After the longest & most complicated build you’ve ever been a part of, run at a 24/7 pace and requiring the waiving of a swath of regulations, from worksite hours logged to spoil-heap runoff management, the project is done, on time and possibly under budget. You were sent back to your depot for some much-needed maintenance, then powered down until the next job.
Now you’re active again.
The wall clock is unhelpfully flashing “00:00”, your internal chronometer is reporting a confused “Low Battery Error”, there’s dust everywhere, the Days Since A Health & Safety Incident flip-board is stuck on ‘999’, and it looks as though it caught fire at some point.
There don’t appear to be any people in the depot, but the wall screen is showing a grainy image of a woman bracing herself against the wall of a sloping corridor, peering up into the camera, asking. “Is anyone receiving me? Is there anyone out there? We need help. Depot 17, are you there?”
The System
I’ve stitched this system together from a few sources – Mostly “TinyFate”
It’s based on Fate, but it drops skills
altogether.
You have five Aspects describing the character; Where they apply, you get a +1,
or a -1 if they apply in a detrimental way. That’s in addition to any Fate
points you spend, or Free-taggable aspects which may be floating around.
Each Bot has these aspects;
Design – Features of the Bot; How it’s built, what it looks like
Downside – Bots aren’t perfect. The same features they were built with can also be really irritating
Role – What does it do?
Knack – Something unexpected they can do
Quirk – Outside of it’s job, what is the Bot like? What, aside from their servomotor system, moves them?
A Robot Must Have A N.A.M.E.
Natural-language Appellation and Management Expression – An identifier assigned to the Bot so that workers, supervisors, and indeed other bots can be clear about who they’re addressing. Serial or Production numbers don’t work so well for that, so they tend to go with something easy to remember for a Bot’s N.A.M.E.
And A Few Other Things
Bots can communicate with each other at very high speed by radio.
They can also use regular spoken communication if they’d prefer.
All bots have some ability to pick things
up, move them around, and manipulate them, even if that doesn’t make a whole
lot of sense, because it’d be dull and annoying if they couldn’t.
The Characters
Scaffold, Access, & Enclosure System
The SDT-800 has been designed from the ground up as an all-purpose safe access system, able to configure itself to meet both worksite safety & public access and sightline concerns in real time. It’s monitoring systems are constantly on the lookout for safety violations, and can easily be modified to meet local H&S regulations.
Additionally, we’ve fitted the SDT-800 with display surfaces on all panels, allowing it to blend with the local décor, convey site-specific warnings, or proudly display your company’s branding for the world to see.
Natural-language Appellation and Management Expression:
Design – A Scissor-Lift Loaded With Scaffolding Poles & Hardened Display Screens
Downside – You Know What Regular Scaffolding Systems Lack? DRAMA!
Role – All-Purpose Safe Access Machine
Knack – I Can Be Damn Near Anything
Quirk – Sports Fan; Any Sport, Don’t Care, Saw The Game, Know The Score
Cleaner/Painter/Decontaminator
Designed to meet all of your surface protection and cleaning needs, a single ANT-57 unit at your worksite can reduce waste by methodically recovering waste materials, prevent deterioration by following construction with immediate surface protection, and if necessary take on the task of containing hazardous substance incidents & managing their mitigation.
Working in conjunction with a Mobile Manufactory system, the ANT-57 can reduce the need for small parts purchase by up to 5% by aggressively recycling wasted and scrap materials.
Natural-language Appellation and Management Expression:
Design – A Mechanical Ant With A Rack Of Painter’s Tools
Downside – Obsessive Expert In Hazardous Substance Identification & Mitigation
Role – To Clean And Protect. And Prettify
Knack – I Can Go Anywhere
Quirk – SF/Fantasy/Horror Enthusiast
Manufactory
The “Manny” fabrication & recycling unit is built to bring precise, rapid, and immediate design and manufacture right to your worksite.
With a proper supply of feedstock, the “Manny” can produce exactly the right components to solve worksite problems. Additionally, “Manny” can suggest alternative approaches, in accordance with industry best practice, to avoid costly delays in the event of feedstock shortages.
The “Manny” unit is not food service rated. Any use of the system to produce food or beverage items constitutes a breach of warranty.
Natural-language Appellation and Management Expression:
Design – A 3D Printer, Inside A Baker’s Oven, On Caterpillar Tracks
Downside – It’s Outside Of My Parameters; Let’s Give It A Try.
