The SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY News Thread

[Jinto]

Originally Posted by GDB

That's freaking awesome. But how accurate is it? In terms of both translation and tone.

You don't want to know (voice to text - first stage of inaccuracy, text translation - second stage of inaccuracy, text to voice - third stage of inaccuracy :: 3 stages in the translation process, that introduce inaccuracies - the result can be funny... or insulting ).

[Ithekro]

The early stages of "The Insult" that starts a 14 year war with an alien race becuase of grammer and gesters being incorrectly presented in translation. (Freespace)

[Rahan]

Translators program still have a long way to go before that kind if technology can become mainstream and sufficient for an user with no knowledge of the other language ...

But yeah, in the no-so-distant future, we'll have googles to "see" the translated signs and direct audio translations ...
Visiting a different country will be no different from watching it from your sofa in your living-room because you'll see it through a computerized interface anyways.

[RRW]

"When I was a kid, I thought there were going to be giant robots in the future. But no matter how long I waited, people were only able to make small robots, like Asimo. Eventually, I thought ‘I can’t wait anymore,’ and set out to make one myself." Kogoro Kurata is the designer and blacksmith behind the gargantuan 4-ton mech standing in front of me. Named after its creator, Kuratas is the product of nearly three years of forging, hammering, and coding. The robot’s expressionless face atop its 13-foot frame towered over the crowd. I pictured its diesel-powered hydraulic arms ripping apart the building’s steel girders.

Steel is Kurata’s specialty, both for his day job as a blacksmith, and for his "hobby." Inspired by the plastic models from a 1980s anime series called Votoms, he initially got noticed for building a life-sized steel model of one of the program’s Armored Troopers. His next project was a natural extension. "I made Kuratas wondering ‘what would it be like if this thing actually moved?’"

http://www.theverge.com/2012/12/3/37...-four-ton-mech

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by RRW

http://www.theverge.com/2012/12/3/37...-four-ton-mech

there are tears in my eye

[Jinto]

Thats an expensive toy. I wondered if it is street legal

[erneiz_hyde]

shounen or geek passion aside, I wonder if there really is merit in making giant robots in humanoid form. Like, could there be advantages for quad-legs or bipedal over our traditional wheels/tanks, things like that?

[kyp275]

Originally Posted by erneiz_hyde

shounen or geek passion aside, I wonder if there really is merit in making giant robots in humanoid form. Like, could there be advantages for quad-legs or bipedal over our traditional wheels/tanks, things like that?

assuming the prerequisite advances are made in technologies that allows the balance and movement of bi/quad-leg robots into the realms of the practical, then yes, there are advantages to it, primarily in traversing adverse terrain.

[Lightning_Wing]

Originally Posted by erneiz_hyde

shounen or geek passion aside, I wonder if there really is merit in making giant robots in humanoid form. Like, could there be advantages for quad-legs or bipedal over our traditional wheels/tanks, things like that?

Not really, militaristically. Less balance, less efficiency.
So as of right now, don't expect the worlds armed forces to jump on this too much.

[Ithekro]

Fear factor is always viable in warfare.

Intimidation.

[Mr Hat and Clogs]

It'd be too easy to knock one over. No matter how awesome they'd look. I always had a dream of driving a Mad Cat around when I was younger.

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by erneiz_hyde

shounen or geek passion aside, I wonder if there really is merit in making giant robots in humanoid form. Like, could there be advantages for quad-legs or bipedal over our traditional wheels/tanks, things like that?

does it matter?

it is a giants robot with a 6,000 round-per-minute BB gattling guns

[Ithekro]

Think Imperial Walkers (AT-AT). Thinks are actually sort of impractical due to them being under protected (all armament on the head) and easily tripped. But intimidation factor is a key trait of Imperial weapons. Also heavy armor, but fear is the main weapon. A giant metal monster comes over the horizon and can step on you earlly easily... or step on your house.

A large 13 foot tall mecha could easily punch a hole in my home or step on my car.

[Lightning_Wing]

Sure, in a localized situation, but without flight the suit would be impractical for the distances that it could cover with wheels or treads.

However, like, kyp275 said, if the technology was good enough then the legs could be even more adept to rough terrain, like mountain goats. Or humans for that matter.

Or they could fly and travel short distances on foot, but I'm not sure how much force it'd take to lift that in the air...

[Ithekro]

Local defense units. Or they get specialized movers to transport them from one operational theater to another. Remember that tanks in World War I generally didn't move any faster than a human.

[Asuras]

Unlike a tank, which has a single rotating turret, a mecha like the one he designed could in theory possess dexterity and aiming maneuverability akin to a human; which is to say, much greater than a wheeled vehicle. With sufficient technology in balance and quick movements, the mecha would also be perfect for urban combat as well as taking cover and evasion.

A tank has greater carrying capacity, true, but it also cannot pick up a magazine and reload itself, duck behind a ruined building, shoot around corners, move objects, travel across starkly varying heights in a field, and climb things.

[Jaden]

It's always easier to destroy than create...a mecha in real war would be just a target for rocket launchers and explosive-carrying rambos

[RRW]

Originally Posted by Jaden

It's always easier to destroy than create...a mecha in real war would be just a target for rocket launchers and explosive-carrying rambos

Depend, bipod allow them greater mobility. so evading a rocket is possible

[kyp275]

Originally Posted by Asuras

Unlike a tank, which has a single rotating turret, a mecha like the one he designed could in theory possess dexterity and aiming maneuverability akin to a human; which is to say, much greater than a wheeled vehicle. With sufficient technology in balance and quick movements, the mecha would also be perfect for urban combat as well as taking cover and evasion.

A tank has greater carrying capacity, true, but it also cannot pick up a magazine and reload itself, duck behind a ruined building, shoot around corners, move objects, travel across starkly varying heights in a field, and climb things.

Not really, you're straying into the realm of pure fiction there. It's not just about balance and movement, to do what you said would require massive advances in material science, engineering and energy generation/storage.

Also, a tank doesn't need to pick up a magazine to reload itself in the first place, it's stored internally. If you were alluding to the super-sized rifles used by mechs in animes, that's a whole other can of yea-not-really-practical worm.

Another thing, it seems like people are only applying advances in technology to the mechs, but not the tanks. You can have your bipedal giant rifle toting mech, I'll raise you a railgun/gauss rifle hovertank with a bank of missile launchers

[AnimeFan188]

Curiosity finds organics on Mars, but possibly not of Mars:

"NASA says that no, it hasn't found definite proof that Mars has its own organic
compounds, but that it has found some very interesting indications that need to
be checked."

See:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/12...mars_organics/