These are the only CHOAM robots I'm familiar with:
Master Surveyor – 23/Aug/2012
The O'Niell organisation had Arthur design and build handwavium-based survey robots, called "Master Surveyor", for use in the Asteroid Belt, that could work with minimal supervision. Arthur's comment was he was a little surprised as, "They didn't even need to look like cute girls". This work was done mid-to-late July, 2009.
The logic behind using these robots was that being able to demonstrate that you had an accurate survey, done at your expense, of the astronomical body that you wanted at least exploitation rights to, should greatly improve your legal position.
The design of these robots is based on surveying tripods:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tripod_%28surveying%29
Arthur had previously lucked into finding a (home-recorded) video of loads of adverts. One of these was a stop-action animation of a number of surveying tripods, walking around, and apparently doing an effective job of surveying, without any humans being involved. He took this and dissolved it in generic handwavium, along with training videos for surveyors, and some videos of really hostile environments, that might as well be in outer space. This was enhanced with footage and animation of the Mars explorer robots, print-outs of all the information he could find on-line on the Asteroid Belt, and other non-Earth bodies in the Solar System, as well as speculations on extra-Solar bodies, in other solar systems.
Next Arthur obtained some old surveying tripods, which had actually been used by surveyors. To these he attached a full set of surveying tools, articulated so that they wouldn't get in each others way, and an old mobile phone which included a SIM, and a memory card. Also, each got a small plastic jet pack, from a spaceman toy. Then waved the lot up. This produced survey robots, which would cooperate, preferably with a minimum of two others.
The robots were a bit confused to be on Earth, but worked about as well as Arthur hoped - he is sure they'd work properly off-Earth (they did). As long as they are kept charged-up, which they only need every few days, they will work together to do a survey of whatever they are asked, walking, and in low-G environments jetting, around. The survey details are recorded in the memory cards of all the robots involved, for redundancy, and these cards can be removed and replaced with an empty one, for the next survey.
Unfortunately, the robots will not work with humans. In fact, they wont work if there are any humans in the area to be surveyed. While they understand English, they don't speak, though they can communicate (with humans) via texts sent by their mobile phones, or be given instructions this way by authorised staff. They intercommunicate far more effectively, but wont talk to other AIs or robots. While they are highly skilled at surveying they can't change their, or each others, memory cards, nor can they plug themselves in to recharge. Their general intelligence is probably about dog or smart bird level, and they are very loyal to their masters.
Arthur shipped the design, the assembly instructions, and the handwavium culture off to the O'Niell organisation, along with the waved robots. As usual, he kept a sample of the handwavium. Then, he forgot about this, considering it at best a minor project.
Edit: META: This is from "Arthurs Caught", and the story is "Master of All" (He Surveys).
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"It is the business of the future to be dangerous" - Hawkwind
Master Surveyor – 23/Aug/2012
The O'Niell organisation had Arthur design and build handwavium-based survey robots, called "Master Surveyor", for use in the Asteroid Belt, that could work with minimal supervision. Arthur's comment was he was a little surprised as, "They didn't even need to look like cute girls". This work was done mid-to-late July, 2009.
The logic behind using these robots was that being able to demonstrate that you had an accurate survey, done at your expense, of the astronomical body that you wanted at least exploitation rights to, should greatly improve your legal position.
The design of these robots is based on surveying tripods:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tripod_%28surveying%29
Arthur had previously lucked into finding a (home-recorded) video of loads of adverts. One of these was a stop-action animation of a number of surveying tripods, walking around, and apparently doing an effective job of surveying, without any humans being involved. He took this and dissolved it in generic handwavium, along with training videos for surveyors, and some videos of really hostile environments, that might as well be in outer space. This was enhanced with footage and animation of the Mars explorer robots, print-outs of all the information he could find on-line on the Asteroid Belt, and other non-Earth bodies in the Solar System, as well as speculations on extra-Solar bodies, in other solar systems.
Next Arthur obtained some old surveying tripods, which had actually been used by surveyors. To these he attached a full set of surveying tools, articulated so that they wouldn't get in each others way, and an old mobile phone which included a SIM, and a memory card. Also, each got a small plastic jet pack, from a spaceman toy. Then waved the lot up. This produced survey robots, which would cooperate, preferably with a minimum of two others.
The robots were a bit confused to be on Earth, but worked about as well as Arthur hoped - he is sure they'd work properly off-Earth (they did). As long as they are kept charged-up, which they only need every few days, they will work together to do a survey of whatever they are asked, walking, and in low-G environments jetting, around. The survey details are recorded in the memory cards of all the robots involved, for redundancy, and these cards can be removed and replaced with an empty one, for the next survey.
Unfortunately, the robots will not work with humans. In fact, they wont work if there are any humans in the area to be surveyed. While they understand English, they don't speak, though they can communicate (with humans) via texts sent by their mobile phones, or be given instructions this way by authorised staff. They intercommunicate far more effectively, but wont talk to other AIs or robots. While they are highly skilled at surveying they can't change their, or each others, memory cards, nor can they plug themselves in to recharge. Their general intelligence is probably about dog or smart bird level, and they are very loyal to their masters.
Arthur shipped the design, the assembly instructions, and the handwavium culture off to the O'Niell organisation, along with the waved robots. As usual, he kept a sample of the handwavium. Then, he forgot about this, considering it at best a minor project.
Edit: META: This is from "Arthurs Caught", and the story is "Master of All" (He Surveys).
--
"It is the business of the future to be dangerous" - Hawkwind