Our tech vs. theirs

[AnimeAvatar]

I see Anime and Manga that have lots of intricate and detailed technology sometimes. Some of it at the time, seemed extreamily futuristic. Now we are in the year 2007(like that matters) and i'm curious as to how long it will take for us to lap or at least catch up with the tech that we see in most Anime and Manga?

[Inkthinker]

Depends on the tech.

For instance, Roujin Z was about a robot designed to take care of an elderly man that goes rogue and rampages across the city, because it wants to fulfill the old man's senile wish to go to the sea.

In the real world, robotics that care for the elderly in Japan are making leaps and bounds, not least because Japan's population ratio of elderly is rising rapidly. While I don't know that they'll be capable of the destruction in Roujin Z, it might be interesting to see how they'll determine what the best care for their charges will be. I could forsee a day, for instance, in which a medical nurse kills a patient, or prevents a patient from being treated in some fashion, because the robots AI has determined that it's the best course of action to care for it's charge.

There are some things in anime that are likely never going to happen. 2-legged mecha battlesuits, for instance... bipedal mecha are incredibly impractical, even with advanced gyroscopics, and it's hard to really see how anyone who's serious about military action will incorporate a design which is essentially always begging to be tipped over.

Cybernetics are going in interesting directions, and while I'm not sure we should ever expect a world in which complete body prosthetics become reality, a la Ghost in the Shell (again, see bipedal locomotion, impracticality of), I certainly forsee a future in which advanced robotics can effectively mimic limbs and even sensory organs in ways that are equal or even superior to their natural equivalents. Hell, I can't believe nobody's implanted a hard drive, even a small one, into their body yet. If not the traditional head jack, at least the forearm or possibly the torso.

It's possible, of course, that if we can map the brain and interface with it properly that we might see a Motoko or Batou-style complete prosthetic (essentially an android with a human braincase), but I can't help wondering if we might not prefer something like a vat-grown clone body over a prosthesis (same goes for replacement limbs, for that matter).

Anime tends to, for the most part, go with some pretty fantastic, outrageous technology, and I don't know that we're ever likely to bring even a fraction of it to reality... and personally, I say good for them. After all, we need someplace to remain the realm of imagination.

[The Xenos]

Well, I think we got a few like Kenshin and Lone Wolf & Cub beat. Though I think I'd declare a tie with stuff like Nodame Cantible or Nana.

[Eliseu Gouveia]

Patlabor is one of the most conservative shows out there when it comes to tech displays and even then I don´t see us being able to emulate Labors like the Ingram 98 in the next 10 years.

[NilExtropus]

99% of anime that features futuristic or advanced technology is complete fantasy and not based on any real physics or science at all. So we'll never have things like that because they're impossible.

[SpydaWeb]

Nothing is impossible, but certainly as InkThinker stated, much of anime/manga is in the realm of impracticality.

It won't happen because it's foolish and unecessary, not because it can't be done.

[Inkthinker]

The Japanese have done some pretty interesting things with bipedal mecha, but most of it just goes to prove how impractical and silly it is. They're too heavy, too slow, too unbalanced, too prone to mechanical failure.

I tell you what DOES seem more feasible is some of the mecha in Metal Gear Solid, which always was a bit more semi-realistic anyhow. There's video somewhere of this four-legged robo-mule thing that's been built which has advanced gyroscopic balancing and stabilisation, and while the ugly damn thing is horribly ungainly and loud, it's also very difficult to knock over and it can navigate some fiercely bad mountain terrain (the video shows the engineers actually trying to kick over the mule, which then catches itself and rebalances like a living creature).


-EDIT-

That wasn't hard to find: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lY__e391IRY

http://www.bdi.com/content/sec.php?section=BigDog

Freaky-lookin', huh?

And with the legs wrapped in cloth, damn me if they don't look a LOT like the legs on the (biped) Metal Gear hybird mecha seen in the trailers for MGS4, coming soon to the PS3.

But even four legs is far easier to balance on than two. If people build bipedal mechanoids for serious uses, it will be strictly from a desire to anthropomorphise the machines rather than for any practical benefit to it's operation and abilities.

[Eliseu Gouveia]

Freaky is the right word, that thing seems like something straight outta Silent Hill.

[The Xenos]

Yeah, but they don't sound like angry bulls like in the MGS4 trailer. What's the point then? Ha. Man that trailer was nuts.

[Hikari Tsukishiro]

Yeah, but they don't sound like angry bulls like in the MGS4 trailer. What's the point then? Ha. Man that trailer was nuts.

Wasn't the reason why it had the bull sounds was because it would put the people it was fighting against off guard?

[AnimeAvatar]

Depends on the tech.

For instance, Roujin Z was about a robot designed to take care of an elderly man that goes rogue and rampages across the city, because it wants to fulfill the old man's senile wish to go to the sea.

In the real world, robotics that care for the elderly in Japan are making leaps and bounds, not least because Japan's population ratio of elderly is rising rapidly. While I don't know that they'll be capable of the destruction in Roujin Z, it might be interesting to see how they'll determine what the best care for their charges will be. I could forsee a day, for instance, in which a medical nurse kills a patient, or prevents a patient from being treated in some fashion, because the robots AI has determined that it's the best course of action to care for it's charge.

