Originally published June 26 2005
Star Wars trilogy inspired robotic innovations
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
This article in Tech World describes a short history of robotic innovation as it relates to the visionary ideas in science fiction, namely Star Wars.
Roomba, the robot developed by a Russian researcher, is one of the first few practical robots to be widely available.
Roomba rules thousands of homes in the US today and has for peers Hitachi's Emiew, Honda's Asimo, Sony's QRIO and Aibo (the robot dog) and the Japanese Banyru, the companion robot.
These would have been dismissed as mere fiction in 1977.
'Star Wars', the science fiction movie, had that and much more in 1977.
Most of what was fantasy then have become reality today, though they don't look as fantastic as in the movies.
George Lucas' 'Star Wars' trilogy was inspiring to many an inventor and made many others think out of the box, said G Jagannath Raju, director, Systemantics India Pvt Ltd. Raju has had over 20 years of educational, teaching and consulting experience in the field of robotics in the US and India.
"A generation of inventors, inspired by the science presented in the 'Star Wars' films have brought us close to a new wave of life-changing technology," said sources from Discovery Channel.
MIT engineer James McLurkin's Swarm robots operate in a group much like the battalion droids seen in 'Star Wars' battle scenes.
Coptervision is a 5-foot-long unmanned mini-helicopter that uses satellites for surveillance and take high-resolution pictures from any angle.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) floating droid is a direct inspiration from Star Wars.
The personal satellite assistant has been particularly useful for astronauts in orbit.
It floats through air and performs chores according to the astronaut's commands.
Another space robot, NASA's Robonaut remains permanently on the outside of the space shuttle and is able to perform the most detailed of duties.
George Lucas's fiction seems to be turning into reality, slowly but surely.
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