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You are here: Home / Science & Technology / One day it’s ping pong balls, the next it’s people.

One day it’s ping pong balls, the next it’s people.

by Tim F|  March 29, 20113:53 pm| 18 Comments

This post is in: Science & Technology

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Choose your doom folks. Bigdog, snakebot, murdercopterbots or human Pong.

via io9.

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Reader Interactions

18Comments

  1. 1.

    Culture of Truth

    March 29, 2011 at 3:57 pm

    If those are my choices, Snakebot

  2. 2.

    Comrade DougJ

    March 29, 2011 at 3:58 pm

    Resized to 480 width.

  3. 3.

    Redshirt

    March 29, 2011 at 4:02 pm

    At least the Terminators to come will know how to play games.

    And I’d like to remind Skynet that as an IT Professional, I could be very helpful in finding and rounding up any meatbag dissenters to toil in your underground factories. Hail Skynet!

  4. 4.

    Culture of Truth

    March 29, 2011 at 4:06 pm

    I would also accept Doomcat

  5. 5.

    Culture of Truth

    March 29, 2011 at 4:13 pm

    Reportedly federal prosecutors are considering charging BP managers with manslaughter over the deaths of the 11 workers on the oil rig.

  6. 6.

    Comrade Mary

    March 29, 2011 at 4:15 pm

    Pretty cool, although also kind of sad that we have to invent machines to play games on our behalf.

    You have seen Big Dog, right? Link not safe for those prone to nightmares. Imagine a giant fly crossed with a camel, or two mimes committed to the torments of pack animal hell.

    EDIT: OK, you mentioned Bigdog in text. I am an idiot.

  7. 7.

    NonyNony

    March 29, 2011 at 4:21 pm

    @Comrade Mary:

    kind of sad that we have to invent machines to play games on our behalf.

    No, we invent machines to organize data on our behalf or fight wars on our behalf.

    Games are just what we use to test them.

  8. 8.

    Joseph Nobles

    March 29, 2011 at 4:23 pm

    You know, it would be interesting to see Skynet bots that had their original purposes adapted to the destruction of humans. You know, accessing older programming like this for larger bots. Not that my interest is enough to desire another cinematic atrocity of the John Connor series.

  9. 9.

    Comrade Mary

    March 29, 2011 at 4:26 pm

    Oh, here’s the much more endearing BigDog Beta.

  10. 10.

    TaMara (BHF)

    March 29, 2011 at 4:37 pm

    Haven’t these people been through enough?

    Niwot-based Crocs Inc. announced today that it has donated 100,000 pairs of shoes to Feed The Children and other organizations, which will work to distribute to those hardest hit by the recent earthquake and resulting tsunami.

  11. 11.

    The Dangerman

    March 29, 2011 at 4:37 pm

    Pong app is pretty damned cool, actually; I’d be fascinated to learn of the sensor that tells the bot how to maneuver into place (first guess, it’s in/on the ping pong ball sending the signal of “here I am”).

  12. 12.

    El Tiburon

    March 29, 2011 at 4:48 pm

    The one on the left plays like a girl.

  13. 13.

    gnomedad

    March 29, 2011 at 5:20 pm

    @Comrade Mary:

    two mimes committed to the torments of pack animal hell.

    Funny you should mention that.

    Edit: Oops, missed your second post.

  14. 14.

    gnomedad

    March 29, 2011 at 5:25 pm

    @The Dangerman:

    I’d be fascinated to learn of the sensor that tells the bot how to maneuver into place.

    From the lab site, I gather it’s external cameras and computers.

  15. 15.

    cfaller96

    March 29, 2011 at 5:29 pm

    I know there’s a Winona Ryder Ping Pong Ball joke here, but I just lack the comedy-fu to pull it off.

  16. 16.

    Klaus

    March 29, 2011 at 6:36 pm

    PONG THE MACHINE! So that’s what it was.

  17. 17.

    srv

    March 29, 2011 at 8:10 pm

    I would prefer slamcopter, based off of William Gibson’s slamhounds (1986).

  18. 18.

    Robert Waldmann

    March 30, 2011 at 3:22 am

    Wait no link to snakebot ? If snakebot is half as cool as big dog, I am planning to betray my species and join forces with the robots.

Comments are closed.

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