3 ms·

Just for reference, you’re extrapolating all the way to things like digging holes in moons of other planets from a starting point of a guy dancing around a stag

by CPLX 5y ago

Just for reference, you’re extrapolating all the way to things like digging holes in moons of other planets from a starting point of a guy dancing around a stage in a white spandex outfit.

cstross 5y ago
Yes, yes I am. (Failure is always an option!) However, I think digging holes for radiation shielding in a smallish asteroid-like body -- especially if it's a gravel pile similar to 101955 Bennu -- may prove easier than landing, provisioning, and returning human beings from the Martian surface. (101955 Bennu, target of the OSIRIS-REx probe, turned out to be a rubble pile. It's an order of magnitude smaller than the Martian moons, which are nevertheless also believed to be rubble piles -- they're not large enough to have significant surface gravity, let alone enough to melt/fuse their rocks.)
- user-the-name 5y ago
  But a humanoid is a pretty useless form factor for that kind of work. Humanoid robots are good in the kind of environments where humans evolved, or that they built for themselves. Asteroid mining is pretty far from that.
  - cstross 5y ago
    You misunderstood. Astronauts in Mars orbit need radiation shielding. So: dig their spacecraft/habitat into one of the Moons. Humanoid robots: put them on Mars, instead of landing astronauts. That way, you don't need to bring them home afterwards. Meanwhile, with a good AR/VR rig, the astronauts (dug into the Phobos base) can control them remotely with no lag.
    - user-the-name 5y ago
      But why humanoid robots, rather than robots with a shape that is actually optimised for the task?
      - SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
        I'm now picturing "humanoid" only in the loosest sense, e.g. a head and arms only, for remote operation by a human inside the Mars (or Phobos) base, mounted on the outside of a cybertruck, like some Terminator Centaur. The operator would be able to toggle between "drive the truck" and "pick up rocks" modes, depending on which shape is appropriate for the task at hand.
        user-the-name 5y ago
        But that is not what was announced, and very little of the hard problems involved in building an actual humanoid robot like the one Musk announced are relevant to building what you suggest.
        SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
        > But that is not what was announced yes, so what? We expect that. Previous comment here touches upon the connection and inevitable gap between the inspirational BS "what was announced" and final outcomes. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28255768 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28255768
elurg 5y ago
Robots digging holes on other planets is already a very real thing. It has been done so many times that it's boring by now. It is easier than dancing and genuinely viable as a product, with that viability increasing with the degree of autonomy.

by CPLX 5y ago

Just for reference, you’re extrapolating all the way to things like digging holes in moons of other planets from a starting point of a guy dancing around a stage in a white spandex outfit.

cstross 5y ago

Yes, yes I am. (Failure is always an option!) However, I think digging holes for radiation shielding in a smallish asteroid-like body -- especially if it's a gravel pile similar to 101955 Bennu -- may prove easier than landing, provisioning, and returning human beings from the Martian surface. (101955 Bennu, target of the OSIRIS-REx probe, turned out to be a rubble pile. It's an order of magnitude smaller than the Martian moons, which are nevertheless also believed to be rubble piles -- they're not large enough to have significant surface gravity, let alone enough to melt/fuse their rocks.)

user-the-name 5y ago
But a humanoid is a pretty useless form factor for that kind of work. Humanoid robots are good in the kind of environments where humans evolved, or that they built for themselves. Asteroid mining is pretty far from that.
- cstross 5y ago
  You misunderstood. Astronauts in Mars orbit need radiation shielding. So: dig their spacecraft/habitat into one of the Moons. Humanoid robots: put them on Mars, instead of landing astronauts. That way, you don't need to bring them home afterwards. Meanwhile, with a good AR/VR rig, the astronauts (dug into the Phobos base) can control them remotely with no lag.
  - user-the-name 5y ago
    But why humanoid robots, rather than robots with a shape that is actually optimised for the task?
    - SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
      I'm now picturing "humanoid" only in the loosest sense, e.g. a head and arms only, for remote operation by a human inside the Mars (or Phobos) base, mounted on the outside of a cybertruck, like some Terminator Centaur. The operator would be able to toggle between "drive the truck" and "pick up rocks" modes, depending on which shape is appropriate for the task at hand.
      - user-the-name 5y ago
        But that is not what was announced, and very little of the hard problems involved in building an actual humanoid robot like the one Musk announced are relevant to building what you suggest.
        SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
        > But that is not what was announced yes, so what? We expect that. Previous comment here touches upon the connection and inevitable gap between the inspirational BS "what was announced" and final outcomes. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28255768 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28255768

elurg 5y ago

Robots digging holes on other planets is already a very real thing. It has been done so many times that it's boring by now. It is easier than dancing and genuinely viable as a product, with that viability increasing with the degree of autonomy.