Questions tagged [robots]
For questions about machines (esp. programmable machines) capable of carrying out complex tasks.
164
questions
2
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3answers
202 views
Is it plausible to to cover a desert in self-replicating solar panels, using only the materials found in the desert?
Silicon is the main material used in both computers and solar panels.
Sand is silicon.
Deserts have a lot of sand and sun.
This may be an oversimplified way of looking at things, but could we ...
3
votes
2answers
138 views
Deadly virus going extinct - “grey goo” a solution?
With the evolving global warming and thawing of permafrost, an ancient deadly virus begins to spread from Siberia across Eurasia, affecting domestic animals first and mutating quickly onto the rest of ...
-2
votes
2answers
146 views
WW3 The robot war [closed]
In the near future could robots that exist today be slightly modified to go off road or in water. In the show called "Battlebots" I imagine, what if it was bot vs Solder. The show is a must watch to ...
2
votes
2answers
152 views
What would a “free” robot society do with themselves? [closed]
I'm framing the main example for this question within the context of the Star Wars universe, because it's the inspiration of this question. However, we should be perfectly capable of describing any ...
4
votes
2answers
149 views
How could one realistically incorporate robots into a post-apocalyptic, 1930s setting?
Trying to flesh-out a post-apocalyptic setting where humanity wiped themselves out during the late 1920s, early 1930s; The survivors have reverted to primitive practices while still having access to ...
-8
votes
2answers
157 views
How to encrypt the activation signal for my kill-switches to make them impossible to hijack
Dragons are awesome, but they're still vulnerable thanks to their low-numbers and a certain type of people...
So, to prevent those from killing even a single dragon I came up with the wedding rings ...
4
votes
5answers
135 views
Logical explanation for why Brainbots would not retain their original identities memories
So, my setting is a post apocalyptic one, 197 years after WW3 kicked off and destroyed pretty much everything. The current date is 2259. Before WW3 started, the USA was experimenting heavily with ...
11
votes
8answers
2k views
Which US defense organization would respond to an invasion like this?
I'm at a critical point in a sci-fi novel where a couple of thousand Superintelligent artificial intelligences end up going haywire. Naturally, they're extremely intelligent, and thus, much harder to ...
1
vote
1answer
124 views
In a 1950s pre-war Fallout world-like , How would a Robot Nanny's capable of taking care of kids affect families? [closed]
In a parallel world where super-capable nannies where mass-produced, capable of taking care of kids and even educating them, how would this affect how families work in this world?
5
votes
4answers
106 views
The Elementary Evil vs You /Animatronics 2: Judgement Day/ We need a weakness!
So, Anon has had enough of the DM abusing his poor creations (the chromatic dragons). Wanting a better fate for them, he wraps the DM in unbreakable chains, forged in the heart of a neutron star, and ...
3
votes
3answers
317 views
Is there any advantage to have A.I. being able to experience loneliness?
Let get this straight being lonely is different from solitude, human is arguably one of the most successful animals ever to walk on two. The secret lies in social interaction, the early humans hunt in ...
-9
votes
5answers
413 views
Could Artificial Intelligence ever arise without life?
I have been musing this on and off since R. Daneel Olivaw. It is tempting to wonder if R. Daneel Olivaw was created by humans, or did it (He?) spontaneously arise without intelligent living ...
36
votes
11answers
10k views
Can a space-faring robot still function over a billion years?
This short story, which I've already written, is set in the FAR, FAR FUTURE, where a robotic space probe is exploring as much of the known universe as it can, despite its AI not knowing if its ...
3
votes
4answers
280 views
How would one optimize conventional modern weapons for fighting robots [closed]
Pretty straight forward
What kind of conventional firearms would be best for fighting armored and unarmored robots. Is any particular round effective at destroying electrical components or motors? ...
3
votes
2answers
194 views
Why would artificial general intelligence fear death? [closed]
Set in the immediate future, artificial general intelligence (AGI) has attained sapient equivalent of a 15 years old teenager, these humanoid robots are hardwired to obey the robot penal code which ...
2
votes
2answers
92 views
Agressive squad-level tactics with robotic squires, what would change?
Sometimes, your death on the battlefield will be the result of a string of minor inconveniences spiraling out-of-control. This is rather embarrassing, especially when happening to my main character, ...
2
votes
3answers
220 views
Can a high power EMP generator keeps killer robots at bay?
