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Ro to Rt

Robertson

The Savannah Orbitals around Robertson are home to the largest existing colony of Australopithecine hominids.

Robinson's World

Alien ruins.

robot

A programmable hardware or software device, agent, or expert system, either non- sub-turing, or dedicated turingrade, that follows certain instructions in order to perform tasks autonomously. A physical (hardware) robot mechanical manipulators and sensors. A robot may perform a physical task normally done by a biont, often with greater speed, strength, efficiency, and precision. Although vecs are sometimes also called robots (because of similarity of appearance), robots differ from vecs in that they are less cognitively flexible, and lack or have only limited initiative. Most vecs would respond to being called "robot" the way most sophont bionts would respond to being called "animal".

[the term "robot" was introduced by the Industrial Age fabulist Karel Čapek, the word means "work" or "drudgery" in Old Earth Slovak or Czech]

M. Alan Kazlev; some additional material by Stephen Inniss

Robotics

The application of Artificial Intelligence to the control of machines; the art, science, and technology of designing and manufacturing robots and vecs.

The field of Robotics combines limited ai and mechanical engineering, and encompasses such diverse sub-fields such as bionics and biomimesis, navigation systems, sensors, pattern recognition methods, servos, molectronics, real-time control, autonomous behavior, aioid software, and virch and utility fog simulations, and more.

During the late atomic and early information age, before the development of ai sentience, robotics included industrial robots, remote-controlled devices, and interplanetary probes, none of which were even sub-sentient. With the coming of turingrade ai and above during the middle information age onwards, there was a wealth of developments, including homebots, companion systems, service bots, autonomous vehicles and anvecs. By the interplanetary period robotics included the development of utility aioids, lovebots, anvecs, SCMs, self-replicating machines (neumanns), interstellar probes, sentient vehicles, primitive mecha, and vecs. There were further developments during the first federation period and after, including integral mechosystems, biomimetic and hylomimetic mecha, replicants, biobots, vec empires, and autowars and biowars, as developed nanotech allowed robotics and biotech to merge, ai passed new singularities, and advances in interstellar propulsion enabled whole new generations of space craft. Nowadays robotics and robots of all sorts from the most subsentient service bot to the transapient vec ai node are such an integral part of modern civilization it is impossible to conceive of life without them

[the term "robotics" was coined by Atomic Age scientist and fabulist Isaac Asimov]

M.Alan Kazlev

Roche's limit

The distance from a large body or primary within which tidal forces would disrupt or disintegrate a satellite.

The Rock

The Rock is said to be based on a real granite boulder in the STC or the Keter dominion which had been modified by advanced piconanotech so as to become a 2nd (in some variants of the story, a 4th or 5th) singularity intelligence.

Regardless of the truth (or not) of this (and ultratech-modified "provolved" rocks are not unknown), the Rock has more success as a character in a popular "feel good" interactive of the same name. Here The Rock sits by an ocean in Mu-Arrobo Orbital, around the Red Dwarf YTS 2150 8946 23 (such a red dwarf does in fact exist (in the outer Sophic League), and there is an Orbital of that name there, but no The Rock, although no lack of pilgrims trying to find em). Sometimes sentients will approach the rock, travelling long distances by relativistic freighter, even braving pirates and rogue autowars, to sit at the base of the Rock. If they are troubled (as they inevitably are) the Rock will communicate to them by piezoelectric modulations. The communication will be short and cryptic, even koan-like, but when deciphered serve to resolve the sentient's problem, whether it be love life, problems at work or at play, family problems, ailife infestation in the local net, persecution by raiders, nearby war, the hab nanofabricator not working probably, etc. The sentient goes home, fixes the problem, and the story ends happily ever after

M.Alan Kazlev

Rocklake

Recently rich and developing outer sphere world, important regional center, linked to main wormhole nexus. Popular with a number of clades, including young House Stevens radicals disillusioned with "House Ridgewell".

rodent

Order of usually small terragen mostly herbivorous gnawing mammals, distinguished by enlarged front incisors and lack of canine teeth.

Include rats, mice, hamsters, squirrels, voles, beavers and many other species. The most diverse of all terragen mammals, some rodents have proved extremely adaptable and accompanied baseline humans into space during the interplanetary period. Others however are very vulnerable to new conditions and require biohabitats that reproduce their original terragen environment. Rodents are a popular object for geneers, some, such rodent neogens prove to be popular pets.

M.Alan Kazlev

Rojmaneo war

Conflict among the members of House Claida, 9322-9365.

After the permanent suspension of the Rojmaneo in 9322 different factions began to struggle over succession, creating an internal war spread across the wormhole nexus. Over a thousand members were killed or sabotaged before Canahare Hre-Claida ascended as the new Rojmaneo.

Anders Sandberg

Rollerox

Plains dwelling, herbivorous creature indigenous to Nui Spiridonia.

In size and ecological niche, similar to the terrestrial cow/oxen/bison/wildebeest. The creature actually resembles a giant armadillo with a blunt head, dark, near black hide and armored shell and a cluster of short tendrils around the mouth to pull in food. Rolleroxen have no eyes and instead use sonar to perceive their environment. They move using their legs for short distances. For more extended travel, they actually roll up into a ball and roll across the plains of their world, using their sonar to navigate.

Todd Drashner

Rosette

World complex located in the Inner Sphere system of Trinity.

Allegiance is to the Sophic League. Rosette consists of an array of six shellworlds, each approx. 1000km in radius all orbiting in a stable hexagonal array around a common center of gravity. Unlike many shellworlds, the various levels of the Rosette worlds are not complete in themselves, but are broken up by large shafts and 'canyons' (the Clefts) which open up entire segments of levels to each other. Plant and animal life travel freely between levels and several rivers on each world empty out into the larger shafts and canyons (the Highfalls).

Due to the low gravity, personal flight is a common means of transportation between levels and most permanent or long term inhabitants of the system have had functional wings and related musculature grown for the purpose.

The entire Rosette system of worlds is linked by a Lofstrom loop complex which allows rapid transit from one world-node to another. A 100m wormhole and three cycler links make the system a busy crossroads and it is not at all unusual for tourists and the more spiritually inclined (who come to meditate and relax while taking in the spectacular views afforded from the sides of the Clefts) to outnumber the local population.

Todd Drashner

Rotating Tether

Device for transferring cargo or passengers from the atmosphere or near surface of a planet to outer space.

To utilize a rotating tether for a comparative low energy planet to orbit transfer, a hypersonic shuttle takes a payload up to rendezvous with one end of a rotating tether, consisting of two artificial satellites joined by a line in tension and rotating around a common centre of gravity. Once the payload is attached the tether continues to rotate until the payload is in orbit, however with a lower centre of gravity.

For interplanetary transfer, a payload is attached to a rotating tether in an elliptical planetary orbit which tosses it towards a neighbouring planet, where a second tether meets it and rotates it into orbit or even directly to the surface on a low gravity moon. The kinetic energy acquired by the receiving tether can be used in part to return payloads and maintain a dynamic equilibrium.

These systems are popular with developing solar systems in the outer volumes where energy and advanced technology are expensive. Large extravagant rotovator systems are used in many MPA systems, apparently just for entertainment and general exuberance. Most advanced polities and angelnet protectorates prefer static space elevators using advanced materials and powered orbital transfers giving the advantage of controllability.

Steve Bowers

Rosette Cluster

Heavily populated and prosperous NoCoZo-TRHN tourist system, home to a number of hedonics corporations and experimental habitats and lifestyles.

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