FYI: The stuff listed under your knowledge isn't everything you know, but it is the more important parts. If you want to do something that you feel you should be able to effectively do based on past actions and/or inventions but isn't listed in your knowledge, go for it. Though it'd be safe for you to include some of your reasoning in your actions so I understand.
Finally: let me know if I leave any placeholder-type text. Sometimes I forget to delete the actions I copy+pasted to facilitate writing out the update.
May 6th, 2017RobosonDespite the sheer difficulties of the task you set off to accomplish today, you manage to really work wonders. The Collector Bot, or C-Bot, is suite to a number of innovations from yourself. Firstly, it moves via four small legs, allowing it to traverse landscapes such as the scrapyard with only minor difficulty. It's powered by multiple sets of consumer batteries that run out in the course of a day's use, so unfortunately you'll have to pay around
$5 to power it for a day. Storage is rather small, but workable, as it holds 1u of most items in an open-top bin. The storage isn't great, but it works for now.
It's the internals where you really innovate. You don't know how you managed to do it, as this is all rather complicated stuff. But you did it.
Networking allows for a fleet of bots to, given an area of land, semi-intelligently cut up the land into sectors for each bot to work on, and if linked to a nearby display, is able to give the display real-time information as to the status of each bot and its current loads, and its sub-zone. So if you have a group of bots and a way to do so, you can simply upload the region and the bots will automatically divide it up and begin work. Experience in programming this makes you proficient in
Basic Robotic Networking.
The recognition was much more difficult - a bot has to be able to recognize relevant pieces of useful materials and evaluate whether or not it can be fit into the storage container. You were able to implement the core functionalities but the current recognition suite is limited to only broad recognizing. Things like "scrap metal" work, but "scrap metal with usable bolts" is simply too specific for the webcam and recognition suite to process.
The point system, though, was the hardest part. If it wasn't for an insane degree of luck you wouldn't have been able to even get it working. As it stands, a bot is able to recognize the points value of items and attempts to optimize their total score. Networking allows bots to access the scores of individual bots but competition is nonexistent - a bot simply processes the points of different items and discards scrap with less points for scrap with more points to increase its total score. Yet your work here has gained you a minor insight into machine learning, granting you the knowledge of
Basic Machine Learning.
Control is an issue. A bot lacks a display and you even lack a computer to plug them into. The programming was actually done at the library then painstakingly uploaded to the robots via a process that is most certainly not practical for uploading orders. At the moment orders are sent via an extremely simple "interface" consisting of a couple LED lights and a pair of buttons. The orders have to be programmed in over relatively large amounts of time for a single bot, and controlling more than one bot, even with networking, is largely unfeasible using this method of control.
The "computer" you made inside is also a problem. With just electronic parts used, the computer is incredibly simple - it has an almost nonexistent storage and the capabilities you've programmed so far already stretch the computer to its limits. If you want to make it more advanced the first step in doing so would most certainly be investing in the bot's computer, whether that's via better parts, or designing a better integrated computer yourself.
You made one
Collector Bot today. You had to spend
$47, almost completely depleting your current stored cash. 2u Advanced Mechanical bits were bought as you needed things like small servos and motors to actually power the legs, and
5u Mechanical Bits were used in the making of the rest of the legs. A cheap webcam was bought for $20 to allow the bot to "see". For the actual computing part,
4u Electronic Parts were used for the integrated computer, and
4u Scrap Metal were used in the making of the body. Well, actually, 3u were used, but you had to buy another piece of suitable metal.
You
would be testing out the Collector Bot with the rest of your time today, but you can't afford the batteries needed to power it with your measly $2.
You earn
$4 from your part-time job at an used electronics store today.
