 April 7, 2010 - 6:53pm | I envision that Heavy Duty Robots are the backbone of the Frontier. I would imagine that air, ground and orbital transport would be by and large done through robotic crafts. Many times I’ve seen and heard people refer to anthropomorphic robots as driving or flying the vehicles. That does not seem as practical to me. I know of a pretty well-to-do farmer near me who was telling another guy about his new tractor that would plow, plant and harvest his fields automatically. It makes use of GPS and I guess it plots way-points. That would be a lot of data for one field. Of course, I suppose one could have a single field plotted and saved where it could be downloaded to the robotic tractor and then send it to another field where the new plots information is downloaded and the previous data removed. That sounds more sensible to me than having Woot in a pair of over-alls and a straw hat riding on the thing. |
 April 7, 2010 - 7:14pm | 3 heavy dutey robots from Mission to Alcazzar (designated A,B, & C): Level 2 mining robot (cannot converse verbally) Hvy duty body, Type 2 parabattery, tracked movement: 10m/ turn normal, 30m/turn max Limbs: A-scoop shovel; B- Huge drill; C- rock crusher IM/RS: +5/50 Stamina: 500 Attack: 50 Damage: 6d10 Programs: security lock, Attack Defense Equipment: various mineral dection scanners Mission: After any intruder approaches closer than 4 meters to the computer shed, destroy all intruder in the compound. Functions: Destroy: Inflict damage on any intruder that moves. Intruder: any object not in the compound at the time the robot was reprogrammed. Compound: The area inside the fence I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
April 7, 2010 - 7:22pm | Mining/Tunneling Bot This heavy duty robot is almost cylindrical. It is 10 m in diameter and 15 m in length and lies horizontally. The first 2 meters in length, the diameter is actually 12m. On the top outside edge there are mauler bits to chew through the stone, making an opening large enough for the robot to pull itself through. From the entire face of the front of the first two meters of the robot, hundreds of chisel shaped metal rods are stabbing feverishly into the rock before it. These jack hammer like devices are piston driven by an internal combustion engine. The back 13 meters of the robot is not exactly cylindrical in the fact that the bottom of it is flattened out enough to allow a conveyor belt to lie beneath it, catching the tailing and moving them to the back where they are collected by robotic dumpsters and removed. The robot propels itself on 3 long treads. They are pressing out from the robot against the sides of the freshly excavated tunnel at the 12, 5, and 7 o’clock positions. Since GPS will not be effective underground, the robot plots it course using mathematical calculations based off it position of entry in the mine. It also is able to detect elevation changes. It is equipped with lights, toxy-rad gauge, large fans to disperse it’s exhaust fumes and sensors for detecting metals and perhaps minerals. Drilling rate: 5m an hour That’s all that I have so far on it. Suggestions/ideas? |
April 7, 2010 - 7:18pm | Note: under the above programing the robots will not move and will not resist attempts to access their programs so a player tinkering with the bots before fully investigating the compound would discover the ambush. and be able to disarm it. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
April 7, 2010 - 8:20pm | Montoya Minerals Ltd. Heavy Duty Tunnel Bot Level 2 Tunnelling/Mining bot Hvy Duty Body: 500 STA, Type 2 Parabattery 3 "presser" tracks spaced equi-distant around its 13m long clyndrical body 10m/turn normal, 30m/turn max Limbs: Tri-rotary drilling head and conveyor scoop IM/RS: +5/50 Attack: 50; Damage: 10d10 Programs: Security Lock, Computer link, Mining program Equipment: Geo CAS, toxyrad gauge, flood lights, Anti shock implant (to guard against accidental electricution), Standard optics, Description: The Montoya Minerals Tunnel Bot has two main applications. 1. its used in tunnel creation beneath cities to put in new infrastructure without disrupting existing structures. City engineers and planners sink a shaft and lower the tunnel bot to a level beneath all known structures and utility lines and the bot is controlled by an engineer over the computer link. In this application direct sentient supervision is required as a safety back up. 2. Mining tunneling. In this application the tunnel bot is not usually controlled by computer link (though it can be) and is opperated away from dense populations (ie: mountianous mining regions). The tunnel bot will use its geo scanner and "track" a vein of mineral through rock. when a vein plays out it can back up move to areas that it noted the possibility of a side vein . It will store up to 10 possible side veins. the Bot is equipped with a switch to change it method of operation (must disable the security lock to change it). Activating this switch changes the Mission and functions (see below) Application 1 Mission: Safely mine the designated tunnel. Functions: Safely: Halt operation when power and other utilities as well as biological life forms are detected withins path. Designated: Follow computer link imput for path to mine or programed way points. Application 2 Mission: Safely Mine for designated mineral(s) within designated area. Functions: Safely: Halt operation when power and other utilities as well as biological life forms are detected within its path Designated Minerals: imputed minerals (up to 10 entered in order of priority) updated by computer link and detected by Geo CAS. Designated Area: Imputed 3 demensional area (by computer link) is the only area to be mined. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
