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"Science fiction writers foresee the inevitable, and although problems and catastrophes may be inevitable, solutions are not."
- Isaac Asimov
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| Mark IV Door Keeping Robot | ||
| A robotic device for responding (and scanning) people who come to your door. |
| He pressed the button set in one of posts of the wrought iron gate. There was a faint whirring sound that told him he was being scanned. From a hidden speaker came a metallic voice.
"Who are you? What do you want?" "I am John Clavering. I wish to speak with your master, with Mr. Konradis." "What is your business?" "I will tell that to Mr. Konradis." "I repeat: What is your business?" "Damn nosy robot...my business is private." |
| Technovelgy from The Man Who Could Not Stop,
by A. Bertram Chandler. Published by Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1959 Additional resources -
|
Chandler makes clear that this is a robot with very limited capabilities:
"Thing to 'member," Fredericks said, "is this. All our robots have brains. But not human brains. Not Anyting like. Take Mark IV. Same IQ as domestic fowel...Funny thing-bunch of us talking 'bout it, 'membered 'bout hypnotizin' chickens. Fantastic. Works on Mark IV too..."
Compare this idea to the automated sentry from Greg Bear's 2003 novel Darwin's Children.
Thanks to an anonymous reader for the quotes and full citation. (Note: if you'd leave me your email address on my contact page, I'd be glad to respond to your questions.)
...He remembered the night that he had got Fredericks, the Farrar-Blenkinsop roboticist, drunk.
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Additional
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More Ideas
and Technology from The Man Who Could Not Stop
More Ideas
and Technology by A. Bertram Chandler
Tech news articles related to The Man Who Could Not Stop
Tech news articles related to works by A. Bertram Chandler
| Robot Hand Creeps Along, Separate From It's Owner |
| Korean Exoskeleton Suit F1 Helps You Put It On |
| Humanoid Robots Spotted In Homes Performing Household Chores |
| Bambot Open Source Cheap Delivery Robot |
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Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
'The crawling... object was V-Stephen's surgeon-hand...'
'Joe got out the gravity-simulator harnesses...'
'You couldn't have the capstone without the pyramid to hold it up.'
'the unobtrusive inspections with tiny remote-cast snoopers...'
I'm hoping that this procedure becomes a normal part of medical practice!
'... nothing was perfected until M. Pantalon announced the completion of his automatic valet.'
'...its streets were of remarkable width, with few or no buildings so high as mosques, churches, State-offices, or palaces in Tellurian cities.'