Home: Garage; New Bounds
Cash: $2
Outfit: Regular Clothing
Inventions
- Collector Bot: A very small 4-legged bot low to the ground that walks around an assigned zone picking up scrap. Communicates with other collector bots assign individual bots to work on different parts of a given zone for more efficient work. Is able to send status of networked bots to a nearby networked display, their current loads, and the assigned individual bot sub-zones. Can only recognize and differentiate between broad types of materials. Uses a basic point system to rank different materials in priority. Orders have to be programmed via long series of mechanical switch pressing per bot. Ordering more than 1 bot at a time is unfeasible. Open-top storage holds up to 1u at a time. Basic integrated computer has limited storage and further advances in intelligence are impossible without upgrading the computer. Requires $5 worth of consumer batteries per day of operation. Costs 4u Electronic Parts, 1x ($20) Cheap Webcam, 5u Mechanical Bits, 2u Advanced Mechanical Bits, 4u Scrap Metal, using Work Tools.
Knowledge
- Basic Robotic Programming: A basic knowledge of programming simple robotics using a variety of methods from wiring to computer coding.
- Basic Machine Learning: The technical know-how to effectively implement primitive machine learning in computers. Nowhere near anything resembling artificial intelligence.
- Basic Robotic Networking: Experience in locally networking robots together to achieve a bigger goal.
Inventory
Equipment & Tools
- Work Tools (basic set of work tools including items such as a wrench, screwdriver, hammer, and more.)
Materials
- 3u Scrap Metal
- 7u Scrap Electronics
- 3u Electronics
- 3u Mechanical Bits
Clothing
- Regular Clothing
Miscellaneous Items
- Small Book: 101 Fun Animals! [Return to library: May 9th]
- Small Book: Programming: Is it really that different from cooking? [Return to library: May 9th]
- Textbook: A Comprehensive History of Robotics [Return to library: May 9th]
You receive a willing subject early in the day - some person in a grey lab coat. As you didn't form any definitive plans to deal with the test subjects you'd be receiving today, you end up deciding to only take in this person for
$20 and practice forming a trance and increasing suggestibility in the subject.
The trance is accomplished after some time. It's not particularly deep, and any unexpected stimuli (that is to say, things that aren't you) will wake the subject out of the trance. Needless to say, this hypnotism would
not work in an uncontrolled environment. Time to move on to suggestions.
This goes better, but still not perfectly. You find that with the right techniques, the subject can be instructed to perform basic actions - "walk here", "pick this up", as well as some simple questions. If the suggestion is too "extreme" (keeping in mind that "extreme" is relative) then the subject will wake from the trance without need for an external factor.
Your knowledge of Human Reaction Theory helps here, and after writing everything down,
Basic Hypnotism is now something you can reliably perform.
At work, you use your knowledge of the human mind to try and influence your coworkers, but unfortunately they see through your attempts at subtle manipulation. You gain a reputation for being "fake" and "slithery" at work, and your coworkers' opinions of you are decreased. It's not going to affect your job at the moment, but you make a note to be careful in the future with any further actions here. It's definitely not out of the question to try again, as this event was created by a mistake on your part, but without repairing the relationship somehow, another mistake won't be good for your job.
Once back at the garage, safe from the disdain of your peers, you begin to try to use the basic hypnosis techniques learned today on yourself in an effort to increase your self-confidence and generally calm yourself. Normally this would be hard based just on Human Reaction Theory, but thanks to the valuable experience from the subject you tested on earlier today, the process goes much more smoothly than it could have gone. For a bit, you actually start to feel slightly more confident and calm. Nothing huge that will affect your life in any way, but you know it's possible.
You didn't really gain much knowledge from this, though. It's nice experience but nothing new was really learned compared to that test session.
You earn
$5 from your part-time construction job today. Your coworkers dislike you.
Home: Garage; New Bounds
Cash: $90
Outfit: Regular Clothing
Knowledge
- Basics of the Human Mind: Basic factual knowledge on the functioning and anatomy of the human brain.
- Human Reaction Theory: Understanding of the inherent similarities and few differences and how to semi-accurately predict human reaction to stimuli given numerous variables.
