New Terminator Trailer

Check out the latest Trailer to the new Terminator film.

It's Official - Ice Found on Mars

The Mars Phoenix lander has done what it was sent to Mars for. It had found solid evidence of ice on the red planet. The lander dug a small trench which revealed a white shiny substance. This has been up for much debate over the last week as to whether or not it was ice or salt. But it looks like it is probably ice.

Mars has a different atmospheric pressure than here on Earth, that being the case liquid water can not exist. What happens is that when ice is exposed to the atmosphere it literally turns straight to gas, skipping the liquid stage, this is called sublimation. NASA has just announced that the patch of white shiny stuff they found has started to vanish, this can only mean that sublimation is taking place. The only real thing left for Phoenix to do now of find evidence of organic compounds that lead to life.
This is a major discovery, we now have evidence that water existed on Mars and is still there in ice form.
Phoenix Principal Investigator Peter Smith of the University of Arizona said:

"It must be ice, these little clumps completely disappearing over the course of a few days, that is perfect evidence that it's ice. There had been some question whether the bright material was salt. Salt can't do that."

That's not bad going, the craft has only been there for 24 days. It was day 20 when the hole was dug and 4 days later they an ounce that they have found ice.

Needless to say that the discovery has come at an interesting time. The US Presidential candidates have been announced and who knows what is in store for NASA and space exploration. Hopefully this will encourage the new President to re-examine the current policies and throw a bit more money their way.

This is another nail in the coffin of intelligent design or creationism (whatever its called). I see a future that many have predicted, seas on Mars and colonists walking the land breathing the air. Start terraforming now I say.

Little Green Men, Call the Plumber Please.

What a week it’s been for NASA and space. We have the $325 million Phoenix Lander successfully making touchdown on the red planet and the Space Shuttle Discovery made it to orbit without any major issues. That means the hunt for little green men is now on and the Space Station will get its new crapper.



The Phoenix landed just as expected and in a nice flat area with very few rocks and boulders. During its rocket assisted descent the plumes of exhaust have blown away the dust to reveal flat, bright areas that we will hopefully find to be ice of some kind. After performing all the post landing tests it was confirmed that the lander was in good shape and ready to start science. Just yesterday the bucket scoop grabbed a sample of the regolith and took images of the rusty coloured material. I have to say that it looks a lot like mud and surprisingly there is a small patch of what looks like a white/silvery substance which NASA think could be ICE or some kind of salts.
NASA hopes to do some tests on this soil sometime over the next week and confirm what the makeup of it is. We may yet see traces of hydrogen which may mean water.

And coupled with that the Space Shuttle Discovery launched almost flawlessly on its way to the International Space Station to deliver the rest of the Japanese science module Kibo and repair the toilet that is not working. The toilet has 2 parts, one for poo and one for wee, it’s the wee part that is broken, so at least they are not up shit creek yet. In saying that the manual function of the toilet is working and the crew has been using the toilet in the Soyuz capsule which is docked for emergencies so it’s not all doom and gloom. If the toilet can not be fixed they may have to evacuate the station or use Apollo era crapper bags which could be messy.

The launch which was almost flawless did no apparent damage the orbiter but it sunbstantially wrecked part of the launch facility. Mortar and bricks were blown out from the blast chamber which channels the exhaust plumes during takeoff and scattered them over the road behind the pad. NASA have said that this should be repaired in time for the next scheduled launch at pad 39A on Oct 8th.

All in all a pretty good week for NASA as they try to complete the space station and prove that little green men do in fact live on Mars and War of the Worlds is a documentary.

Robo Seal begs to be clubbed

OK, maybe the headings a bit tasteless, but then fuck - look at the damn thing. Its asking to be made into a pair of shoes and some lovely mittens. What is it? Well its the latest model of therapeutic robotic synth-animal with a $US5000 price tag. Yes, apparently the old folks lap this shit up, and according to the freaky Japanese who keep turning out some of the weirdest products, it increases happiness in the oldies, thereby decreasing stress, need for med's, and less requirement for nursing home staff to deal with cranky old nana's.





I'm not 100% convinced that this sort of stuff works. There have been studies (see here and here) and there is anecdotal evidence to support the fact that old people live better lives with the responsibility and companionship that comes with having an animal. But a freaking robot?