Role – Nuclear-Powered Materials Reassembler
Knack – A Real Craftsman, Er, Craftsbot
Quirk – Talented, If Unorthodox, Chef
Technical Bot
The Arachnos-15 technical unit brings the fine details of your plan into reality.
Able to move easily around the worksite and through tight spaces, the Arachnos-15 is equipped with the tools to handle HVAC, 3 Waters, Electrical, and Communications tasks with ease, and without placing workers at risk.
Can a human connect fiber optic junctions while hanging upside-down 200 feet above the worksite? Arachnos-15 can.
Natural-language Appellation and Management Expression:
Design – A Spider Wearing Plate-Mail & A Ridiculous Number Of Tool Bandoliers
Downside – Do A Bodge Job!? Betray My Robot Heritage!? (perfectionist)
Role – Technical Expert
Knack – A Born, Or Rather Built, Swashbuckler
Quirk – Movie Buff. OK, Media Junkie
Load Lifter
Maneuvering heavy objects through uncooperative spaces is a fact of life on even the most well-planned of construction sites, as is the need to ‘persuade’ components into place.
The LN-2 humaniform lifter increases worksite productivity by freeing your expensive site labour, and even more expensive crane, from having to waste valuable time dealing with medium-weight loads, safely & efficiently moving components & materials into place. With the optional ‘storesman’ module, the LN-2 can take charge of storage and supply for your site, ensuring that you have what you need where you need it to be, and that storage does not take over the whole worksite.
Natural-language Appellation and Management Expression:
Design – The Cargo Lifter From “Aliens”
Downside – *shatter* I Swear, I Thought It Was Tougher Than That (not so good with fragile things)
Role – Lugging, Stacking, And Occasional Thumping
Knack – Surprisingly Good At Football
Quirk – An Excellent Conversationalist
Load Hauler
The ‘Loadmaster’ series of flat-bed load haulers have been designed to provide supplier-to-site capacity; The Loadmaster can collect cargo, loading it without assistance thanks to our patented multi-arm technology, transport it in accordance with local regulations for heavy cargo, and deposit it on-site with precision.
Natural-language Appellation and Management Expression:
Design – The Flatbed Variant Of The APC From “Aliens”
Downside – I’ve Looked At The Structure; Can That Bridge Even Hold Me? (heavy)
Role – Nimble Nuclear-Powered Truck
Knack – Damn Near Unstoppable
Quirk – A Student Of The Natural World
Constructer
With the Constructor-Prime system, excavation and foundation work becomes as simple as loading the plans and saying “Go”.
Constructor-Prime takes on the tasks of site preparation, geological stabilisation, and foundation construction, all in accordance with building standards, leaving your crews free to concentrate on the rest of your build. And because the system operates in accordance with all local laws & regulations, and need not stop just because of nightfall or weather, projects come in on time and under budget.
Where legal requirements apply, Constructor-Prime will
cease work upon the discovery of; Archaeological Sites, Endangered Species,
Geotechnical Hazards beyond the system’s authorised remediation budget, and/or
Mass Graves.
Constructor-Prime will not breach stop-work orders, noise ordnances, or
designated ‘Do Not Dig’ areas without authorisation from civic officials.
Natural-language Appellation and Management Expression:
Design – A Bulldozer With A Range Of Digging Attachments, A Nailgun Chambered For Reinforcing Bar, And A Squirtgun Of Concrete
Downside – As Subtle As A Bulldozer
Role – All-In-One Foundation Builder
Knack – Expert Shot
Quirk – Has Always Wanted To Discover A Fossil
Rigger
The Octocrane is purpose built to fill the gap between traditional cranes, with their limited reach, and ground-based load lifters, with their limited vertical lift range.
Operating
as a self-deploying rigging and lifting machine, the Octocrane works with your
site crew & managers to safely position loads, components, equipment, and
personnel exactly where they need to be, in a smooth and safe manner.
Because the Octocrane is not anchored to any one spot, or limited by
traditional access methods, ad-hoc changes to construction schedules can be
easily accommodated, and impacts on delivery dates are reduced.
Natural-language Appellation and Management Expression:
Design – A Brachiating Metal Octopus With Eight Grappling Guns
Downside – A Tendency Towards Showing Off
Role – All-Purpose Lifting & Rigging Machine
Knack – At Home In Mid-Air
Quirk – Kills The Downtime By Painting Landscapes