- Basic Hypnotism: The ability to put subjects into a mild trance and induce increased suggestibility in the subject in response to basic commands and questions, but any external stimuli tends to wake the subject and they can wake of their own accord.
Inventory
Clothing
- Regular Clothing
Miscellaneous Items
- Large Notebook & Pencils
- Neuroscience Graduate Textbook [Return to library: May 9th]
- Simple Psychology Book [Return to library: May 9th]
- Textbook: The Human Mind 101 [Return to library: May 9th]
The game is finished today.
The release actually goes really well - good exposure and entertainment value leads to you earning
$172 in profit! Experience from the whole process leads to more knowledge of
Game Development. Though you really don't want to make a career or most of your money off of this. You're a
scientist, not some
game developer! And, surprisingly, it has been scientifically proven by scientists in New Bound that lightning does not strike twice. Scientifically
proven.You wonder if your knowledge in game development could be used for anything useful or interesting. With some creative thinking, it probably in fact could.
After this is done, you have enough time in your day to spend a couple of hours at the nearby scrapyard, where you find
2u Scrap Electronics. The lack of time is annoying in hampering your efforts, but despite that you still manage to find some valuable scrap.
Home: Garage; New Bounds
Cash: $244
Outfit: Lab Coat + T-Shirt, Sweatpants, Rimmed Glasses
Knowledge
- Basic Programming Knowledge: Knowing how to perform basic programming feats and applications.
- Game Development: Knowledge and experience of the intermediate game development process.
Inventory
Equipment & Tools
- Low-Quality Netbook
Materials
- 2u Scrap Electronics
Clothing
- Lab Coat + T-Shirt
- Sweatpants
- Rimmed glasses
Miscellaneous Items
- Library Card
Nope. No keys in the car. Just lots of dirt, grunge, and other unpleasant stuff to get stuck on your clothes.
After finishing
that fruitless search, you find an informative book simply titled
High-Powered Car Engines. Convenient. You take it home after hearing the librarian commanding you to return it on the 11th.
After seeing how much time's left in the day, you decide you may as well pass it by reading the book you just got.
And
surprise, the book on high-powered car engines grants you the knowledge of
High-Powered Car Engines. You keep the book around in case you have any uses for it later.
Home: Garage; New Bounds
Cash: $72
Outfit: Trench Coat, Black Bandana
Knowledge
- High-Powered Car Engines: Knowledge surrounding the maintenance and basic functioning of high-powered car engines.
Inventory
Vehicles
- 1993 Cheap Car (Red) [No license plate] [No keys]
Equipment
- Lock-picking Set
Items
- Stolen New Bounds License Plate
Materials
- 5u Scrap Metal
- 2u Engine Parts
Clothing
- Trench Coat
- Black Bandana
Miscellaneous Items
- Informative Book: High-Powered Car Engines [Return to library: May 11]
You wake up fairly early in the morning to take advantage of that flyer you found offering $20 to be experimented on with hypnosis.
Wanting the money Wanting to improve the state of science, you do it. The very intimidating man performing the tests in some kind of garage does a basic hypnosis routine on you. It feels a bit like you were half-asleep, but other than that nothing of notable happened
other than you getting $20[/color]! More money's always great.
With that done, you decide to affirm your intelligence by finding a professional
$10 IQ test. A fair bit of time is spent taking it and you emerge from it with a signed certificate declaring your genius-level IQ. You feel very proud even though you already knew this.
You earn
$6 at your museum part-time job.
Home: Garage; New Bounds
Cash: $126
Outfit: Grey Lab Coat, Black Boots
Knowledge
- Basic Genetics: General knowledge surrounding genetics and their operation.
- Basics of Genetic Mutation: Basic overall knowledge primarily surrounding the mutation of genetic code in organisms.