There are some things in anime that are likely never going to happen. 2-legged mecha battlesuits, for instance... bipedal mecha are incredibly impractical, even with advanced gyroscopics, and it's hard to really see how anyone who's serious about military action will incorporate a design which is essentially always begging to be tipped over.

Cybernetics are going in interesting directions, and while I'm not sure we should ever expect a world in which complete body prosthetics become reality, a la Ghost in the Shell (again, see bipedal locomotion, impracticality of), I certainly forsee a future in which advanced robotics can effectively mimic limbs and even sensory organs in ways that are equal or even superior to their natural equivalents. Hell, I can't believe nobody's implanted a hard drive, even a small one, into their body yet. If not the traditional head jack, at least the forearm or possibly the torso.

It's possible, of course, that if we can map the brain and interface with it properly that we might see a Motoko or Batou-style complete prosthetic (essentially an android with a human braincase), but I can't help wondering if we might not prefer something like a vat-grown clone body over a prosthesis (same goes for replacement limbs, for that matter).

1)I agree that biped robotics are a tad illogical, and the idea if prosthetics would most likely be less apealing to more people than cloned replacements. The thought of knowing your body would be a little more durable might be one of the only pros' of said prosthetic.

I did see somewhere(was awhile ago) that a family implanted micro-chips into their bodies. On their arms i think it was. The chips contained each family members entire medical history, address, name, etc. It was an experiment the daughter? volunteered the family for. This is all i could find on it...i'm sure there's more...
http://www.wired.com/politics/security/news/2002/02/50187?currentPage=all

Along the lines of droids and robotics, i think something like a tachikoma is what we'll wind up with. It seems more rational.

When i watch CowboyBebop, I start to think about the people who made their own space shuttle. We don't have one's like Bebop yet but the fact that civilians can go into space(for several $$$...)and not just NASA makes me think we're catching up to that kind of tech. It will probably be awhile till we have personal-shuttles that everyone can operate(or afford) but still...


Nothing is impossible, but certainly as InkThinker stated, much of anime/manga is in the realm of impracticality.

It won't happen because it's foolish and unecessary, not because it can't be done.

2) The fact that most Anime/Manga seem impractical is probably why it intreagues us(or at least me) It's like the rule most kids have,'your told you can't do something so it makes you want to do it all the more'. We know that certain things are impossible/improbable for us to accomplish, making us want to create and accomplish new and better things, proving we can.
Then again i could be rambling and everything i've said is just a bunch of crap.

[ChrisIII]

Despite having giant robots and other stuff, GUNDAM (At least in the UC incarnation) features the concept of the O'neill space colony Cylinder: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O%27Neill_cylinder.


Also unlike most sci-fi-including several animes-it veers away from sci-fi cliches such as aliens and FTL travel. The action is primarily limited to Earth, the moon, and the surrounding space, although some Gundam mangas have gone as far as Mars and Jupiter.

[AnimeAvatar]

Wow, i never noticed... wonder if they did that on purpose.

Well, this didn't get as far as i had hoped. It would have be nice if more people had something to say on the topic; i would love to hear what they have to say. This is something i have been wondering about for a long time.

If anyone can think of another comparison between Anime/Manga technology and current day tech, please mention it.

[sehthan]

-EDIT-

That wasn't hard to find: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lY__e391IRY

Dear God, it's screaming! Why is it screaming!?!?!

I'm with Eliseu, that thing made me think of Silent Hill. Cool technology, but between the sound, the unnatural constant motion of the legs and the lack of a "head," high on the creepy.

But even four legs is far easier to balance on than two. If people build bipedal mechanoids for serious uses, it will be strictly from a desire to anthropomorphise the machines rather than for any practical benefit to it's operation and abilities.

I can think of one possible reason to build a robot in a humanoid form-factor, other than emotional appeal. Which is that all the environments we live and work in are designed to accomodate humanoid form-factors. In any situation where it may be desirable to have a robot serve as an occasional substitute - as opposed to a replacement - for a human, it may be worth it to build the robot in a human shape. I have to admit, tho, I wouldn't know what those situations would be.

Giant bipedal robots are already under development, but they really are impractical and unlikely to ever be more than a novelty.

[AnimeAvatar]

Q: If we know that bipedal robots are impractical then why would people be designing them?

That doesn't make sense...

[sehthan]

Q: If we know that bipedal robots are impractical then why would people be designing them?



That doesn't make sense...



Because they're cool. The large-scale bipedal projects I'm aware of are basically enthusiast projects.

[AnimeAvatar]

Because they're cool. The large-scale bipedal projects I'm aware of are basically enthusiast projects.

Guess that makes a little more sense... can't wait to hear about someones garage exploding trying to build the core or something...


Ok, now that we've expanded on bi-pedal mecha, is there anything else relating to this topic to be found?
This is a fairly vauge question...