Part of the technology series of articles.
Robots (often called automatics) in Vekllei are mobile machines controlled remotely by large optical computers via radio transmission. They are a continuous presence in Vekllei society, conducting all manner of tasks across industry, logistics and public services. Unlike autonomous machines with onboard processing (in the conventional depiction of a robot), robots in Vekllei and around the world are effectively remote-controlled extensions of centralised computer systems.
The country maintains thousands of Automatic Asset Commands, which are room-sized optical computers that coordinate several robots through radio signals. A single command system might control hundreds of droids simultaneously, and route them through factories, warehouses, streets or railways. This centralised architecture emerged from the first industrial robots that appeared in Poland in the 1980s and spread throughout the Soviet Union, and from which contemporary design derives. In Vekllei, basically all robots in operation were designed and manufactured by National Machines.
Operation #
Vekllei robots are “droids” in the technical sense – they possess no independent intelligence or decision-making capability. All processing occurs in an Automatic Asset Command or equivalent computer located elsewhere, with robots serving as mobile input-output devices for the central computer.
Many robots can understand human speech and respond in Automatic Language, which sounds like synthesised bells in different tones that are closely associated with morse code and specific phrases. Many Vekllei people recognise basic Automatic Language and its shorthands, like “yes,” “no,” and “complete.”
Robots comprise radio and sensory equipment, motors and commonly an equipment rail to which manipulator arms and specialised appliances and paraphernalia can be attached.
Types of Robots #
National Machines produces two modular flagship products, which are the most common seen in Vekllei today. These are the General-Use Machine (GUM), a mobile droid shaped a bit like a pill, and the Automatic Factory Schematic System (AFS) which is typically integrated into existing environments on a bespoke basis. The GUM is manufactured under the National Machines brand, whereas the AFS is developed and marketed by its constituent Atlantic Electrics.