Inventory
Clothing
- Grey Lab Coat
- Black Boots
- Black Gloves
Miscellaneous Items
- Library Card
- Informative Mutation Book [Return to library: May 16th]
- Genetics Graduate Textbook [Return to library: May 16th]
- Validated Certificate: Magen E. Tuene's Genius-level IQ
The Flour Bomb is renamed to the
Noodley Wick!Y'know, for kids.
Instead of being a
totally awesome grenade that one can also eat, the Noodley Wick will become more similar to a
fun and festive decorative item for dishes!
You spend some time with the Noodley Wick you already have in an attempt to improve the fuse, using
1u Culinary Ingredients.
Unfortunately, the edibility is not improved. At all. Whatsoever. You mean, it's...
technically... edible. But that doesn't mean it's an enjoyable experience. But you march on, knowing that not all decorative items are delicious and that it can always be improved later!
Reliability, however, is massively improved. The fuse now takes exactly 5 seconds to burn, and you improved the safety of it making the fires merely "decorative". It might sting a bit if you put your fingers or face right next to it, but surely people aren't stupid enough to do that, right?
A patent is effortlessly required from the Quik-Patent™ government agency for
$10. With this done, you come to the pasta kitchen where you work and after way too long, get a meeting with the owner. You tell them that they'll be able to manufacture the
Noodley Wick given it's only created on the property and doesn't leave the property. The owner seems to ponder a bit before offering you
$50 for it.
You're given some time to decide on this. You can accept, decline, make a counter-offer, or somehow do something else regarding this.
You earn
$6 from your part-time job at a pasta kitchen.
Home: Garage; New Bounds
Cash: $4
Outfit: Lab Coat + Oversized Indecipherable Glasses
Inventions
- Noodley Wick: A culinary decorative item that explodes with a 1m blast radius. The flames in the blast radius are largely harmless to anything or anyone inside. Its fuse takes exactly 5 seconds after lighting to detonate. Has to be stored overnight in a fridge. Expires after 1 week. Requires 3u Culinary Ingredients and use of Basic Kitchen Supplies.
Knowledge
- Very Basic Pasta Elasticity: Knowing how to make pasta noodles slightly more stretchy. Guard this secret well.
- Kitchen Chemistry: Knowing the ins-and-outs of chemical (and physical) reactions in the kitchen.
Inventory
Weapons
Equipment & Tools
- Basic Kitchen Supplies (measuring containers, mixing utensils, bowls of varying sizes, and other kitchen utensils and supplies)
- Used Minifridge
Items[/u]
- 1x Noodley Wick
Materials
Clothing
- Lab Coat
- Oversized Indecipherable Glasses
You pay
$16 for
2x Large Beakers of sufficient quality for your intentions, and while at the commercial area home to the store selling the beakers, decide to do some research.
Asking around at various shops reveals that a small water purifier - enough to purify 2u of water every day - is
$40. A moderately-sized water purifier, enough for
5u water per day, is
$85. A large one, making a resounding 15u/day, is
$225.
With plenty of time left in the day, you spend most of it in the scrapyard. You find
4u Scrap Metal as well as a
Hammer. This is all brought to the garage where it is "neatly" stored before you turn in for the night.
Home: Garage; New Bounds
Cash: $54
Outfit: Regular Clothing
Knowledge
- Efficient Basic Electrolysis: Knowledge on how to perform basic electrolysis with simple metals and materials at a 1:1 rate. Can perform electrolysis on 3u worth of materials total per day by hand. You need 1u of purified water to purify 1u of materials. Takes a long amount of time.
Contacts
- Metal Dealer
Inventory
Equipment & Tools
- 1x Hammer
Items
- 2x Large Beakers
- 3x Small Beakers
- 1x Small Battery & Electrodes
Materials
- 5u Scrap Metal
- 2u Purified Water
Clothing
- Regular Clothing
Author
Topic: Individual Scientists! May 8th 2017 [7/7] (Read 6129 times)