Science and Technology MEGA THREAD

[azrael]

On 2/21/2025 at 10:26 AM, Old_Nash_II said:

As Captain Nascimento would say:
I already warned you that this is going to be crap

 

Anybody getting Westworld (2016) vibes from those things? *looks at YT comments*. Yep I'm not the only one.

6 hours ago, TangledThorns said:

Mine and my wife's different employers are working to get AI to help analyze and process (hopefully streamline) work flow.

We're just hoping the AI analysis will catch the nuance in human written entries.

It's hard to not be able to escape the "AI blitz in business"-trend. The question is what business are you in where human written nuance appears?

[Big s]

On 2/21/2025 at 6:07 PM, Dynaman said:

impressive as a possible first step toward more realistic artificial limbs (or a dead end).  Otherwise it is the stuff of nightmare fuel.

I do have to agree about the horror aspect, but this tech here looks like they over complicated things using outdated technology to accomplish making a jiggly mess. I think the better approach is to start simpler and perfect things that way before going this complex.

I’ve seen some prosthetics that are the majority of an arm from being lost just above the elbow. And those were able to use simplified controls to accomplish bending of the elbow and even gripping of hands, and without the loud noise and stuttering joints

[Old_Nash_II]

Waiting for Rideback bikes

[M'Kyuun]

1 hour ago, Old_Nash_II said:

Waiting for Rideback bikes

That's interesting. However, if anyone had the current tech to corner the market on such a product, I'd think that would be Boston Dynamics, who have a proven range of bi- and quadrupedal robots. This is definitely very near future tech, though.

And from there, how long before it becomes militarized, enlarged, armed and armored, and we end up with AT-ATs? Not that I'm against the creation of a RW AT-AT, my favorite Star Wars vehicle, but the implications of such a thing actually existing could be troubling. Too, IMHO, while it looks really cool, it's pretty impractical- take out one leg and the whole thing would be one big useless pile of salvage.

[mechaninac]

5 hours ago, Old_Nash_II said:

Waiting for Rideback bikes

Whattyaknow... a mini Ligar ZOID...

[Big s]

6 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

And from there, how long before it becomes militarized, enlarged, armed and armored, and we end up with AT-ATs

Probably never. The At-At is kind of a huge sitting duck design that looks awesome in a movie, but pretty much useless otherwise. An unmanned tank is much more practical for everything from repairs and overall budget and low to the ground to avoid being an easy target. I love mecha as much as any Macross fan, but most of the cool stuff is only meant for fantasy rather than reality.

as far as this Kawasaki thingy, it’s not necessarily impossible, but it’s definitely gonna be a rich dudes toy that probably goes the way of the segway, basically a forgotten fad at best death trap at worst. It didn’t seem to be able to do much that someone skilled with a cheap dirtbike couldn’t really handle

[M'Kyuun]

6 hours ago, Big s said:

Probably never. The At-At is kind of a huge sitting duck design that looks awesome in a movie, but pretty much useless otherwise. An unmanned tank is much more practical for everything from repairs and overall budget and low to the ground to avoid being an easy target. I love mecha as much as any Macross fan, but most of the cool stuff is only meant for fantasy rather than reality.

Hence my follow-up statement that the AT-AT, though cool in a movie/toy sense, is impractical. And it is totally way cool. 

6 hours ago, Big s said:

as far as this Kawasaki thingy, it’s not necessarily impossible, but it’s definitely gonna be a rich dudes toy that probably goes the way of the segway, basically a forgotten fad at best death trap at worst. It didn’t seem to be able to do much that someone skilled with a cheap dirtbike couldn’t really handle

However, If the Corleo actually becomes popular enough to become successful beyond just being a fad, I doubt it would take long for it to find its way into the military, or a DARPA equivalent, along with mods, like longer legs for greater running speeds, or bulkier builds for carrying greater loads. Not only that, but armed variants would almost certainly be likely. A drone of similar design would have the ability to traverse terrain in ways that wheeled vehicles might not be able to which would give them a tactical advantage.

[Big s]

2 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

However, If the Corleo actually becomes popular enough to become successful beyond just being a fad, I doubt it would take long for it to find its way into the military, or a DARPA equivalent, along with mods, like longer legs for greater running speeds, or bulkier builds for carrying greater loads. Not only that, but armed variants would almost certainly be likely. A drone of similar design would have the ability to traverse terrain in ways that wheeled vehicles might not be able to which would give them a tactical advantage.

They already have drones that can fly, I don’t think that there’s too many uses for a drone like this. The spot four legged ones are good for tight spaces though, but I don’t think there’s much of a market for this type of thing.

It’s a cool fantasy though 

Edited 14 hours ago by Big s