Robot Balloon Escapes In Britain

tjake writes "Theres an interesting story running about a intelligent robot balloon that escaped its handlers while being transported around the Magna Science Adventure Centre. "The flyborg has a computerised brain which allows it to avoid obstacles. " It was freed by "a very strong freak gust of wind which ripped the airship out of the hands of its handlers". I'm thinkin, is this a random mistake or the start of the attack?"

Comments

Flyborg now over Netherlands

[sbszine]

There's a follow up story at the BBC which projects that flyborg may have left the country by now and travelled 300 miles to the Netherlands. Classic stuff.

Rise of the Machines

[caitsith01]

This has happened before... remember this story about a robot escaping from a building and making its way to the parking lot?

Re:intelligent?

[bigsteve@dstc]

I heard a radio interview with the baloon's developer on the BBC World Service last night. When the ballon got loose, it's battery got ripped off and hence its "brain" is "dead". (The developer made this very clear ... in response to a series of decidedly lame questions by the interviewer.) Any discussion of the "intelligence" (or otherwise) of this this particular balloon is moot.

No Brain

[hibachi]

I was listening to Professor Noel Sharkey on the radio a few minutes ago, he is one of the designers of the robot. Apparently, and unfortunately in my opinion, the flying robot doesn't have its computer connected, so it is flying mindlessly.

Re:I'll

[Roosey]

You laugh, but the usage of pellet guns is most certainly accepted practice when it comes to terminating hazardous balloon flights.

Just ask Lawn Chair Larry.

Re:I'll

[ethx1]

whoops... the link to said story is here.

Re:Anti-robot attitude

[Graff]

Asimov's robot stories always took place in a world that was afraid of robots.

Actually Asimov's robots were in many different settings, some where they were feared and some where they were just another device to do your work for you. In "Robots of Dawn", "Caves of Steel", and other books set in that universe there were generally two sets of people, the Spacers who had tons of robots and totally accepted them as tools and the Earthers who barely tolerate robots and are in fact fairly afraid of them.

In fact, Asimov's famous "Three Laws of Robotics" were created so that robots would not be feared but would instead be able to be used merely as tools that could not harm a person. Prior to Asimov many science fiction novels were about the evils of technology and the "mad scientists" who created robotic monstrosities. According to Asimov,

"Back in 1939, I realized that robots were essentially lovable and were not clanking monsters. In less than 40 years, the world caught on, and we have robots such as those in Star Wars....My only knowledge of robots was what I had read (and rejected) in earlier science fiction stories. The three laws of robotics were, in their actual wording, John Campbell's, but he insisted he got them out of the first couple of robot stories." (from 1977 and 1976 letters in Yours, Isaac Asimov, 1995)

Heard this on NPR.

[OS24Ever]

Heard about this on NPR. Apparently the person that got the baloon ripped out of their hand was one of the kids of a scientist, and the electronics had yet to be put into the balloon hence making it difficult to track. Can't find a link to the story on the NPR website though, so maybe I imangined the whole thing