[K5pbem] Tetra Vaal security/patrol cyberdroid video

[nestor42 at aol.com]

Definitely a well-made piece of film. The movement of the CGI robot was 
very life-like.

Something struck me, though. From the Kazei 5 point-of-view, which 
would a corporation view as more efficient (i.e., profitable)? To spend 
the millions to design, develop, build and deploy something like this, 
or just decant another half-dozen Pumas and send them in?

A common theme in cyberpunk fiction (and in K5) is the devaluement of 
human life, or more specifically individual human lives. A corp doesn't 
care about a single person getting killed; to them, people are just 
another asset, useful but intrinsically expendable as long as it's 
reasonably renewable (to paraphrase a recent ad slogan, kill all you 
want, we can get more). While corporations would be careful to preserve 
humanity as a whole to keep a viable customer base, they could care 
less about a single person's welfare unless it was to their specific 
advantage to do so.

A device such as a telepresence-controlled robot would be useful in 
specific circumstances, such as operating in a lethal environment 
(e.g., outer space, inside a nuclear reactor) where risking 
well-trained personnel would be counter-productive. But the corps 
already have a well-established system for providing loyal "cannon 
fodder" (i.e., replicants). In such a world, robots would be little 
more than rich men's toys.

It was a cool video. :-)

"Reality Bites... and I've got the toothmarks to prove it!"
- Nestor D. Rodriguez -

-----Original Message-----
From: Logan Darklighter <logandwj at sbcglobal.net>
To: k5pbem at devermore.net
Sent: Sun, 26 Feb 2006 22:59:55 -0600
Subject: Re: [K5pbem] Tetra Vaal security/patrol cyberdroid video

   That is incredible stuff on many different fronts. 
 
 It's great CGI of course. Goes without saying. 
 
  It seems to be a fairly efficient design (well - as efficient as 
humanoid robots _can_ be anyway), not overly armored. Just enough to 
ensure survival of a few key elements like a black box for recording 
stuff. 
 
  The idea overall makes sense. You wouldn't have much in the way of 
"places cops don't go" with these things. Zero Zones might be things of 
the past in the Kazei 5 world if boomers start patrolling as police 
with telepresenced flesh and blood cops guiding them. 
 
  For that matter, why have an AI at all? Have somebody jacked in to a 
virtual telepresence unit a few miles away. That would explain the 
instictive "flinching" that the robot had to things like potential eye 
damage and whatnot. A non-sapient expert system might not have reflexes 
to protect itself from danger, but the operator would. Anyone who's 
ever played Battletech knows how immersed you become. It's said that 
RAV pilots can get as mentally stressed as "real" pilots, if not 
physically. 
 
 The "rabbit ears" HAVE to be inspired by Briareos! ^_^ 
 
  But like Briareos, they could serve a useful function. Antennae for 
the receivers and telepresence units, and, like Bri, you can put 
cameras on the tips to look around corners, periscope style. 
 
 Hmmm... That's all I've got for now. 
 
 -Logan 
 
  
 Michael Surbrook wrote: 
 
 > This little video clip just *screams* Kazei 5. 
 > 
 > http://analogik.com/multimedia_tetra_vaal.asp 
 > 
  > 
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