The Navy Wants a Swarm of Semi-Autonomous Breeding Robots With Built-In 3-D Printers - Polidicks

[QUOTE]It’s one thing for humans to make robots, but the idea of robots making robots tends to conjure all those sci-fi scenarios wherein Arnold Schwarzenegger or Keanu Reeves have to save what’s left of humanity. Nonetheless, the U.S. military presses on. According to this proposal, as Danger Room points out, the Navy is pursuing technologies that would allow swarms of semi-autonomous ‘bots to interact, team up, and manufacture things via 3-D printing tech. In other words, the Navy wants robots that can make, among other things, more robots. And it wants to give the robots the capability to do it quickly wherever they are operating, via rapid prototyping machines that can churn out parts assembly line style in a variety of materials, including “multi-functional materials, programmable materials, metamorphic materials, extreme materials, heterogeneous materials, synthetic materials, etc.” As DangerRoom notes, things like “programmable” and “metamorphic” materials are very SkyNet indeed, but it what the Navy is really looking for from its robots is increased flexibility. According to the proposal: Each micro-robot would perform a specific task, often a single rudimentary task, repeatedly. Collectively, these tasks would be choreographed in purposeful activities for manufacturing. A micro-robot swarm should be able to perform material synthesis and component assembly, concurrently. The micro-robots could be designed to perform basic operations such as pick and place, dispense liquids, print inks, remove material, join components, etc. These micro-robots should be able to move cooperatively within a workspace to achieve highly efficient synthesis and assembly. Such a self-contained robotic factory could be extremely useful aboard the Navy’s floating fortresses, for instance, allowing crippled vessels to manufacture critical parts to repair themselves or their constituents (like on-board aircraft) at sea or for the creation of mission-specific hardware on-demand, cutting down on the reliance on lengthy maritime supply chains. But we should probably ready the electromagnetic pulse weapons. You know, just in case.[/QUOTE] Source: [url]http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-03/navy-wants-swarm-semi-autonomous-3-d-printing-robots[/url]

I'm going to have to sue these people for stealing ideas :what: Dammit get out of my head NSA!

[QUOTE=Eudoxia;28414902]I'm going to have to sue these people for stealing ideas :what: Dammit get out of my head NSA![/QUOTE] Benefit humanity and go work with them instead

[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;28414916]Benefit humanity and go work with them instead[/QUOTE] But will I still be able to sue?

[QUOTE=Eudoxia;28414928]But will I still be able to sue?[/QUOTE] Go for it.

[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;28414948]Go for it.[/QUOTE] Yes!

Do they breed sexually or asexually?

Reminds me of the book Prey (Michael Crichton).... And that didn't quite end well...

[QUOTE=Killerelf12;28415123]Reminds me of the book Prey (Michael Crichton).... And that didn't quite end well...[/QUOTE] A - The robots are too big to, say, disassemble a person by getting inside them B - 3D printers are limited in scope C - In the case of a nanotech assembler, grey good wouldn't happen because: C.1 - The waste heat of billions of robots disassembling and reassembling at once would fry them C.2 - Too much energy than what they can store (The energy to disassemble shit AND to move around) C.3 - Diamond mechanosynthesis can't make proteins (Or disassemble them for that matters, unless you're aiming towards brute-force stuff)

[quote]including “multi-functional materials, programmable materials, metamorphic materials, extreme materials, heterogeneous materials, synthetic materials, etc.”[/quote] [IMG]http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/1362/extremesportsineurope.jpg[/IMG]

This could be really useful technology for future space exploration. Self-replicating robots on Mars/Moon, anyone?

Sounds good for sex education

[QUOTE=Eudoxia;28414902]I'm going to have to sue these people for stealing ideas :what: Dammit get out of my head NSA![/QUOTE] Because this general idea isn't possibly like 50 years old now. [editline]4th March 2011[/editline] Build few of these, load them on a spaceship, send them to mars, have a fully equipped bases over whole planet in few years and huge crowd of robots ready to serve.

we were all born too soon :(

Actually we were born in probably the best generation. The world won't be fucked until we're older + we have the joys of computers

First thing that came to my mind: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ck-_QNscMFw[/media] Awesome game by the way.

[img]http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/1363/robotprinters.jpg[/img] I for one welcome our new overlords

i don't think they'll end up going all DESTROY HUMANS on us, they'll just reproduce too much and we'll have people hunting down packs of wild printbots

This sounds tanfastic.

[QUOTE=Motherfucker;28418321][img_thumb]http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/1363/robotprinters.jpg[/img_thumb] I for one welcome our new overlords[/QUOTE] What is Toronto?????

Of all the ways to go I never thought it'd be flying printers that finally finish us.

Darpa just got a massive erection.

[QUOTE=Eudoxia;28415162]A - The robots are too big to, say, disassemble a person by getting inside them B - 3D printers are limited in scope C - In the case of a nanotech assembler, grey good wouldn't happen because: C.1 - The waste heat of billions of robots disassembling and reassembling at once would fry them C.2 - Too much energy than what they can store (The energy to disassemble shit AND to move around) C.3 - Diamond mechanosynthesis can't make proteins (Or disassemble them for that matters, unless you're aiming towards brute-force stuff)[/QUOTE] I actually was thinking more about the whole self replicating thing they had going. But that makes sense.

Ah man, I think i'd just time myself a woman today.