Shape-shifting magnetic bots take a page out of the Dharma playbook
By Paul Miller 
posted Jan 29th 2008 10:05PM
posted Jan 29th 2008 10:05PM
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Don't forget Prey.
Swarm intelligence is truly scary at that level. I shall build my EMP generator before they get to that level.
That video was like the nerd version of "The Ring" tape.
Prey = utter bollocks:
http://www.nanotech-now.com/Chris-Phoenix/prey-critique.htm
Also, these sort of robots are more commonly called 'foglets'.
It is called Fiction for a reason.
They need to my Crichton's "Prey" into a movie that DOESN'T suck. What was the last Crichton movie that didn't suck?
Would that be The Andromeda Strain circa 1971? And btw, they are making a new mini series based on it.
Naruto 3rd Kazekage much?
Sadly, I'm probably the only other person on Engadget that knows you mean Gaara.
Nope. He's not the only one.
Even more sadly, I know that he in fact does not mean Gaara, but rather simply the 3rd Kazekage, who controlled iron sand with a magnetic field.
I don't know whether to feel stupid or relieved. And then I remembered that the puppet guy killed the 3rd and made him into a puppet :(
This reminds me of the replicators in the Stargate (and Stargate Atlantis) TV series. These cell-sized blocks become humanish and start to take over the galaxy...doom!!
Yeah, that's what I thought of too when they said they could take the form of a person. They even have the same bonds between each individual bot.
Me three...so I too shall have my emp generator nearby...
How large were The Borg?
Actually the first thing that came to my mind was the replicators from Stargate, not the cloud thing from Lost.
Hello Skynet, it's your Evolution calling...
Wow early stages is right! These still look like nothing more that middle school science toys.
Fascinating but lets wait until we get some that are actually micrscopic
!!
RIP Mr. Eko! =(
yeah, i miss him too....... ***sighs and then cries***
Reminder for all Lost fans: Lost is back! Please set your Tivo's/DVR's for Thursday on ABC at 9/8 Central PM.
@ sk8erpro
lucky you guys! in South Africa we gotta wait till 25th of FEB... oh well, limewire can help with that i guess......
What's today? scare-the-S#^t-out-of-your-readers day or something?
First the freaky Mall Robot, then the Pollen Sniffer or something. Now this. I dont like the pattern here...
Maybe it's more of a troll for more robotic overlord comments?
It's worrying to think such robots could become intelligent. I have nothing against inventing truly smart phones or a deep-thinking steam iron, but self-aware armies of morphing nanoids could make life a real nightmare.
What's today? scare-the-S#^t-out-of-your-readers day or something?
First the freaky Mall Robot, then the Pollen Sniffer or something. Now this. I dont like the pattern here...
Multiple Personality much?
The producers of Lost have stated from day 1 that all the mysteries of Lost had a logical scientific explanation to them. I bet they're loving this. Now if only they could explain someone seeing the future, time traveling, a boy that can kill birds with his mind, and why Evangeline Lilly won't sleep with me.
Polar Bears.
Those damn polar bears!!
OK, just calling it now: it's one big dream sequence.
OLD..
I saw this tech on Batman Saturday morning.
Robin: Holy Smokes Batman. Magnetic Robots.
Batman: Yes Robin. Hand me the Anti Magnetic Robot Demagnetizer from my utility belt.
POW, BAMN, WOOSH
No one is scared? I have read prey. I know what they can do!
Ah, the producers debunked the theory that the Smoke Monster is a swarm of nanomachines (similar to the ones in Prey) long ago. I'm pretty sure they included micromachines in that category.
But awesome otherwise!
Was it Stanislaw Lem who first introduced this idea in The Invincible?
I go to CMU but always hear the news of our innovations on Engadget. It's really lame that when breakthroughs happen down the street and I have to go to the internet to find out about it.
That's odd because Engadget are sometimes quite late with the news. Maybe you should speak to your university's newspaper editor about covering this.
Holodeck here we come :)
Holy shit- GAME OVER, MAN!!!!! GAME OVER!!!!!
It's all fun and games until you create something that can be in any form, can multiply itself, and takes over the universe. Good job.
What is this!? Microscopic nanobots for giants?! How can we expect them to do stuff if they can't even fit inside your body?
I don't wanna hear your excuses! These nanobots have to be at least... 3 times smaller.
He's absolutely right...
So many geezers on Engadget with outdated and silly ideas of the future.
Sh$#! See? You should always proof-read! "They need to MAKE . . ."
At the end of this movie there is a shape shifting bot that seems to be much more developed than the ones in the post:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq8Yw19bn7Q