Challenges in Building a GONK Power Droid

December 6, 2016 – Ever wanted to build your own GONK power droid?

As the following video from Southampton UK design engineer James Bruton shows, the simple act of walking isn’t so simple after all. Still, it’s fascinating to see how he addresses the myriad of challenges in this 11-part (and growing) series of robotics videos on how to build a GNK Power Droid.

A previous video (part 10) discusses adding cosmetics, 3D printed moving parts and a leg-splitting mechanism for the walking robot:

To see James Bruton’s other robotics projects, visit his website at xrobots.co.uk. The site is broadly organized into project areas, such as AI brain building, cosmetics and sounds, sensors and sensing, and various builds (BB-8, Gonk, Iron Man, Mantis Robot, etc.)

The Death Star Architect Explains Why the Exhaust Port Makes Absolute Sense

October 28, 2016 – Following the failed Bay of Pigs (Cuba) invasion, President John F. Kennedy told a reporter: “Victory has 100 fathers and defeat is an orphan.”

Some say this popular saying can be traced back to Italian diplomat Count Galezzo Ciano (Mussolini’s son-in-law), who may have in turn been quoting a local proverb when he said: “La victoria trova cento padri, a nessuno vuole riconoscere l’insuccesso.” (Translation: “Victory has 100 fathers. No one wants to recognize failure.”)

Others trace the popular expression to Tacitus, a senator and historian of the ancient Roman Empire. In 98 CE/AD he reportedly said, “Inquissima haec bellorum condicio est: prospera omnes sibi indicant, aduersa uni imputantur.” (Rough translation: “This is an unfair thing about war: victory is claimed by all, failure to one alone.”)

And so it has been with the first Death Star. Ever since Luke Skywalker obliterated the ultimate fighting machine, numerous critics have complained that the Death Star’s architect(s) should have known better. Why was the exhaust port so vulnerable to a seemingly foreseeable attack?

Thankfully, YouTube creator Dorkly has come up with an amusing and thought-provoking rebuttal to the naysayers. See if you don’t agree:

This might also be a good time to point out the misuse of the expression “plot hole”. How many times have you read a comment where the critic complains that a hard-to-believe occurrence (such as the Death Star’s explosion) is a “plot hole”?

A plot hole (also spelled “plothole”) or plot error is defined as “a gap or inconsistency in a storyline that goes against the flow of logic established by the story’s plot. Such inconsistencies include such things as illogical or impossible events, and statements or events that contradict earlier events in the storyline.” (Wikipedia)

What the critic seems to be saying is that he finds the development of the story, at certain points, to be unbelievable. Or that the climax (Death Star explosion) or plot resolution (almost all the main characters survive and go on to celebrate) are too convenient and not believable.

But that is the nature of fiction, isn’t it? It’s all make-believe. The writer has created a fictional story in a magical universe. And even though the critic may disagree with certain points of the story because that’s not how he or she would write it, the so-called flaws are not logical inconsistencies or “plot holes”.

The fact that an orphan from a desert planet with limited training in the ways of the Force can defeat a far superior adversary (we’re looking at you, Luke and Rey) is not a plot hole. The odds may seem impossible, and the plot resolution a bit contrived and rushed, but they are not plot holes.

We willingly enter the Star Wars universe because we want to be entertained. We want to suspend our beliefs and seek an escape from the every-day rationalities of our vanilla lives.

So forget about the thermal exhaust port, the laws of physics and probabilities, and simply enjoy the ride.

When Star Wars Invaded the International Space Station

February 15, 2015 – Every Apollo, Space Shuttle and International Space Station mission has had an official portrait taken of the crew. But the photo for Expedition 45 must rate among the best crew photos ever: Besides donning traditional Jedi robes, each crew member wields a different colored lightsaber. Another Star Wars-related touch is the satellite with solar panels extended, reminiscent of an X-Wing fighter with S-foils in attack position, next to Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui:

Look closely to the right of Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Korniyenko and U.S. astronaut and Commander Scott Kelly, and you will see – GASP! – the Death Star in the background.

