Intelligent space robots to dig around, throw raves on their own by 2020

Let's face it -- we owe a great deal of gratitude to the robots that get up each and every morning to explore far reaches of the universe that we humans are just incapable of landing on. But there's still the problem of we humans having to tell these things what to do from our humble laboratories here on Earth. The brilliantly named Wolfgang Fink, a physicist and senior researcher at the California Institute of Technology, has plans to remedy said quandary by creating autonomous spacecrafts "that will be able to analyze data about points of interest as it passes and then make quick decisions about what needs to be investigated." In essence, he's looking to remove the Earthlings from the equation, which would enable smart robots to explore on their own and possibly discover new pools of purified water, REEM-B's long lost siblings or the real most innovative NES-in-a-whatever mod. 2020 folks, mark it down.

[Image courtesy of NASA]

[Dillon @ Jul 27th 2008 6:47PM]

I don't think it's a good idea to give it the ability to investigate. It will inevitably decide that it needs to investigate how to kill all humans before doing anything about exploration...

[Blackstar @ Jul 27th 2008 11:27PM]

No problem, just send in Wall-E. He loves us.

[Josh @ Jul 28th 2008 12:31PM]

LOL!

Read this article http://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?section_id=526&doc_id=155718&f_src=flffour about how some robots can download personalities and even develop emotional bonding. After a while they'll figure out we are using them and beat us with a stick!

[Bob @ Jul 27th 2008 6:47PM]

They will ultimately take control of mars, and then by 2040 it will be humans vs. robots!

[John @ Jul 27th 2008 8:34PM]

Get your ass to Mars!!

[swmarc @ Jul 27th 2008 9:27PM]

It not a Tumor!

[Notung @ Jul 28th 2008 7:55AM]

No, no, mate,... Cylons vs the 13th Colony

[Dillon @ Jul 27th 2008 6:47PM]

I don't think it's a good idea to give it the ability to investigate. It will inevitably decide that it needs to investigate how to kill all humans before doing anything about exploration...

[Dillon @ Jul 27th 2008 6:48PM]

Umm... pretend that you're experiencing double-vision, and that you are really only seeing one of the post above.

[Dillon @ Jul 27th 2008 6:50PM]

And why in the hell would your approval make it okay to post that pointless comment?

[Bob @ Jul 27th 2008 6:51PM]

you wished.

[Bob @ Jul 27th 2008 6:53PM]

you wished.

[shawnmos @ Jul 27th 2008 7:02PM]

FAIL

[Valgas @ Jul 27th 2008 7:06PM]

I epically failed science class.... and the rest of school. Could there possibly be oil on mars? If maybe, the next logical questions are.........

[andres @ Jul 28th 2008 12:42AM]

only if there were martian dinosaurs.

[Allen Jazeera @ Jul 27th 2008 7:08PM]

I, for one, welcome our new intelligent autonomous space robot .... aww, f*** it.

[Valgas @ Jul 27th 2008 7:08PM]

Send a big robot to drill mars. Find some oil or some miraculous mars substance that will end the oil crisis.

[Shinigami @ Jul 27th 2008 7:21PM]

And then BURN IT ALL just to get back to Earth xD

[Sora @ Jul 27th 2008 8:35PM]

Wouldn't it all burn up in the atmosphere upon re-entry? They'd have to spend years designing a space-vehicle/oil-tanker hybrid, and by the time it'd be ready to go, the oil crisis would probably be over because someone would find some hidden text saying that some random president nobody remembers for anything hoarded oil in a secret cave under the White House.

[Valgas @ Jul 27th 2008 8:51PM]

If it's like Earth's oil, yeah. But if it's MARS oil!!! Cmon. Shit's gotta be miraculous. It probably won't take a tanker to transport the material because of its energy density. A few gallons, even pints or pounds could be enough to fuel a few thousand cars or power plants. By that time, we'll have plasma or nuclear rockets for space travel so we won't need to burn the the newly discovered fuel for returning back to earth with it.

Imagination is great. Even if it's stupid imagination :D..

[tbone @ Jul 27th 2008 7:08PM]

i can't wait till they build a base on the moon, that should be interesting

[Shinigami @ Jul 27th 2008 7:24PM]

Disco on the moon!
$100,000,000 per ticket :)

[Julien @ Jul 27th 2008 7:30PM]

2020? Well that is if we make it to 2012! Haha, have some robots digg that!

[Ignatius @ Jul 27th 2008 8:03PM]

Can a moderator ban this guy already?

[Artie Lange @ Jul 27th 2008 8:14PM]

One word: V'ger. Has this man not seen "Star Trek: The Motion Picture"?

[gad get @ Jul 27th 2008 10:55PM]

One can only hope.

Worst Star Trek ever!

[SuperSexyErik (^_^) @ Jul 27th 2008 8:51PM]

he guy on colbert said we would hopefully have men on mars in 20 years.

[gad get @ Jul 27th 2008 10:54PM]

Who's the "he guy"?

[SuperSexyErik (^_^) @ Jul 28th 2008 12:12AM]

sorry, some astronaut was on the colbert report, not sure of his name, anyway he said nasa was planning to put man on mars within 20 years. but who knows. sorry bout the missprint

[Artie Lange @ Jul 28th 2008 7:09AM]

He got low-ranked for a typo? Brutal!

[SuperSexyErik (^_^) @ Jul 28th 2008 11:57AM]

Yes it seems people have no mercy :)

[What is going on, blog @ Jul 27th 2008 9:17PM]

That rover is something else.

[JohnPombrio @ Jul 27th 2008 10:20PM]

The thrill is this is to take humans out of the loop for space exploration. I doubt that Earthlings will ever bother to land on Mars as by the time we can do it, autonomous robots will be able to do the same job with infinitely less cost and infinitely less risk. Back in the day, Carl Sagan said "Robotic missions should be all that we do in space and man does not need or belong there" I concur.

[jason @ Jul 27th 2008 11:58PM]

infinitely less risk?

no way jose...

That robot can become self aware up there in the deep reaches of space and come back w/ his friends and kill us all.



less risk my ass.

[pocketchalker @ Jul 28th 2008 4:47AM]

Can you say.........."Borg"

[liv @ Jul 28th 2008 4:49AM]

i-sheep: "Listen here and listen well Dillon........... your mother is a pirate with a wooden leg."

ahahaaa... I fell off the chair... dudes leave him be.. he makes me laugh :))

[thomsonfly.r @ Jul 28th 2008 9:41AM]

hmmm...the beginning of the rise of the Thinking Mahcines??






(Sorry...currently reading The Butlerian Jihad)

[GTMac @ Jul 28th 2008 9:55AM]

According to recent engadget posts I thought that "the future" started in 2015 when we get the hoverboards and automatic lacing shoes? Now we have to wait until 2020? Damn project managers!