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
"If you don't care about science enough to be interested in it on its own, you shouldn't try to write hard science fiction."
- Frederik Pohl
 |
| Grapple Tracks | ||
| A means of automating the process of parking and releasing passenger vehicles from a parking garage. |
Herbert didn't need to add this detail, but it's an interesting idea. In films like Minority Report, you see vehicles which are sometimes under manual control, and sometimes under the control of a central traffic network. In this case, the difficulty of having a traffic network covering an open road is recognized. Instead, the more sensible place to automate is in a very constricted area - a parking garage.
| He activated the grapple tracks. The skitter jerked into motion, danced sideways, and slid smoothly down the driveway to the street.
As they emerged from the parking spire's enclosing shadows, even before the grapple released and Havvy activated the skitter's own power, Jedrik firmed her decision not to look back. |
| From The Dosadi Experiment,
by Frank Herbert. Published by Berkley Putnam in 1977 Additional resources -
|
The author uses this detail to both show the ingenuity of the Dosadi, and their painstaking efforts to automate mindless tasks.
Stacked in the building beneath her, each one suspended by its roof grapples on the conveyor track, were the vehicles of the power merchants and their minions. The machines varied from the giant jaigers heavy with armor and weapons and redundant engine systems, of the ruling few, down to the tiny black skitters assigned to such as herself.
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from The Dosadi Experiment
More Ideas
and Technology by Frank Herbert
Tech news articles related to The Dosadi Experiment
Tech news articles related to works by Frank Herbert
Grapple Tracks-related
news articles:
- Stan, Robot Valet, Will Drag Your Car Away
| Seabreacher, H.G. Winter's 1939 Torpoon |
| Project Soli Radar Gesture Chip Now FCC Approved |
| Implosion Fabrication Shrinks 3D Objects To Nanoscale |
| ODYSSEUS Solar-Powered Stratospheric Plane Flies Forever |
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> |
|
|
|
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 Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
|
'... they placed the brain in a special solution, having all the properties of Nursing the brain cells.'
'... Ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.'
'Twin robotic arms with gleaming three-foot sword blades unfolded from the forward hydraulic assemblies...'
'He made an adjustment, pointed the tube at the wall beside Etzwane, and projected a cone of light.'
'A metal... light as cork and stronger than steel...'
'Ken lay full-length in the padded body compartment, his feet resting on the controlling bars of the directional planes, hands on the torpoon's engine levers.'
'... little machines, that went from plant to plant... cutting off the ripe fruit.'
'Recharge the batteries... in almost every town and village...'
'...a tiny, rocket-powered projectile, drove towards the mysterious bulk. It hit, exploding into a cloud of incandescent vapour.'
'The flycycles were miracles of compact design.'