Even though it looks cuddly, do people want some simulcra of life taking up space on the bed at night, all in the name of keeping their nuts and bolts together? I'm sure its soft and all, but wouldn't it have a limited response set, like those toy dogs that you can buy that you turn on, they move half a metre, bark, sit up, repeat. Ok, I'm sure it has more tricks up its.....flipper than 3, but people, even old people, are not stupid. Well, some are, but this is not a product aimed at brain dead or mentally challenged shrieking bed pan hurlers. If it has, lets be generous, 50 different actions, surely anyone would notice after a limited amount of time that it was beginning to repeat itself.

And who wants a bloody sea dwelling mammal for a pet when you are already over the hill and gathering speed? Surely something a bit more independent like an adult cat, or adult dog, or a frickin hamster would be preferable?

Some might say, what the hell is your problem? Its a robotic seal? Build a bridge. But its precisely this waste of robot building talent that rev's me up - why waste million of dollars building something this shitty? Why not build something more useful like a beer retrieval robot that knows when you need one WITHOUT asking? Or a robot that chases the neighbours cats off the lawn so you don't have to dodge cat shit landmines next time you mow the bastard?

I'm all for that - the Catenator Mk1. Comes with optional flamethrower.

Retro Movie Graffiti

Check out the following link to see more of this cool retro science fiction graffiti.

Thanks to Nera Studios for sending the link.

AT-AT prototype - Big Dog rocks.

Boston Dynamics in the US has developed what can only be described as the prototype for the AT-AT from The Empire Strikes Back. Although I suspect that the AT-AT could not do the things that 'Big Dog' can. This new robot is far more weird than watching the ASIMO robot trying to run, if anything it looks a bit creepy, almost like a 4 legged spider. Look at the way that the 'Big Dog' manages to keep on it's 'feet' while on ice. Video after the jump.



The potential for this kind of robot is amazing. Imagine how it could be helpful in rescue situations. Give it some coordinates and send it on its way with first aid kits and supplies.
Then there is the military use. Again send it into where troops are pinned down with fresh food and ammo. Or send it behind enemy lines with tactical bombs or claymores. Not that we advocate the use of technology in that way here at RD. Needless to say that this project is partly financed by DARPA.
This could also be utilised in planetary exploration. It would be able to get to places that the likes of rovers could not get to. Down into Valley's and craters, jump crevices and travel faster. Someone email NASA.

Here are some specs right from the Boston Dynamics website:
Speed = 3.3mph
Ascent angle = 35 degree
Load weight = 120lbs

Regardless of the end outcome and final use this is a pretty cool new robot and is right up there with the ASIMO from Honda, and Dextre the new robot arm on the International Space Station.
This technology has a bright future, here's hoping they don't take over the World and make us all in to batteries.

Robots taking over the world - prepare for either termination or utopia

I find it astounding the number of advances being made in robotics these days. Whether it be the amazing and astounding Auto Breast Massager, or the Bum's Rush device, we are seeing a large amount of things being automated. Are we on the cusp of a new age of robotic enhancement of life as we see in so many sci-fi movies? Or is Sky-Net about to unleash the wrath of AI on us ala Terminator?






Its amazing to see how many scenes in movies that we now see coming into fruition in real life. Nothing like life imitating art I say. Several cases I read about recently spring to mind to illuminate this point.

First we have the NeuroArm - a robotic arm designed to work inside an MRI (Magnet Resonance Imaging) and give the surgeon an unparalleled microscopic view inside the head of the patient. Theoretically, you could use this device remotely to operate on someone's brain, which ties into the other technologies already around that allow doctors to operate on people remotely. This we have seen in previous movies like Alien, Star Trek,

Next up, we have robots designed to help us, like the Wearable Robotic Aid for construction workers. This allows builders, especially when putting up ceilings, to reduce arm fatigue, because if anyone who has tried to put up ceilings has realised, your arms get tired quickly holding them up over your head. This will transmute into big yellow exoskeletons in the future I'm sure, just like Ripley uses in Aliens. Theres also the ones that make our breakfast and pump our gas. They cook our meals, they haul our trash, they connect our calls, they (may) drive our ambulances. We guard us while we sleep. They will fuck with us.

And lets not forget all the robots being designed to blow shit up - the American Defense department is spending US$4 billion over the next few years on unmanned systems. They already have unmanned drones, and computer guided weapons, but next it'll be hunter-killer drones and AI's running the battlefield. Lets only hope that AI ends up being more like the movie of the same name, and Sonny from I Robot, than Terminator and V.I.K.I.

Really - I think we've covered all the bases - automated death machines, automated life giving machines, and automated petrol pumps. What more could a future me want?