- Nanomorph
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A nanomorph, term first coined by Science Fiction writer David Pulver in 1986's GURPS Robots, is a fictional robot entirely made of nanomachines. Its brain is distributed throughout its whole body, which also acts as an all-around sensor, hence making it impossible to surprise as long as the target is on line of sight. A nanomorph is arguably the robotic ultimate in versatility, maybe even in power[citation needed]. Further uses of the concept could include using parts of its body as a tracking device, splitting the body for doing several tasks, or merging two nanomorphs in a greater one, or else gliding/flying in an ornithopter-like way (by molding itself like a giant, articulated kite).
A common but facultative (without this feature, it would still qualify as a nanomorph) improvement is the ability to cover itself with specific colors and textures in a realistic looking manner (the ultimate being to look like a human, à la doppelgänger).
Fictional examples
- T-1000 from Terminator 2: Judgment Day and T-1001 from Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
- Living Steel (image) from Dungeons and Dragons
- EDust assassin, a rather advanced type from Culture novels by Iain M. Banks
- Human-form Replicators from Stargate SG-1 and Asurans from Stargate Atlantis
- Geegus from World Heroes and World Heroes 2
- Foglets from the comic book Transmetropolitan
- A close cousin is Glacius in the game Killer Instinct, except that it is not a robot but a living being
- The Supervisor, the main antagonist in the video game Rise of the Robots
- The so-called "carbosilicate Amorph" Sergeant Schlock of Howard Tayler's Webcomic "Schlock Mercenary
- More scientifically plausible examples from fiction are the nanomorphs explained in Michael Crichton's novel Prey.
- KITT In Knight Rider 2008
- The Universal Constructors from Stephen Baxter's The Time Ships.
- Brainiac, the incredibly complex artificial intelligence from Smallville, capable of perfectly mimicking any person
Arguably, the human form, albeit dramatic, is sub-optimal for most tasks except social relations (for instance, infiltration).
- Gort (The Day the Earth Stood Still) from the modern remake The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008 film) was composed of microscopic insect-like nanobots
- The dispersant remote, in "Peace on Earth" (Stanislaw Lem, 1987).
See also
- Nanorobotics
- Utility fog
- Blood Music
External links
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