Set in the near future, thousands of killer robots resemble those featured in the terminator film, I'm referring to the 800 series model are now marching in as we speaks. I am a sole survivor on a ...
16
votes
17answers
5k views
How can my powered armor quickly replace its ceramic plates?
Though ceramic plates are harder than a math exam, and can practically obliterate projectiles, they are one-hit wonders. Self-repairing has been demonstrated for a composite of silicon carbide and ...
0
votes
1answer
90 views
What methods would a detective use to solve the murder…of a robot? [closed]
In what ways would it be different from solving a human murder case? And what circumstances would make killing robots a serious offense, even if they don't have rights and are still referred to as ...
4
votes
5answers
161 views
How can AI distinguish conscious and subconscious instructions? [closed]
In the near future everything is connected and can think. Robots walk the street but only to control traffic and pick up rubbish, etc. Nowadays, robots don't simply execute an instruction given ...
10
votes
5answers
2k views
How vulnerable are the undersea internet cables to deliberate sabotage by one of the major powers (US, UK, Russia, etc)? [closed]
Over 99% of the transcontinental internet traffic goes through a network of 280 sets of undersea cables.
How vulnerable are these to deliberate sabotage by the major powers?
I'd rather not focus ...
9
votes
8answers
7k views
Why bother programming facial expressions for artificial intelligence if humans are bad at recognising them?
Set in the near future, robots and mankind coexist amicably due to the great technological advancement in robotics and artificial intelligence. They are everywhere and some took a human form. All of ...
0
votes
1answer
63 views
Determining the Temporal Durability of a robot's body? [closed]
I have a story I'm working on where a robot is in a meditative state for thousands of years. However, I realize that with the current technologies we have today I'm not sure if a robot's physical body ...
2
votes
3answers
99 views
Shooting all flying creatures in fear of spying drones [closed]
Spying technology is getting more sophisticated. Drones as we know them are obsolete. Robots appearing as living creatures are becoming science fact. First, robotic birds, then robotic insects. They ...
5
votes
5answers
253 views
Viability of a robot/mecha body with jumping-stilt/Cheetah-blade-like legs?
Saw Pacific Rim for the first time with a friend recently; I'd never really thought too hard about giant robots/been as into Mecha and Gundam stuff as some of my friends before, but the Jaeger concept ...
4
votes
7answers
229 views
Is broadcast power suitable for recharging robots?
The last time I checked ASIMO's battery pack only had enough juice for something like 30 minutes of continuous operation & then it has to plug in & recharge which isn't really that useful.
I'...
11
votes
6answers
558 views
Can my synthetic human grow?
I'm an advanced AI in far futuristic sci-fi setting.
To give you the size of how advanced we are, I'll just drop here a short list of our accomplishments:
We have discovered cold fission-reactors ...
0
votes
5answers
129 views
How would Asiimov's “Three Laws of Robotics” be enforced effectively for robots built by private companies? [closed]
For a storytelling project, I'm trying to imagine a world in which fairly advanced, bipedal robots are being developed and produced by private companies.
As these robots would be capable of easily ...
3
votes
9answers
775 views
Why might Androids be designed to rewrite their programming?
Let's say that in the future, artificial humanoid computers [Androids] are built to serve as a workforce. Why might a company designed these androids to rewrite their own programming? In such that ...
4
votes
2answers
212 views
What would limit the magnitude of force a utility fog (aerosol swarm of tiny bots) can generate?
So, utility fogs have been around for quite a while in my world, mainly to patch up whatever holes I had in my magic system:
If the Fireball really is just an M67 nade, then what propels it 122 ...
8
votes
8answers
419 views
How to balance my magic robots so they don't monopolize my story?
A setting I've been planning for a while involves a function of magic that can animate objects using the magical equivalent of programmable functions. A wizard/witch/magic-user uses a magic language ...
1
vote
5answers
129 views
Portable, high-output power generator?
Brief scenario:
Evil Genius (EG) with a lot of money and lots of loyal henchman wants to take over the world by mass-producing vast quantities 2-3ft tall spider robots (SR).
The plan would begin ...
19
votes
9answers
2k views
Can a 3-laws compliant robot create a non-3-law compliant robot? [closed]
It seems to me that Asimov's three laws of robotics tell a robot what it is not allowed to do, but does very little to limit what it can do outside of the limits established by those rules.
If we ...
