above picture shows the scanning process from John Anderton's point of view.
Compare to the metallic spider from The War of the Worlds (1898) by H.G. Wells, the scarab robot from The Scarab (1936) by Raymond Z. Gallun, the spider robot from The Mystery of Element 117 (1949) by Milton K. Smith, the mechanical hound from Fahrenheit 451 (1953) by Ray Bradbury, the metal insects from The Invincible (1954) by Stanislaw Lem, the Sheem spider robot from The Witches of Karres (1966) by James Schmitz, the spider tripod from Rendezvous With Rama (1972) by Arthur C. Clarke, the spider cable device from The Web Between the Worlds (1979) by Charles Sheffield and the spider robotic insects from Runaway (1985) by Michael Crichton.
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Minority Report (Movie)
More Ideas
and Technology by Steven Spielberg
Tech news articles related to Minority Report (Movie)
Tech news articles related to works by Steven Spielberg
Recon Spiders-related
news articles:
- MAST Spider Robots Like Minority Report
- The STAR Robot - From Minority Report?
- Gestures Control Spider Robot Army
- CRAM Cockroach Robots Flatten On Demand
| Mori3 Autonomous Shapeshifting Robot |
| Tesla Seeks 'Tesla Robotaxi' And 'Robobus' Trademarks Ignoring Prior Art |
| Scary Grid Safety Robots |
| Humanoid Boxing Robot KO's Opponent - It's A Knockout! |
Want to Contribute an
Item?
It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a
quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add
it here.
| <Previous | Next> |
|
|
|
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Science Fiction Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
|
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
'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.'
'I guess there's nobody round this table who doesn't have a Crosswell [tapeworm] working for him in the small intestine.'
'Figments of his mind in one sense, of course, for he had shaped them...'
'So the parent drone carries a spotter that it launches...'
'...nurse drones that would cruise around dumping large amounts of power into randomly selected pods.'
'It's done with a flip of the third joint of the tentacle on the down beat.'
'...for months Grantline bores had dug into the cliff.'
'I hope all those other cars are on automatic,' he said anxiously.
'It’s smart enough to go wrong in very complicated ways, but not smart enough to help us find out what’s wrong.'
