I love seeing students being creative, and having their efforts so beautifully rewarded.
Six years ago, MIT engineering Professor David Miller showed the movie Star Wars to his students on their first day of class. There’s a scene Miller is particularly fond of, the one where Luke Skywalker spars with a floating battle droid. Miller stood up and pointed: “I want you to build me some of those.”
So they did. With support from the Department of Defense and NASA, Miller’s undergraduates built five working droids. And now, one of them is onboard the International Space Station (ISS).
As long as we continue to stimulate and reward creativity, we will continue to stay at the forward edge of technology development.
Good idea!
We started with assembly lines. We moved on to Viking Landers and Mars Rovers, but those are vehicles with wheels and terrain to deal with.
Why not make hovering ‘droids that work in low/zero-G? While we’re still learning to navigate terrain (many humans can barely do it), we figured out propellers a LONG time ago. Why not put propellers and robotic arms on hovering droids? The only fuel they need is provided by solar panels, the air is there to move in, and … WHAT? This is the most sensible thing NASA’s done since Hubble.
Good luck NASA! By the way, tell GWB to shut up about going to Mars, and upgrade the Hubble!!
“Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no substitute for a good blaster at your side”
“That’s no moon, that’s a space station!”
Now I’m off to Toshi Station to pick up some power convertors..
Its a good idea,
but try to prove it to the Megs corps.
Now they just need to start working on the lightsabers!