More robot stuff

Please allow me to introduce myself... by AdmiralSakai on 2013-08-19 19:32:00 UTC Reply

... I'm a man of little wealth and less taste. More specifically, I'm a college student, majoring in computer science with an emphasis on robotics- probably even that is a bit more than anyone has reason to know, so I'll just cut to the bit pertaining to you. I'm an avid consumer of bad creative material, and those significantly less bad communities that deal with it- MST3K, Retsupurae, and of course the PPC. While I've lurked about the wiki and mission list for a couple of months now, I've decided to actually participate in the community, college timesucks permitting. Hopefully, my basic knowledge of literature and slightly less basic knowledge of hard science will be of use to the community. Maybe some day I'll bother to write a few missions of my own... but that's getting ahead of myself. For now, I'm content to ponder the infinite garbage scow that is the internet with a community of like-minded people.

Regards,
AdmiralSakai

Hiya! by Legacy on 2013-08-24 17:16:00 UTC Reply

What're your favorite canons? Have a fluffy velociraptor while you think about it.
Welcome! by son_of_heaven176 on 2013-08-20 18:16:00 UTC Reply

A robotics student and sci-fi gamer, eh? Interesting. Let me see if I have anything for you:

*rummages in bag of holding*
Here, have a Porygon! Is it an animal? It is a robot? Is it some type of hybrid! Maybe you could figure it out.
Pleased to meet you! by doctorlit on 2013-08-20 05:45:00 UTC Reply

Hope you've guessed my name!

. . . I mean, it's written right up there . . .

Anyway, have a nonspecific ancient artifact of unknown origin that probably has mystical properties to some degree.

Re: Pleased to meet you! by AdmiralSakai on 2013-08-21 16:49:00 UTC Reply

*reverently accepts Rolling Stones record.*

Welcome aboard, Admiral. by hermione of vulcan on 2013-08-20 02:38:00 UTC Reply

I like you. Your good sense of humor and your knowledge of the materials makes me think you'll fit in quite well here.

Also, you're studying robotics, and my favorite Star Trek character is an android. Of course, Star Trek science is fairly soft (on a scale from "feather bed" to "granite", I'd say it's mud - there's some rock in there, but mostly it's just squishy and fun to play with), so I doubt it would be relevant, but still, robotics is very cool.

Gift…gift…Here, have a fluffy hat in whatever color/pattern you choose.
*waves* by Ailavyn Siniyash on 2013-08-20 02:18:00 UTC Reply

Hello and greetings. I hereby give you a lined Infinite Notebook with urple covers and wilver binding to use at your own discretion. Beware your eyes.

-Aila
Well, hello. by platypus on 2013-08-20 00:28:00 UTC Reply

Greetings, I am platypus. I, or rather we, are the collective intellect of every platypus in the galaxy. On the topic of robotics, could a conductive nanobot gel be used for an artifical brain? I've made drafts, but would like to ask someone currently learning the field. Also, would brain cells grown in a nutrient fluid serve as better autopilots, because they can adapt to new circumstances?

More robot stuff by AdmiralSakai on 2013-08-20 00:47:00 UTC Reply

I don't see why not. It'd basically be an artificial analogue of real nerve cells, so long as they were rigid enough to maintain connections (or had some means of long-range communication). Of course, such a thing is pretty far away from terrestrial science, so all bets are off. Just don't ingest it, otherwise you'll start +YP1NG L1K3 +H15.

As for autopilot, there's two types of "artificial neuron": hardware neural networks (which don't currently exist and involve "neurons" made from transistors on a circuit board) and regular software neural networks, where neurons are represented by values in a very large mathematical equation inside the computer. This second type is better understood, and is indeed often used to recognize images, navigate, and learn. The Google Car is, at its core, a neural network. At the moment, they're really the only thing that CAN be used for a learning autopilot.

Hope that helps.

Welcome to the PPC! by Lenore Snow on 2013-08-19 22:09:00 UTC Reply

It's nice to meet you! I'm Len, and I have no impressive-sounding credentials whatsoever, and unless your claim to poor taste is more than self-depricating humor, we don't have much in common besides the obvious affinity for books. That said, have an urple lawn ornament vaguely resembling a tuatara and a box of gently used novels for your housewarming gifts. :)

-- Len
Good morning, admiral! by darklordaakmal on 2013-08-19 21:17:00 UTC Reply

Is your fleet in space or on water? I am Dark Lord Aakmal, Lord of Orcs of Bukit Kepayan, LawReader of the Orcs, and Nominal Servant of Morgoth. If by any chance you require fictional sails, I'll be happy to sell a few dozen yards square of Shelobsilk, guarenteed not to be cut by a sword or cannon, or 30% discount on next purchase.

I give you a virtual plate of cymbal, good for waking up people from their bunkbeds. Just find somewhere else to bang it to, I forgot where the other one went.

Re: Good morning, admiral! by AdmiralSakai on 2013-08-21 16:48:00 UTC Reply

Greetings and salutations, Dork Lord Okamal, Lard of Arks... or something like that...

It's in space, although really given that it's all robots a rank of anything other than "human" was a bit redundant... although with addition of Commander Porygon to my crew that may change.

Well, there goes the market. by darklordaakmal on 2013-08-23 13:31:00 UTC Reply

Now if only I can make those ultrathin photon-driven sails that NASA has been talking about. Oh well, I guess it's back to smuggling silk for me.

Oh hai there! by Herr Wozzeck on 2013-08-19 20:51:00 UTC Reply

Welcome to the PPC! If you've been lurking, you know to take your shoes off and leave your sanity at the door. Remember, there is no sanity here whatsoever.

As a welcome gift, I'll give you some music by Messiaen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a63loXj_XP4
Why, hello there, Admiral by Desdendelle on 2013-08-19 20:16:00 UTC Reply

Welcome to our community. You can leave your sanity by the door, it's not needed here. Please make sure to read The Constitution. The wiki you seem to know about, and I assume you've read the Original Series...?
Anyway, what are your fandoms? Also, have this cup of tea. Just don't let the leaves eat you.
(Signed: (almost)-Corporal Des)

Re: Why, hello there, Admiral by AdmiralSakai on 2013-08-19 21:22:00 UTC Reply

*Ponders tea with a mixture of revulsion and paranoia for an indeterminate period, then concludes that the sheer badassitude of becoming a superhero with sapient caffeine particles in his bloodstream far outweighs any risks and ingests.*

I'm generally drawn to science fiction games- Halo, Metroid, Half-Life and/or Black Mesa, Mass Effect, Myst, that sort of thing. There don't seem to be many PPC members versed in (the?) The Elder Scrolls games, which I thought was kind of odd, but they've always appealed to me as well.

I've been known to write original material on my own, on occasion, although being a PhD-track I've had to work to master my tendency to lecture on topics and actually produce something with PLOT. Maybe I'll post some of my stories here, once I'm done revising the latest crop, although this is probably also a place where my thoughts on puzzle theory, the rules of magic, and other nonsense would be found genuinely interesting.