Science Fiction Dictionary
A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

Latest By
Category:


Armor
Artificial Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work

"What has allowed so many Psychopathic Personalities to rise so high in corporations and government, is that they are so decisive. Unlike normal people, they are never filled with doubts, for the simple reason that they cannot care what happens next."
- Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

Dog Pod Grid  
  A swarm of quasi-independent aerostatic devices.  

The reason for including this entry, as well as one for aerostat, is that these machines are capable of communicating with each other. This communication allows them to coordinate their movements.

Atlantis/Shanghai occupied the loftiest ninety percent of New Chusan's land area - an inner plateau about a mile above sea level, where the air was cooler and cleaner. Parts of it were marked off with a lovely wrought-iron fence, but the real border was defended by something called the dog pod grid - a swarm of quasi-independent aerostats...

These pods were programmed to hang in space in a hexagonal grid pattern about ten centimeters apart near the ground (close enough to stop a dog but not a cat, hence "dog pods") and spaced wider as they got higher.

Technovelgy from The Diamond Age, by Neal Stephenson.
Published by Bantam Books in 1995
Additional resources -

Together, they form a protective swarm.

In nature, bees swarm for a purpose; an ageing queen, overcrowding, poor ventilation in the hive. In flight, bee swarms approximate the kind of distance between individuals shown in a dog pod grid, with several thousand individuals spread through a volume the size of a minivan, flying together. However, when a bee swarm settles, the individuals congregate in a dense volume roughly the size of a football.

"Guard" bees don't fly around the hive to protect it; they stand guard in an aggressive stance at the entrance to the hive, checking individuals upon entry.

Compare to the pacification drones from The Breach (2020) by Matt Hill, the scuttle-bot from Hella (2020) by David Gerrold and the robot snake spy from Mariposa (2009) by Greg Bear.

Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |

Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from The Diamond Age
  More Ideas and Technology by Neal Stephenson
  Tech news articles related to The Diamond Age
  Tech news articles related to works by Neal Stephenson

Dog Pod Grid-related news articles:
  - COTS Scout: Team Building Robot
  - Nano Quadrotors Form Stephenson's Dog Pod Grid
  - Autonomous UAV Surveillance Swarm
  - Flyfire Micro-Helicopter Display
  - Improve MAVs By Studying Bees In Flight
  - Largest Micro-Drone Swarm Release Successful
  - Drone Catches Drone! In Japan
  - Biggest Drone Swarm Sets World Record
  - Drone 100, Coordinated Drone Performance Team
  - China's Drone Fleet Flies In Formation
  - Crazyflie Drone Swarm Technology
  - Slaughterbot AI KIller Quadcopter Drones
  - Poland Starts With 1000 Warmate 'Suicide Drones'
  - We Need To Build Anti-Drone Systems For Civilian Spaces
  - Can A Swarm Of Deadly Drones Take Out An Aircraft Carrier?

Articles related to Communication
Will Whales Be Our First Contact?
NYC/Dublin Portal Fails To Meet 'Guardian Of Forever' Standards
Holobox? Who Doesn't Want A Home Hologram?
EBS-260 Handjet Free Hand Dot Matrix Printer

Want to Contribute an Item? It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add it here.

<Previous
Next>

Google
  Web TechNovelgy.com   

 

 

Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Science Fiction Invention Timeline, or see what's New.

 

 

 

 

Science Fiction Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's   1950's
1960's   1970's
1980's   1990's
2000's   2010's

Science Fiction in the News

Smart TVs Are Listening!
'You had to live -- did live, from habit that became instinct -- in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard...'

Police Drones In China Would Like To Have A Word With You
''OVERRIDE,' the City Fathers said suddenly, without being asked anything at all.'

Are The Thought Police Listening To Everyone All The Time?
'... they could plug in your wire whenever they wanted to.'

Finally, Robot Conductors On Autonomous Buses
'Wardour Street,' he told the robot-conductor.'

RoboShiko! Sumo Exercises Still Good For Robots
'... the expressionless face before me was therefore that of the golem-wrestler, Rolem, a creature that could be set for five times the strength of a human being.'

Giant Robotic Hands At Gundam Next Future Science
'Waldo put his arms into the primary pair before him; all three pairs, including the secondary pair mounted before the machine, came to life.'

JWST Finds Bucking Centaur 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1
'... the glittering little rocket bolted to the black iron behind him.'

BeamBike Solar Power Canopy For Electric Bikes
'The slender stalks of a sunshade-photocell collector...'

California Fireman Arrested For Starting Fires
'Fire is bright and fire is clean.'

More SF in the News

More Beyond Technovelgy

Home | Glossary | Science Fiction Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.