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"The wealth of the universe is all over your head. We need to take command of the solar system to gain that wealth..."
- Larry Niven
 |
| Robass | ||
| A robotic beast of burden. |
| It looked harmlessly like a woodpile sheltered against possible rain. Thomas pulled off the skins and contemplated the sleek functional lines of the robass. Smiling, he stowed his minimal gear into its panniers and climbed into the foam saddle. The starlight was bright enough so he could check the necessary coordinates on his map and feed the data into the electronic controls...
Thomas had never ridden a robass before, but he was inclined, within their patent limitations, to trust the works of the Technarchy. After several miles had proved that the coordinates were duly registered, he put up the foam backrest... and went to sleep. |
| Technovelgy from The Quest for Saint Aquin,
by Anthony Boucher. Published by Holt in 1951 Additional resources -
|
Here are some additional details:
Compare to the centipede-machine from Monsters of Mars (1931) by Edmond Hamilton, the transport walkers from A Little Further Up the Fox (1989) by George M. Ewing, the centipede from Killing Titan (2015) by Greg Bear and the walking fort from The Killing Machine (1964) by Jack Vance.
Thanks to Mark for contributing this item.
He... took his first opportunity to inspect the robass in full light. He admired the fast-plodding, articulated legs, so necessary since roads had degenerated... the side wheels that could be lowered into action if surface conditions permitted; and above all the smooth black mound that housed the electronic brain - the brain that stored commands and data concerning ultimate objectives and made its own decisions on how to fulfill those commands in view of those data...
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More Ideas
and Technology from The Quest for Saint Aquin
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and Technology by Anthony Boucher
Tech news articles related to The Quest for Saint Aquin
Tech news articles related to works by Anthony Boucher
Robass-related
news articles:
- MULE Autonomous Navigation Vehicle By Lockheed Martin
- BigDog Robass More Coordinated Than I Am
- Lrry-1 Fire-Breathing, Riding MechaDog Video
- LittleDog Robot Has Dynamic Double-Support Gait
- KITECH And POSTECH Korean Quadruped Robots
- Legged Squad Support System Monster BigDog Robot
- 'Robotic Mule' Ready For Duty, Sir
- AlphaDog Proto Stronger, Quieter Than BigDog
- HyQ Four-Legged Robot From Italy
- DARPA LS3 Robot Pack Animal Video
- LS3 AlphaDog Robot Marine Corps Video
- ANYmal Quadruped Robot Trots On
- TIGER Ultimate Mobility Vehicle From Hyundai
| Optimus Robot Will Be A Good Nanny, Says Musk |
| LORIS Passive-Gripper Climbing Robot |
| Athena Smart Security Guard Robot With Face Recognition |
| SpaceHopper Microgravity Robot Lands On Its Feet |
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'The pitiless M rays pierced Earth and steel and densest concrete as if they were so much transparent glass...'
'Pina2bo would have to operate full blast for many years to put as much SO2 into the stratosphere as its namesake had done in a few minutes.'
'Nanny is different,' Tom Fields murmured... 'she's not like a machine. She's like a person.'
'We made a crude , small cell and were delighted - and, I admit, somewhat surprised - to find it worked.'
'...we've promised him a generous pension from the royalties.'
'The clothes and jewelery drew their tiny power requirements from her movements.'
'At the end of each appendage's eight fingers there are tinier appendages...'
'We want to do something to help those who are suffering from tooth loss or absence,' said lead researcher Katsu Takahashi.