Expedition 45 will be the 45th expedition to the International Space Station.
Scott Kelly and Mikhail Korniyenko, already part of Expedition 44 as part of their year-long stay aboard the ISS, will transfer to Expedition 45. The 45th expedition will begin when Soyuz TMA-18M arrives at the ISS in September 2015. The mission ends when the Soyuz departs in November 2015. Kelly, Korniyenko and Sergey Volkov are then to transfer to the crew of Expedition 46.

No word yet on whether the remaining crew members, scheduled to remain on the ISS through December, will receive a special screening of Star Wars Episode VII – The Force Awakens (premieres December 18, 2015).

Here is the full-length official portrait in high resolution:

So Many Blueprints: Many Bothans Died to Bring You These

September 2, 2014 – The most famous blueprints in all of movie history are those of the Death Star (Star Wars Episode IV) and the Death Star II (The Empire Strikes Back). As Mon Mothma (played by Caroline Blankston) plaintively noted in her briefing to the Rebel pilots, “Many Bothans died to bring you this information.”

Well, fellow Bothans, rejoice! You don’t have to die anymore to obtain blue prints. At The-Blueprints.com, you can search the database for any number of renderings, which are grouped by category:

In the “Science Fiction” category, Star Wars blueprints are further classified as either Characters, Imperial (think: Empire vehicles), Official (as in Rebel vehicles), Rebel (more vehicles), and Other (Dash Rendar’s Outrider, the Millenium Falcon, Desert Skiff, etc.).

Dozens of blueprints for Star Wars vehicles, light sabers and characters are available, including this Snowspeeder

Note that for the most part, these are basic front-/side-/top-view drawings with some descriptive details, which you can download at no cost. Vector drawings may also be purchased. You will not find detailed interior blueprints or cut-away shots, which you can find in reference books or other online resources. And oddly enough, the website offers no plans for the Death Star (I or II).

For most users (hobbyists, modelers, graphic designers), The-Blueprints.com is a great resource for finding and sharing blueprints. Step-by-step tutorials are also available so you can render and textualize your blueprints in over a dozen programs (3D Studio Max, Blender, Google SketchUp).

Here are some before-and-after photos:

Blueprints and CAD design software have come a long way since ILM’s contribution to Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983):

“Oh, no! George Lucas has re-edited yet another vintage Star Wars scene and ‘slightly altered’ the audio in this clip….”

Star Wars Font (Aurebesh)

January 31, 2013 – The writing system of Star Wars is called Aurebesh. You can download the character font-type here, courtesy of SigmaEcho. It also includes 14 symbols (Mandalorian, Rebel Alliance, Empire, Galactic Senate, etc.) Happy writing!

Economics of Star Wars – Part 3: Death Star Cost versus Planetary Destruction

January 26, 2014 – Here is a thoughtful economic analysis of the cost of building and maintaining a DEATH STAR versus the loss in value of destroying a planet, such as Alderaan. The geeky analysis is courtesy of www.overthinkingit.com. You can read the entire article here.

Some highlights:

► Why would the Empire take a huge economic loss by destroying a planet with the Death Star? The loss of tax-income and the planet’s resources make planet-obliteration illogical.

► ANSWERS: (1) To stop the cancerous spread of a rebellion, sometimes an arm or a leg must be cut off, or else you risk losing the entire body;
(2) Grand Moff Tarkin: “Fear will keep them in line. Fear of this battle station.”; (3) The insanity of the very idea of planetary destruction, and the unpredictable nature of a madman like the Emperor, also keep planets in check.

► To maintain order across your vast empire, you would have to maintain a SUPER MASSIVE BUREAUCRACY. The problem with bureaucracies, however, is that they are extremely expensive, unwieldy, become bloated and can sabotage you if not kept happy (i.e., paid well to avoid corruption).

► EXCERPT: “The more you spend on bureaucracy, the less control you have directly over your Empire. The less you spend on bureaucracy, the more you have to tighten your grip, and the more star systems slip through your fingers. So, the Emperor and Tarkin focus on making one really huge, high-impact investment: The Death Star. They throw in Alderaan as part of that investment. This doomsday weapon will supposedly free up their resources to spend less on administration, personnel and infrastructure….”

