From: utzoo!decvax!cca!REM@MIT-MC@sri-unix Newsgroups: net.space Title: remote control mining Article-I.D.: sri-unix.3030 Posted: Wed Sep 1 00:56:06 1982 Received: Wed Sep 8 03:45:23 1982 From: Robert Elton MaasWhen I refer to mining, I really mean just scooping up the surface soil, possibly spilling half of it due to clumbsiness, and dumping it into a hopper for conveyance to the processing station. I have in mind a solar-powered remote-control station on the moon, and a servo based on position (not velocity or pressure). Thus once you are trained, you just visualize where you want it to shovel on the TV image and make the corresponding motion on Earth which takes place on Moon later. You should be able to shovel several scoops of soil in a batch, then go back after seeing what's left and shovel some of the parts you missed. I can walk 10 or 20 steps with my eyes closed and know when I am about to reach a curb I saw back at the start before I closed my eyes. I can reach for objects with my eyes closed providing I've located them beforehand. I can spot all the clutter on my floor, turn off the lights, and then walk across to my bed in the dark, stepping over the clutter I can no longer see. I figure I can locate the places I want to shovel on the moon and then get most of them without visual feedback. At least I'm confident enough I'd like to try the experiment on Earth using artificial feedback delay to prove it could be done on the Moon with real feedback delay.