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Microbots Are on Their Way

nytimes.com

1–10 of 40 posts

Re: Microbots Are on Their Way

#2
Or maybe we could inject them into the brain, and then could 'override basic autonomic function. Maybe we could use this on a recently dead body and it could do simple things, like amble around, maybe grab things, or bite.

Re: Microbots Are on Their Way

#3
I feel like I've been seeing stories like this, with accompanying microscopic footage, for decades. Has anyone ever built anything more complex than a simple actuator? These things seem to barely qualify as robots.

Re: Microbots Are on Their Way

#4

I feel like I've been seeing stories like this, with accompanying microscopic footage, for decades. Has anyone ever built anything more complex than a simple actuator? These things seem to barely qualify as robots.

I think the main thing I always see with posts like these are that they always say what could be done but with no plan or process to do any of it. The problem with microbots seems to be a similar problem to spaceflight currently: we can make it and its possible but no current commercial opportunities exist to push the technology past the "we can do it" stage.

Re: Microbots Are on Their Way

#5

I feel like I've been seeing stories like this, with accompanying microscopic footage, for decades. Has anyone ever built anything more complex than a simple actuator? These things seem to barely qualify as robots.

That's true. I remember seeing that kind of thing on it's back, basically feelers in the air that could manipulate items, a really long time ago.

It couldn't have been that many years after Drexler's book got published.

Re: Microbots Are on Their Way

#7

I feel like I've been seeing stories like this, with accompanying microscopic footage, for decades. Has anyone ever built anything more complex than a simple actuator? These things seem to barely qualify as robots.

I think the main thing I always see with posts like these are that they always say what could be done but with no plan or process to do any of it. The problem with microbots seems to be a similar problem to spaceflight currently: we can make it and its possible but no current commercial opportunities exist to push the technology past the "we can do it" stage.

Well, spaceflight is a big industry though. Or do you mean human spaceflight?

Re: Microbots Are on Their Way

#8
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the main thing I always see with posts like these are that they always say what could be done but with no plan or process to do any of it. The problem with microbots seems to be a similar problem to spaceflight currently: we can make it and its possible but no current commercial opportunities exist to push the technology past the "we can do it" stage.

Well, spaceflight is a big industry though. Or do you mean human spaceflight?

Anything outside of telecommunications or earth observation. Human spaceflight is a different can of worms with the additional dilemma of that no large hardware failures can occur. Rockets fail a lot, people dying is bad for PR, and thus you need a really good reason to send a person. The thing then is what do you do with people in space that makes enough money to warrant it? Basically nothing. Thus the lack of any human spaceflight other than research purposes.
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