NationStates Jolt Archive


Godulan Research Progress Report

Godular
02-10-2004, 20:22
In accordance with the agreement set forth by Omicron Alpha, and in return for their continuing monetary assistance, the following brief has been provided by the H.E. Technical Institute regarding progress in robotics research, and technical specifications for the following also sent to their corporate headquarters.

>BRIEF COMMENCES<

With the increased funding we have received from Omicron Alpha, and the enhanced computing technology provided by the AI nation of Emperor Fenix, we have made surprisingly strong progress in following our path in robotics, and have broken into the realm of mammalian sentiences, and in an unexpected turn, we've managed to craft avian sentiences capable of fully duplicating their template progenitors.

The following sentiences have been recreated in a digital format.
1) Squirrel
2) Mole
3) Falcon
4) Ant

This last sentience was surprisingly difficult to recreate, as we had to format a digital version of what has been classically referred to as a "Hive Mind" using miniaturized communication devices and turning each individual ant into a small comm relay, as well as create a lightweight metal that would be able to withstand the stress of carrying objects of extreme weight in similar proportions to its progenitor race. Work is still ongoing, so that we will be able to maintain the proportionality in more extreme size conditions.

The implications of duplicating an ant colony are quite widespread, in particular with regards to construction capacity. One could conceivably program a hive with a certain structure, provide the construction specifications and materiel, and would be rewarded with a completed project in approximately half the time as it would be under more humanoid construction efforts. The possibilities in regards to mining are quite favorable, as well.

Another point of particular interest is... exactly that: MUCH more interesting. It has been found that in some cases, the ants will construct specialized versions of themselves in order to complete certain tasks with more efficiency. Already we're seeing Mech-Ants wandering around that seem to be made exclusively for welding and bolt-placement.

Work is still ongoing with attempting to understand the mechanics of this particular sentience. We're having trouble figuring out how they're capable of understanding when such-and-such a creature is needed to fulfill a certain task without outside programming. At the moment, allowing commercial production of this sentience is out of the question, as their adaptive capacity could very easily spiral out of control.

The squirrel makes a good pet, by the way. It even has a twitchy tail!

We see much potential for the falcon and mole sentiences in farm maintenance. No more mice grubbing for wheat, no sir! Clean-up is likely to be an issue though.

Which brings us to a second point: We're initiating research into alternative fuel sources for these robotic sentiences... in particular, the ability to derive power from ingesting organic material. It is no small hindrance to the digital sentience that it is required to report to a recharge station periodically, and we hope to circumvent this limiting factor. Progress will be slow on this area, however, many years (several RL weeks) of chemical engineering research and other secondary fields will be required.

Regards,
Leonus Mindwaker

>BRIEF ENDS<

Now, as I have said, Technical Documentation has been sent to Omicron Alpha, along with many letters of thanks to Emperor Fenix. Attempts to commercialize the Ant Sentience is HIGHLY discouraged, as we ourselves are still attempting to figure out what the hell makes these things work in their un-foreseen manners.

We do suspect that this will be the big moneymaker for robotics, but until its unpredictability is better understood, it will simply remain an economic projection.

Progress Reports will be sent on schedule, of course, and technical specs as well.

Respectfully,