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"It's hard to tell stories about critters that are not human. John W. Campbell tried it, in "Twilight," and everybody says it's a wonderful story, and nobody ever reads it twice."
- Jerry Pournelle
 |
| Biot | ||
| A biological robot. |
When the explorers reach the interior of Rama, and the vast structure approaches the Sun, a vast number of biological robots - biots - perform various functions.
| ...now life, with all its infinite possibilities, had come to Rama. If the biological robots were not living creatures, they were certainly very good imitations.
No one knew who invented the word "biot"; it seemed to come into instant use, by a kind of spontaneous generation. From his vantage point on the hub, Rousseau was Biot Watcher in Chief, and he was beginning, so he believed, to understand some of their behavior patterns. |
| Technovelgy from Rendezvous With Rama,
by Arthur C. Clarke. Published by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich in 1972 Additional resources -
|
As far as I know, Clarke coined the word "biot."
Read a lot more details about biots in the article for spider tripod robots, taken from the same novel.
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Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Rendezvous With Rama
More Ideas
and Technology by Arthur C. Clarke
Tech news articles related to Rendezvous With Rama
Tech news articles related to works by Arthur C. Clarke
Biot-related
news articles:
- Tiny Bio-Bots Take Big Steps Forward
- Researchers Say 'Biohybrid Robot' - Clarke Said 'Biot'
- 3D Print Tiny Bio-Bots
- Researchers Create Bowls, Coils, Ripples Of Living Tissue
- New Lifelike Material Powered By Artificial Metabolism
- Biohybrid Robots Made Of Living And Synthetic Materials
| PaXini Supersensitive Robot Fingers |
| Artificial Skin For Robots Is Coming Right Along |
| Robot Guard Dog On Duty |
| Wearable Artificial Fabric Muscles |
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'There was a wall ahead... It was riddled with holes that were the mouths of tunnels.'
'...support the interior human structure against Jupiter’s pull.'
'Anything larger than a BB shot it picked up and placed in a tray...'
'The German chemists have discovered how to supply the needed elements in compact, undiluted form...'
'Compounds devised by the biochemists for the rapid building of bone...'
'The car faltered as the external command came to brake...'
'It is about the size and shape of a kitchen stool, gyro-stabilized...'