AND THE BEST PART: How To Build The Death Star

The “Death Star” from Coastline Studios on Vimeo.

Hyperdrive Travel: Life Imitates Art

December 4, 2013 – To allow Star Wars’ characters to travel the vast expanses of space-time, Lucasfilms’ creative minds had to invent vehicles capable of faster-than-light travel. And thus was born the hyperdrive docking ring. (I’ll save the Millenium Falcon’s hyperspace drive for another article.)

Obi-wan Kenobi’s Delta-7B Aethersprite-class jedi starfighter with a Syluire-31 hyperspace docking ring.

Now comes word from NASA that, in theory at least, a warp drive can be built which allows a vehicle to reduce interstellar flight from years to a matter of weeks. The genesis of the warp-drive theory is a white paper produced by Mexican theoretical physicist Miguel Alcubierre in 1994, in which he posits that space-time could be “warped” both in front of and behind a spacecraft. In short, space behind a vehicle would be made to expand rapidly, thus propelling the craft forward, and without violating Einstein’s general theory of relativity.

In 2011, physicist Harold G. “Sonny” White publicly announced that he and his team at NASA had begun work on the development of a faster-than-light warp drive. By altering the Alcubierre Drive, White believes that travel to, say, the nearest star from earth, Alpha Centauri (4.3 light miles away), could be done in two weeks. White presented his hypothesis at the “100 Year Starhip” conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Read more here.

Artist’s rendering of what a spacecraft with an Alcubierre drive might look like

If any of this sounds or looks familiar to Star Wars’ fans, there’s a good reason: The Star Wars prequel films introduced this concept when Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker were shown in their jedi starfighters either flying with, or docking into/out of the hyperdrive docking rings.

Interesting how life imitates art.

ASN-121 Assassin Droid: Coming to Your Galaxy

December 3, 2013 – Amazon recently announced its rapid delivery system, called Amazon Prime Air, to deliver products to your doorstep within 30 minutes of your order placement. Amazon hopes to use flying drones beginning in 2015, and whose maximum payload will be 5 pounds. The giant online retailer, however, will first need to overcome certain hurdles, including receiving approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (in the United States), and avoiding other predictable challenges, such as aggressive attack dogs that mistake the drones for an intruder or frisbee, or bored humanoids with shotguns looking for an easy target, or thieves intercepting deliveries. Watch the video here.

But my first reaction to seeing the Amazon video was to think: “Oh-oh. ASN-121 assassin droid!”. You will recall that several attempts were made to assassinate Senator Padmé Amidala. In “Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones” (2002), Padmé had retired to her sleeping quarters in her penthouse suite in Coruscant’s Galactic City. As Obi-wan Kenobi reconnoitered the rest of the complex, Anakin and Padmé decided on a plan to use her as bait to catch the assassin. The plan was for Padmé to order her astromech droid, R2-D2, to shutdown all of the security cameras in her sleeping chamber. Anakin would then stand guard outside and, relying upon his Force abilities, detect the intruder. Obi-wan soon returned just outside the chamber doors and, angered that his apprentice had set up Padmé as live bait, argued that they should go in immediately and turn the cameras back on.

Meanwhile, an ASN-121 assassin droid had cut through the Permaglass window of the sleeping quarters and dispensed two deadly kouhuns into the room. Fortunately, Anakin sensed a disturbance and rushed into the chambers, killing the kouhuns with his lightsaber. Obi-wan then leapt through the window to grab onto the ASN-121 assassin droid as it began to fly away. The droid, in turn, led him to the true assassin, Zam Wesell.

I mention all this because while I fully support Amazon’s drone delivery system (think of the coolness factor, and the speed of delivery!), there is a certain creepiness factor. How long more before the Amazon drones are equipped with cameras and sensory equipment to detect your presence at home or to conduct surveillance? Will other retailers start to copy Amazon? Is your government already using this technology domestically to track you and your movements? What does this all mean for our privacy rights, which we in the Western democracies highly cherish — but which are surely slipping away? Technology is always a double-edged sword.