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"the [science fiction] writer should be able to convince the reader (and himself) that the wonders he is describing really can come true...and that gets tricky when you take a good, hard look at the world around you."
- Frederik Pohl
 |
| Skrode | ||
| A small mobile platform designed for a legless race. |
| Ravna looked across the surf. When the waves backed down the sand, she could see the Skroderiders' fronds peeping out of the spray... They sat in the surf, thinking thoughts that left no imprint on their minds...
Then some unknown race had chanced upon the dreamers and decided to "help them out." Someone had put them on mobile platforms, the skrodes. With wheels they could move along the seashores, could reach and manipulate with their fronds and tendrils. With the skrode's mechanical short-term memory, they could learn fast enough that their new mobility would not kill them... |
| Technovelgy from A Fire Upon The Deep,
by Vernor Vinge. Published by Tor Books in 1992 Additional resources -
|
Skroderiders sometimes performed an action repeatedly; their only short-term memory lay in their skrodes:
Compare to the Martian perambulators from Between Planets (1951) by Robert Heinlein.
When the Riders tried to think on more than one thing at a time, their Skrodes were sometimes unable to maintain short-term memory. Blueshell especially got trapped into cycles of behavior, repeating an action and then immediately forgetting the accomplishment.
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Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from A Fire Upon The Deep
More Ideas
and Technology by Vernor Vinge
Tech news articles related to A Fire Upon The Deep
Tech news articles related to works by Vernor Vinge
Skrode-related
news articles:
- Cockroach-Controlled Mobile Robot
- Terranaut - Fish Explore Land With Robotic Vehicle
- Mothbot: Moth Controls Robotic Vehicle
- PlantBot: Humans Provide Gift Of Greater Mobility With 'Skrodes'
- Solar Nomad Plant A Robotic Urban Parasite
- Hamster Powers, Controls Strandbeest Walking Robot
- Project Shellter 3D Prints Homes For Crabs
- Pepper The Parrot's Bird Buggy
- Male Moths Cruise For Girls In Robotic Vehicle
- Mattel Bug Racer Driven By Live Cricket
- HEXA Robotic Help For Plants
- Giving Snakes Their Legs Back
- Mushroom 'Robot' Is Just A Start
| Engineer Creates Crazy Motorized Track Hospital Bed |
| Xiaomi Self-Driving Self-Balancing Scooter |
| AV-STEP To Permit Sale Of Vehicles Without Steering Wheels Or Pedals |
| 'Robovan' Name Already Taken - Elon, Try These |
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'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.'
'...it was all composed of tiny, identical cubes, carefully laid to form a tilelike surface.'
