Terrifying farm mechanoid plan for Japan
Anonymous Coward
Untitled #
Posted Tuesday 15th January 2008 13:24 GMT
Japan like most modern nations has a big problem in the country side, where young people leave for the cities leaving only older people to tend to the land. At least there making technology that may help the farmers, unlike here in Britain.
4a$$Monkey
Disappointing photo #
Posted Tuesday 15th January 2008 13:24 GMT
I was hoping for Aliens type cargo loader complete with blowtorch and optional minigun. Still early days...
Mike Norris
Aliens? #
Posted Tuesday 15th January 2008 13:24 GMT

I was envisioning more of a strap on JCB type of thing like the one from the cargo hold in Aliens rather than the rather puny one featured in the news article...
Sam
Been done (sort of) #
Posted Tuesday 15th January 2008 13:24 GMT
Didn't a certain Ms. Ripley drive one of these things (called a powerloader?) in Aliens?
Andrew Cooper
"strap-on robot suit" #
Posted Tuesday 15th January 2008 13:24 GMT

too easy
jai
big green lizard vs the mechanoid farmers #
Posted Tuesday 15th January 2008 14:09 GMT
"It's going to take more than a few hastily reprogrammed robot butlers to deal with them."
come back Godzilla, all is forgiven......
System 10 from Navarone
...most amusing! #
Posted Tuesday 15th January 2008 14:09 GMT

I think French farmers ought to consider the use of these performance enhancing suits during their next riot - I seem to remember a French farmer trying to throw a sheep at the police during a confrontation at the docks once (something to do with British imports I think). It didn't go very far (more of a drop really) - I scored it at 8 for originality but only 0 for effectiveness.
Robert Harrison
Cool #
Posted Tuesday 15th January 2008 14:09 GMT

Bring on the 'loader' suit out of Aliens. I've always wanted one of those, for farming purposes obviously...
Sweep
radish #
Posted Tuesday 15th January 2008 14:09 GMT
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nachosan/3588274/in/set-16044/
Karl Lattimer
AVP: the game #
Posted Tuesday 15th January 2008 14:09 GMT
anyone who played Aliens vs. Predator will fondly remember the triumph to be had when playing a death match as the horrifically handicapped marine only to stumble across ALICE...
ALICE was a modified powerloader, equip with many handy tools to even out balance between the invisible predator or the nails aliens.
Steve
Low batteries? #
Posted Tuesday 15th January 2008 14:12 GMT

Just when you have 200kg of rice above your head ready to put on top of a pile...
Wile E. Coyote, anyone?
Fraser
Well #
Posted Tuesday 15th January 2008 14:13 GMT
I for one welcome Mecha-Farmerzilla.
He can help with that pesky giant dinosaur/moth problem that I've been having recently.
Anonymous Coward
Even older news than that... #
Posted Tuesday 15th January 2008 14:36 GMT

...the robotic power-loading exoskeleton was first devised by the famed British inventor, Mr. Wallace Park, as described in that classic documentary film, "The Wrong Trousers".
Anonymous Coward
and before that...... #
Posted Tuesday 15th January 2008 15:12 GMT

Harry Harrison - Captive Universe (1969)
Tawakalna
robot suits? #
Posted Tuesday 15th January 2008 16:51 GMT

can it transform into an aeroplane or car?
Anonymous Coward
I, for one, welcome our new farming-based mechanised overlords... #
Posted Tuesday 15th January 2008 17:06 GMT

It's gotta be better than the idiot's we've got in power at the minute...
Morely Dotes
Re: Even older news than that... #
Posted Tuesday 15th January 2008 20:43 GMT

The basic concept was first developed in Robert Anson Heinlein's "Waldo," published by Doubleday in 1942. Waldo only used the upper-body portion, as I recall, and developed anti-gravity to solve the problem of getting around under Earth's gravity.
steven kraft
I can't believe nobody has already said this #
Posted Tuesday 15th January 2008 20:46 GMT

Robocrop?
Anonymous Coward
OMG......... #
Posted Tuesday 15th January 2008 20:46 GMT

Have you read any of the other 'most popular' stories on this site?
Why do they pr0n when they have news sites like this?!?
10/10 for literative titles though!
Benjamin Wright
Legal Contracts with Robots #
Posted Wednesday 16th January 2008 00:24 GMT
As robots become more common, questions arise about how they will be regulated. One way to regulate them will be to form legally-binding contracts with their owners.
http://hack-igations.blogspot.com/2008/01/robot-surveillance-contracts.html
BKB
Japanese radish #
Posted Wednesday 16th January 2008 01:26 GMT

A "Japanese radish" is the vegetable which can be bought in Indian groceries in the UK under the name "mooli". One Japanese radish can weigh two kilograms.
Ishkandar
Meanwhile, back at the farm.... #
Posted Thursday 17th January 2008 18:58 GMT

...the frustrated farmers' wives will use strap-ons of another kind while the "boys" play with their toys !! The mind boggles at Robo.....
Ishkandar
Japanese radish #
Posted Thursday 17th January 2008 18:58 GMT

They are called Daikon and they can average between two and three feet long and between 4-5 inches in diameter !!
This is a deliberate separate post and has nothing whatsoever to do with the previous post !!
Ishkandar
*Correction* #
Posted Thursday 17th January 2008 18:58 GMT
I should have said "circumference" not "diameter" !! I blame that on the wasabi bring tears to my eyes !!