April 7, 2010 - 8:39pm | Montoya Minerals Ltd. Automated Ore Hoppers (Bot Hoppers) Level 2 Heavy duty automated ore hopper, Hvy duty body, 500 STA; Type 2 parabattery Tracked movement: 10/turn normal, 30m/turn max Limbs: auxillary front loader arm (like the scoop on the front of a backhoe) IM/RS: +5/50 Attack: 50; Damage: 5d10 Programs: Security Lock, Computer link Equipment: Flood lights, std. optics Mission: Safely Collect ore from designated tunnel bot in cue with other automated ore hoppers and deliver it to the ore processor. Functions: Safely: avoid damaging property and biological life forms. designated tunnel bot: assigned tunnel bot to collect ore from In cue: allow other ore hoppers to fill in turn Notes: The conveyor belt of the tunnel bot extends well out behind it and the automated ore hopper is not normally required to use its front loader. Automated ore hoppers are usually controlled by a robot management program. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 April 7, 2010 - 10:50pm | Cool! This is the type of robotics I see powering the frontier prosperity. I remember a documentary about the freeway tunnel they built in Taiwan that goes through the mountains. They used giant boring machines like this but with out the robot brains part. They were real slow when going through the hard granite and got faster when softer rock was being passed through. they had a bugger of a time keeping the bits replaced. They set up a factory that did nothing but sharpen and make new bits. The 5m per hour feels like the soft rock rate. They also used boring machines like this for the chunnel under the English Channel. -iggy |
April 8, 2010 - 5:55pm | See, it sounds so much better when Jedion says it! Nicely done. How about this one? (it is a lot rougher around the edges than the last one.) Heavy bots used for constructing traditional roads in undeveloped areas (planets). 1. You have cutter bots that are tracked, much like bulldozers. They have one long appendage with a large saw blade (carefully guarded against accidental dismemberment of sentient species of course) used to clear trees and brush. Two other appendages to hold the trees when cutting and then place them in the back of transport bots to be moved for later use/processing or disposal. One other large appendage used to dig out or uproot any stumps. 2. Leveler bots that are bulldozers that level the course of the road bed. 3. Huge (even by heavy bot standards) bots that have sonic devices (Sonic devastators for starships if there were such things) that travel over the road bed to compact it. (imagine ground penetrating radar from hell. some twisted mind could do a lot of damage with one of these.) 4. Bots to lay in bed material. maybe another pass from the sonic pounders. 5. bots to lay and roll out road surface material. |
April 8, 2010 - 8:07pm | @ Montoya it sounds like too many bots in that last bit, I would try to reduce the number a little but would include a robot brain to supervise and organize the whole event. And make it Terra forming thing Include wheeled hopper bots that will bring resupply of cerama-crete for the road surface- there wheeled because they can just us the road an the greater speed is important for running back to the supply depot. @ Iggy: that is great article title: "Powering Frontier Prosperity" Maybe subtitle it "Heavy Duty Robots" or some such. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 April 8, 2010 - 8:22pm |  Having fun making cards. Size 2.5 x 3.5 Would be neat to publish a full sheet of these in the zine. robots, creatures, vehicles oh my! |
April 8, 2010 - 8:37pm | Good stuff woot but I would make the functions identifiable as the specific word in the mission that needs to be defined or number them (i didnt number them as I was trying to follow the Alcazzar robot descriptions) it helps a player who is trying to decide how to modify a function to make a decision and it gives the Gm a base line to judge what the results of a player's tinkering will be whether it will work or if its likely to cause trouble because the player submitted ambiguous wording. For instance what exactly does "safely" mean in the mission. If the Montoya Minerals HD bots have standardized missions and functions then a savy player might look that up and say, "Hey this bot's functions tell it to stop when it detects biological life in front of it." Without even trying to tinker with the programing they could manipulate its behavior because it has a specific function. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
April 8, 2010 - 9:54pm | 1. You have cutter bots that are tracked, much like bulldozers. They have one long appendage with a large saw blade (carefully guarded against accidental dismemberment of sentient species of course) used to clear trees and brush. Two other appendages to hold the trees when cutting and then place them in the back of transport bots to be moved for later use/processing or disposal. One other large appendage used to dig out or uproot any stumps. I remember seeing a machine like this in action. The claw grabbed the trunk of the tree and underneath opposite spinning circular saws, stacked about three to a side, interleaved, cut through the trunk in seconds. then they dropped the tree in a pile to the side. If I remember right they first went through stripping the branches off with another similar machine. It was swift at removing the limbs. Kinda wrapped around the tree like wrapping your hand around a rod and the arm just slid the cutters up sawing the limbs away. This was for large commercial logging. Just a couple of guys doing the work of a whole crew. It was quite amazing. Here are some links I googled that show something similar to what I'm remembering. http://www.gardengrapevine.com/TimberMachine208.JPG http://www.ramcollc.com/CatSubCat/CatSubCat.asp?p9=CSC1 -iggy |
April 9, 2010 - 8:04am | @iggy - wow, I can imagine a character controlling a timbermachine and grabbing a sathar and using it to pound other sathar into the ground. :-) @jedion - updated The cards might need to be front and back to cover all the info. That would take some finaggeling for the zine. :-/ |
April 9, 2010 - 3:43pm | Has anybody created or come across robot sheets; like character or ship roster sheets? |
April 9, 2010 - 4:57pm | @iggy - wow, I can imagine a character controlling a timbermachine and grabbing a sathar and using it to pound other sathar into the ground. :-) @jedion - updated The cards might need to be front and back to cover all the info. That would take some finaggeling for the zine. :-/ What if the card was just 1/4 of a std 8x11 page? would it all fit then? I can see a possibility here for a construction crew/ miners/ terraformer to outfit their hvy duty robots to resist X menance. Sathar, pirates, corporate goons, 9 foot tall blue skinned aliens, what ever have you I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
April 9, 2010 - 10:23pm | I have a robot sheet I can share with ya. PM me your email. |
April 13, 2010 - 9:31am | If you provide the robot details I'll work on the page layout. |
 August 24, 2016 - 4:57pm | Nice ideas here. I did expand on the idea of heavy duty robots with the heavy-duty reinforced and super duty models, though as I mentioned in the Robots Rules of Order Revised (RROR) story, there could very well be even larger models which I did not cover. Joe Cabadas |
