Mars Rover Receives AI, Thinks for Itself

[alextheblue]

[citation][nom]Drac[/nom]"I have to sit here computing pi all day because Joker plugged in the overlord!"[/citation]YES![citation][nom]ravewulf[/nom]Or solar panels[/citation]
Don't be ridiculous. Solar panels are a myth.

 

[JOSHSKORN]

So what happens when that thing runs out of batteries? Is it gunna just know it's running low, start digging for energy and refuel itself?

 

[sgdidache]

It's finally proven: There's sentient "life" on Mars!

 

[JohnnyLucky]

WOW! I didn't realise it's been 7 years! Considering the harsg climate I am surprised it is still working.

 

[loomis86]

[citation][nom]maestintaolius[/nom]I would just like to go on the record as saying: I, for one, welcome our future robot overlords.[/citation]

suckup!

 

[briteball]

anyone ever see Star Trek the motion picture.... They better put the creator on ice

 

[anamaniac]

Nice to see what hap[ens whenyou build something right.
Im quite impressed on the batteries that thin must have, that's a mad recharge rate.
I'm also impressed that all the materials haven't worn down to a state of worthlessness. Wish the wheels on the bike could last that long. Granted, it's cold, there's low gravity.

Honestly though, what has been N.A.S.A. been up to for the last few years?

 

[Ciuy]

"Sounds like there's still life in that old bucket of bolts."

That bucker of bolts is more complicated then all the PCs united under the same hood. I love this kind of advanced technology...AI ftw .

 

[pocketdrummer]

[citation][nom]anamaniac[/nom]Honestly though, what has been N.A.S.A. been up to for the last few years?[/citation]

Getting shafted by our presidents, one downsize at a time. Really, people need to show more interest in this, or the only pioneers we'll have will be Cell phone and Cable/Satellite providers.

 

[pocketdrummer]

I want to know how they got the AI working. Did they just flash the thing from earth?

"Please do not turn off your multi-million dollar space exploration rover until complete"

 

[archange]

Now, it's only a matter of time until Opportunity actively seeks out Spirit in order to start replicating. xD

 

[Reynod]

VGER ???

 

[tommysch]

Skynet will land on Mars before us, we are doomed.

 

[david__t]

Just to clear up a few things, the lifespan was initially thought to be short because they expected the solar panels to be covered with dust during the Martian Winter and hence kill the only power source for the rover. In reality, the winds were powerful enough to blow the sand off the panels so the rover could go on. It is currently on a huge drive across country to get to a massive crater - where upon it can have a look at the rocks below ground level. The Spirit rover developed a broken wheel which slowed it down. Soon after, another wheel broke. Now the rover has been turned in to a static science station to monitor the weather and measure precisely the rotation and orbit of Mars. Probably one of the most impressive missions to date from Nasa.

 

[sublifer]

unchecked AI? Communications will go down soon and by the time we get another satellite/rover to Mars there will be an entire AI society gearing up to wage war on earth

 

[brendano257]

I hope it doesn't find life, then it would be following a butterfly for days ^_^

/sarcasm That's amazing to see that it can work without human control, and equally impressive that it's still kicking (rolling?) around on Mars' surface.

 

[wishtar]

[citation][nom]sliem[/nom]Yes impressive. How long do they expect it to live?[/citation]

That's the really impressive part. It was only designed to last for 3 months and here it is 6 years later. How long it will keep going is anyone's guess.

 

[Raishi]

[citation][nom]brendano257[/nom]I hope it doesn't find life, then it would be following a butterfly for days ^_^/sarcasm That's amazing to see that it can work without human control, and equally impressive that it's still kicking (rolling?) around on Mars' surface.[/citation]

At this point, I didn't think there was anything that could make me any more fond of that stubborn little rover, but the image of it forgetting its mission to chase a butterfly around just did it.

 

[imapc]

[citation][nom]shadow703793[/nom]More impressive is the actual hardware (CPU,RAM,etc) on that thing is probably lower than a PIII 500Mhz and yet, they manage to cram so much functionality in to it. Efficient coding any one?[/citation]

Yes. I believe the Hubble Telescope is running a Pentium I, upgraded from a 386. At least I remember hearing that several years ago. It got an "upgrade".

 

[blashyrkh]

This is a load of BS!!! You are all being misinformed by the government!!!! Everyone knows the Mars rover was destroyed by the Decepticons on the first transformers movie.

Jesus Christ people!! Use your brain!!!

...lol