Slashdot Mirror
NASA's Personal Satellite Assistants
colonist writes "Wired News reports on the Personal Satellite Assistant (PSA), a spherical robot about the size of a softball that uses air jets to move in the microgravity environment of space vehicles and habitats. Described as a cross between Star Trek's tricorder and Star Wars' lightsaber training droid, the PSA has 'sensors for measuring gases, temperature, and air pressure' and performs 'video conferencing and can communicate with electronic support devices such as computer servers, avionics systems, and wireless LAN bridges'." We mentioned these a few years ago - looks like they've come a long way since then.
It sounds to me like the Bit from tron =:-) *YES* *NO*
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Play Six Pack Man. I
All that money wasted on this project, could have gotten this guy some plastic surgery. Poor man...
It's a cross between the tricorder and the lightsaber training droid... so... it shoots at me until I'm hit, and then uses that little detachable wand to scan my wound?
That's awesome. Put me down for two.
Damn! Now they've made it impossible for any real geek to hate space programs. No social interaction, nifty electronics, and Linux! I'm drooling.
LINUX! He said the magic word! [cacaphony of sound ensues]
"Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
--Dr.W.Edwards Deming
Oh, was that a bad movie. And I paid to see it too.
Imagine Clippy come to life and able to follow you around commenting on everything you do.
Lifespan: 2 hours
Cause of failure: smashed against bulkhead by astronaut
On the coolness meter it only rates slightly higher than sharks with frickin' laser beams on their heads.
Read any good sonnets lately?
*enter Clippy*
"It looks like you are trying to breathe..."
Hmmm.
Does anyone else find it funny that the main comparisons made are not to current tech, but to Star Trek and Star Wars?
Never let there be any doubt: a coke-fiend may run be the president, but nerds run the country.
True, the slashdot article link is to the torture droid and not the Training Remote, but in Dubya's brave new world, IT-0 may be what NASA had in mind after all-- gotta keep close watch on them astronauts. Shifty, the lot of 'em.
//Information does not want to be free; it wants to breed.
Spock: "Atmosphere: breathable oxygen/nitrogen mixture..."
Scotty: "..I should bloody well hope so.....and anyway..Federation Standard Landing Party Procedure states that tricorder readings of atmospheric content should take place BEFORE we set foot on the planet"
Spock: "That's Federation bureaucrats for you....Someone should point out to them that it's only possible to take a tricorder reading once you're actually there..."
Scotty: "but...but...but what happens if the atmosphere wasn't breathable?"
Spock: "It always is...."
Jim: "Anything else on the tricorder Spock?"
Spock: "Yes I'm picking up some primitive radio frequency signals... ...here listen..."
[...it's a brand new dance now...come on baby..do the locomotion...]
Jim: "..primitive indeed..."
Spock: "I bet she's got nice legs though.."
Jim: "Spock!..what's wrong with you...that was Scotty's line..."
WHAT happened next?)
Next Week: Episode 4.
Shamelessly reproduced from: Vax Trek V, the movie, The Crunchy Bits 2.
An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
sphere: Sensors indicate that the oxygen level in the cabin have decreased dramatically.
astro-tauko-cosmo-naut: gasp!
sphere: You appear to be suffocating. Would you like some training on the use of the backup oxygen supply?
astro-tauko-cosmo-naut: cough... gasp!
sphere: I did not understand your answer.
sphere moves in front of 'naut to hear the response, obstructing the backup mask.
astro-tauko-cosmo-naut passes out.
sphere: You appear to have suffocated. I'm sorry, but I don't have instructions for you to follow on what to do next.
You are checking your backups, aren't you?
Ultimate dodgeball.
Ernest Borgnine in space. Are there scarier thoughts?
When I saw the picture of it, I also immediately thought of that torture droid thingy that Darth Vader was using during interrogations, rather this one is red and missing the big needle.
Maybe they will use it to interrogate any aliens they come across.
NASA astronaut: "Tell me the coordinates to your home planet!"
Alien: "Nooo! I'll never tell!"
NASA astronaut: "Have it your way. Bring me the personal satellite assistant! It will relieve me of the humdrum task of "convincing" you otherwise."
" Described as a cross between Star Trek's tricorder and Star Wars' lightsaber training droid, the PSA has 'sensors for measuring gases, temperature, and air pressure' "
So.. it can shoot at you, then detect that you soiled yourself. I want one of these for my cat!
"Derp de derp."
Darth Vader already had such an assistant. (Episode IV) "And now, your highness, we will discuss the location of your hidden rebel base..."
Given Vader was Leia's father, right after he asked about the base, he probably continued with:
"Now lets talk about your cell phone bill. How the HELL do you spend 50,000 credits text messaging han_solo@falcon.net?! You think I'm made of money? I have a freaking goverment job, and I'm still paying on the loans I had to take out to pay for your mother's dresses! Back when I was your age I got my damn arm chopped off in the war, trying to keep those droid nazi's from taking over...."
D6 63 0D 70 89 81 BB 8E 7B 7C 5F 5D 54 EA AB 73
"Looks like you're trying to avoid a small annoying talking ball. Would you like help with that?"
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Ha! Loved that flick... Anybody got any Plutonium Nyborg?
Interested in a Flash-based MAME front end? Visit mame.danzbb.com
Can these things be programmed to duke it out with each other for the entertainment of the space station's crew? 0 grav battle bots they just need to attach drill bits, chain saws, etc. hrm, probably not too safe though