How To Build a Sci Fi Robot

Community General Discussions
1

I saw the clip for this show which is on tomorrow night on the Sci Fi Channel (here in the US of A). While the description from their web site (supplied below) is underwhelming, the clip looked much more interesting…

[size=85]The Science Channel
Sci Fi Science
Jan 19, 10:00 pm
(30 minutes)[/size]

**How to Build a Sci Fi Robot **
From Terminator to Star Wars, no sci fi movie is complete without an intelligent robot! Theoretical physicist Dr. Michio Kaku reveals how artificial intelligence will be created and how smart robots could threaten us all.

2

Setting DVR tonight! 8)

3

Darn! I missed it!! :imp:

4

Mike,

The show is tonight at 10pm, unless today is tomorrow for you.

dj

5

Um, I think Mike just missed it. LOL :open_mouth: :laughing:

6

I couldn’t find it in my central California coast area.

Alan KM6VV

7

If you miss the show tonight, you can catch it at a couple of different times over the next few days.

Jan 19, 10:00 pm
Jan 20, 1:00 am
Jan 20, 5:00 pm
Jan 21, 5:00 am

science.discovery.com/tv-schedul … 43.38766.4

(Man, if I had this channel, I’d watch “How to Become a Superhero” and “How to Build a Light Saber” on the 26th!)

8

Thanks for the URL. we have the Discovery channel, and the Sci-Fi channel, so this might not be available for us either.

Alan KM6VV

9

LOL I did miss it! I was looking at the date of the post and failed to read the body of the message that says its for the 19th.

NOW, I have to remember to NOT to miss it, or ill be back here tomorrow posting that I missed it. :laughing:

10

I missed it in the future. lol

11

well I was not able to se the show. I did a search on the cable guide and no such show was listed.

12

You may not have the channel, Mike. I know the Science Channel is from a higher-level cable package than I have, so I wasn’t able to watch either.

13

I did manage to catch it as it was shown - it was quite underwhelming. As much as I admire Dr Kaku, I don’t think I’d bother watching it again.

From the blurb at the Science Channel:

His ideal robot had a quantum computer processor as the CPU. There was a massive (multi-terrabyte) database of physical objects for vision (a scanning laser system was demonstrated that produced contour maps of objects, and compared them to contours in the database), plus a multi-camera stereoscopic vision for obstacle navigation.

A neural network (for decision making and self awareness) and a polymorphic body.

And because it wouldn’t be SciFi without the chance of a robot uprising, there was also an electronic shotgun wired to its head, so any ED-209 style ‘misbehaviour’ would result in self termination.

14

Which is all good and well until the robot learns how to turn that off. :unamused:

15

It was the polymorphic body that caught my eye. That, and someone’s post here about a 'bot that ciould change shape and locomation techniques as well.

16

I haven’t seen the show so am not sure what they said about olymorphic (or modular) robots, but I really do hope that they become viable. I would just love to have a robot that can change its shape to better adapt to a task.

-1

17

I don’t think it was the M-TRAN they showed, but it was similar enough that you can see the idea.

There’s also a link to a video collection on that page.

Cheers