Love Sci-Fi? Discuss Metal Gear Solid Games

  • Thread starter Thread starter DaemonStudent
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Gear Metal Solid
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the intersection of science fiction and robotics, specifically focusing on the Metal Gear Solid games and their portrayal of bipedal machines. Participants explore the feasibility of such technologies, comparing them to real-world robotic developments like Boston Dynamics' BigDog.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses admiration for the Metal Gear Solid games and questions the practicality of powering bipedal machines, noting the mechanical nature of Rex compared to the biomechanical designs of later machines.
  • Another participant challenges the notion that BigDog is "the lowest of the low," highlighting its impressive capabilities in mimicking fluid motion.
  • There is speculation about the potential of BigDog to deliver powerful punches, with a participant reflecting on the dramatic effects of such actions in real life.
  • A participant comments on the clunky battery pack of robotic models and suggests that achieving autonomy in humanoid robots is significantly more complex than in UAVs, hinting at the challenges of AI in combat scenarios.
  • One participant reflects on Newton's third law in relation to BigDog's movement, pondering whether it could exert an equal force in response to being kicked.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express varying opinions on the capabilities of BigDog, with some viewing it as a significant advancement while others see it as a basic step in robotics. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the feasibility of the technologies depicted in Metal Gear Solid.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference specific technologies and concepts without fully resolving the assumptions about their functionality and potential applications in real-world scenarios.

DaemonStudent
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Does anybody else love science fiction? Does it involve bipedal machines? Did you really like all of the Metal Gear Solid games? I ditto all of the above!

But one question strikes me (besides asking myself if Hal Emerich scientific lingo actually makes sense) how will we power these creations? If you look at Rex it is more "mechanical" then Ray and the rest of the later monsters that Kojima created. Will that make it easier to create? All of the later machines seem to have an almost biomechanical "feel" to them. The Arms Tech Irving has legs that had muscles. Yes, they also spurt blood when you shoot them but could any of this be possible.

There was a robot that I read about called BigDog by Boston Dynamics. It's pretty sweet. It's on the lowest of the low compared to the machines in the games we play but it seems to be on the right track (besides it being powered by what seems to sound like a lawn mower). Hopefully somebody posts on this and I don't look like a giant nerd...
 

Attachments

  • 10784-Metal gear RAY_super.jpg
    10784-Metal gear RAY_super.jpg
    27.2 KB · Views: 493
  • metal-gear-rex.jpg
    metal-gear-rex.jpg
    36.2 KB · Views: 452
Computer science news on Phys.org
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Lowest of the low? I was pretty impressed with the Big Dog.
 
TheStatutoryApe said:


That's pretty cool. I want to see how hard it can punch. I bet it could do one of those movie-like punches where the guy goes flying. Except in real life, there's no getting up from one of those.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Pythagorean said:
Lowest of the low? I was pretty impressed with the Big Dog.

I mean BigDog is one of the greater machines out there that can mimic that kind of fluid motion. I'm not trying to say that BigDog is the lowest of the low. I'm saying that in comparison its a small step.
 
TheStatutoryApe said:


That was pretty sweet. That battery pack looks awfully clunky. Those models of could be designs look quite promising. I'm pretty sure those will be as autonomous as the UAVs of today aka not really at all. Anyways having a plane being autonomous is a lot easier then having a humanoid robot doing the same. Flight takes a lot less functions then beings a functional human in a combat zone. I guess that goes into the realms of AI. I don't know if I want to go there...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
DaemonStudent said:
I mean BigDog is one of the greater machines out there that can mimic that kind of fluid motion. I'm not trying to say that BigDog is the lowest of the low. I'm saying that in comparison its a small step.

I was impressed at it's terrain mobility as well as the recovery from being shoved by the operator.
 
Yeah, I was also. Thinking about Newton's each action has an equal and opposite reaction, could the BigDog kick back at the same force that it was kicked? Because the force to move the dog would have to be balanced out by the dogs force to right itself?