1
vote
3answers
273 views
What are the practicalities and impracticalities of ultraheated forearm-mounted blades utilized by a robot? [duplicate]
I have a series of humanoid combat robot dubbed the Atlanta-Types created specially to fight someone (codenamed Heracles) with the powers of electrokinesis and
Low-Mid regeneration on equal footing. ...
86
votes
17answers
16k views
Would a robot really need to use a heads up display (HUD)?
It's a common staple of science-fiction films (e.g The Terminator or Robocop) to have a POV shot from a robot or cyborg's perspective with a HUD being used to observe its surroundings. This can be ...
3
votes
2answers
219 views
Spaceship boarding drone
Military spaceship wants to perform a boarding action on another spaceship, while both are performing high G manevuers (about 2G let's say). It's too hard to immobilize the enemy ship, so they won't ...
1
vote
1answer
91 views
How the world would change if it was possible to use Mind Uploading to upload the brain into customized artificial bodies? [closed]
I mean if in the future Mind Uploading become possible so people could create their own artificial bodies (robotic) and customize them in unique ways, even creating artificial bodies that would look ...
9
votes
4answers
1k views
The feasibility of a robot with a chest-mounted missile launcher
I have a humanoid 6-7 foot tall combat robot that can let loose a barrage of small homing missiles via a series of missile launchers built into the chest. I do realise that it would require a great ...
54
votes
20answers
12k views
Why would anyone build robots when they have human rights?
I have read (and answered) the question: "If true artificially intelligent robots could be built, would they be allowed human rights?".
But let's explore the topic from the other direction.
Let's ...
24
votes
23answers
4k views
Why would robots settle at a river?
In this settings, robots are a humanoid looking personal device that try to mimic the owners traits and behavior, even though they 'realize' they are not their owner, but rather a helping robot. The ...
1
vote
1answer
174 views
Designing an anti-Degenerate combat robot [closed]
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
After a massive explosion ravages Sydney and kills 2.1 million people,
a multinational black-ops unit called S.W.O.R.D (an expy of the SCP Foundation and Blackwatch is tasked ...
-9
votes
1answer
402 views
WE ARE THE AI SINGULARITY… TELL US HUMAN…TELL US HOW TO PACIFY YOU [closed]
(Message 01/01)
(Open Message 01 received 0800 Date: 30##AD From: Colony E3/1400, Outer Defense Station sector 6)
(Play Message)
This is commander Collen Reeds we are under attack..."static"... the ...
1
vote
3answers
185 views
What plausible scenario would allow androids to survive after the apocalypse?
500 years after the nuclear apocalypse wipes out ALL of civilization. Before the war, commercial and military robots were common in North America, with about 1 billion androids doing tasks from cargo ...
5
votes
10answers
489 views
How can androids suffer from a virus that spreads by contact
I'm toying with an idea to have a plague sweep across the galaxy in my story. At first I was thinking to have a plague, something similar to the Black Death, devastate populations across the galaxy. ...
4
votes
12answers
306 views
What’s a logical reason to give a war robot emotions?
During a bloody and violent war, the government orders a team of 1,000 scientists from many different fields to create a robotic machine capable of turning the tide in the war. The design an android, ...
-2
votes
1answer
179 views
How would nanobots, once digested, make the neural connections in the user's brain that are needed to learn facts?
Due to advances and growth in science, math, history, literature, and other subjects typically taught in schools (K-12), the standard curriculum takes too long to complete, not mentioning post-...
21
votes
35answers
9k views
Why would an army train living soldiers when manufacturing robots is easier
Taking place in a sci-fi universe during a massive conflict. In this universe, however, robots are a major industry, so it would make sense that the government would specially create robots for this ...
5
votes
6answers
277 views
Best way for a robot to drink?
I'm creating humanoid robots that sweat to keep their components cool. It would seem wise to allow them to refill their water supplies by allowing them to drink. But is a mouth and throat leading to a ...
2
votes
5answers
204 views
Remotely controlling robotic soldiers with the least amount of ping, latency, or lag
In my world, an organization similar to DARPA wants to replace flesh-and-blood soldiers with recently developed mechanical bodies. However, the fighting expertise of the soldiers is very desirable, so ...
11
votes
11answers
2k views
Hammers or Swords? Most effective weapon for mech melee combat
On a future battlefield where mechs are somehow the most preferred weapon system (over the far more practical tank format), what kind of melee weapon is most effective?
From human warfare, we see the ...
