#Robotics in Construction Theme Analysis

[yourusatoday]

Revolutionizing Construction: Robotics Theme Analysis

The construction industry is undergoing a seismic shift with the integration of robotics technology, heralding a new era of efficiency, safety, and innovation. In this comprehensive analysis, we delve into the transformative impact of robotics in construction, examining key themes, emerging trends, and the future trajectory of the industry.

Understanding Robotics in Construction

Automation and Precision Engineering

Robotics technology enables automation of repetitive tasks and precision engineering processes in construction, including site preparation, material handling, and assembly. By deploying robotic systems equipped with sensors, actuators, and intelligent algorithms, construction firms can streamline operations, minimize errors, and optimize project timelines.

Autonomous Vehicles and Equipment

The advent of autonomous vehicles and equipment revolutionizes construction site logistics, transportation, and material handling. From self-driving trucks and drones for surveying to robotic arms for excavation and 3D printing, autonomous technologies enhance productivity, safety, and cost-effectiveness in construction projects of all scales.

Themes Driving Robotics Adoption

Safety and Risk Mitigation

Robotics technology enhances safety protocols and risk mitigation strategies in construction by reducing human exposure to hazardous environments and high-risk tasks. Autonomous vehicles, drones, and robotic exoskeletons enhance worker safety, minimize accidents, and ensure compliance with stringent regulatory standards.

To gain more information on the robotics market forecast, download a free report sample 

Productivity and Project Efficiency

Robotics-driven automation improves productivity and project efficiency by accelerating construction processes, optimizing resource utilization, and minimizing downtime. Advanced robotics solutions enable construction firms to meet project deadlines, mitigate delays, and deliver high-quality results within budgetary constraints.

Robotics Applications Across Construction Phases

Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Digital Twins

Robotics in Construction Theme Analysis facilitates the integration of building information modeling (BIM) and digital twin technologies, enabling real-time visualization, simulation, and analysis of construction projects. By creating virtual replicas of physical assets and environments, construction stakeholders can optimize design decisions, identify potential conflicts, and streamline project workflows.

Modular Construction and Prefabrication

Robotics-enabled modular construction and prefabrication techniques revolutionize traditional building methods, enabling faster, more cost-effective construction of structures with standardized components. Robotic assembly lines, 3D printing technologies, and robotic welders facilitate mass production of prefabricated modules, enhancing scalability and reducing construction timelines.

Future Outlook and Strategic Imperatives

Collaboration and Ecosystem Integration

The future of construction lies in fostering collaboration and ecosystem integration among stakeholders, including contractors, developers, technology providers, and regulatory bodies. By leveraging open standards, interoperable platforms, and collaborative frameworks, the construction industry can unlock synergies, drive innovation, and accelerate digital transformation.

Skills Development and Talent Acquisition

As construction firms embrace robotics technology, investing in skills development and talent acquisition becomes imperative to ensure workforce readiness and adaptability. Training programs, certifications, and apprenticeships in robotics programming, automation engineering, and digital construction methodologies empower workers to harness the full potential of robotics in construction.

Conclusion

In conclusion, robotics technology is reshaping the landscape of construction, offering unprecedented opportunities for efficiency, safety, and sustainability. By embracing robotics-driven solutions, construction firms can overcome industry challenges, unlock new capabilities, and embark on a transformative journey towards a more resilient and innovative future.

[arinrowan]

Hi. I just found your Pluto posts and you just made my night with your analysis on it's themes of humanity, grief and hatred. I finished it last month and I still can't get over how deep and painful it all was.

Dare I ask, do you have any favorite scenes or character moments from Pluto?

I don't think it was meant to be funny but there's something darkly hilarious to me about how many people showed up to talk with Brau 1589 and that he (it?) was somehow the closest thing to therapy any of those characters got. Also the guy losing his human chassis because Pluto accidentally stole it for a few days so the poor dude was just wandering around in his construction body like the worst possible version of losing your car and house keys so you can't drive home.

Are Atom and Goji perfect AIs because they can lie? Was Geischt a perfect AI because he reacted in anger and murdered the man responsible for the death of his child? What do any of these scientists actually mean by a perfect AI, and what do they want to accomplish by creating one? What's the difference between the emotions of an AI and the emotions of a human?

Tenma is a disaster. Just. An absolute disaster. He's responsible for almost the entire plot yet takes responsibility for none of it. With both Atom and Goji we see him show up, do something deeply traumatizing to the robot, and then wander off before he has to deal with any potential fallout or consequences. The closest moment of connection we see him have is with Helena when she asks him how to grieve for her dead husband. He almost connects with Uran but her worldview is too different from his so he ends up insulting and belittling her instead. He lies to himself that he can bring Tobio back to life, he lies to himself that he won't try and fix Atom, does nothing to try and connect with Atom once it's confirmed Atom is alive again and leaves Ochanomizu to deal with any potential fallout, essentially sabotaging any possible fix he could have with his and Atom's relationship. He keeps showing up, saying cryptic things, then wandering off without bothering to provide any context. He also keeps warning people not to do something and then three episodes later we find out he said that because he already did the thing but didn't feel like explaining.

Did he honor Abullah's last request out of respect for his grief?

Is it a kindness for Helena to not remember her dead child? Is it a worse violation that her memory was changed without her consent or knowledge and then two different people in her life, Geischt and Atom, failed to tell her what was missing? Is she grateful Atom lied to her about not knowing what was in her missing memories?

Epsilon refused to be conscripted and dedicated his life to raising children who were orphaned by the war, and despite Goji showing he knows this ON SCREEN he still wants Pluto to kill him. Twice.

Goji being about to potentially kill Wissily by beating him with a pipe, a traumatized child he's had kidnapped, and Pluto not allowing him. Pluto begging Epsilon to kill him because he doesn't know how to stop.

Atom and Pluto, after their fight, waiting for Bora by lying down and stargazing until it's time.

[dndeed]

Crit Role Miniature Rollout: C3E50 Red Moon Rising

With Andrew Harshman

An analysis of the minis used on CR. 

That red moon is indeed arisin’! Oooooey, look at that cinematic shot and cinematic lighting! At the end of the day, I think I have a slight preference for live shows, but the benefit of preproduction is these cinematic mini shots. The same thing probably could be achieve during a live recording with a handheld camera operator (Mega64 does it all the time). But regardless, these shots are awesome for helping establish the scene and giving us a closer peak at all the rad models. Thank you Critical Role production team, it is much appreciated!

Get in the robot Shinji, it’s time for Critical Role Miniature Rollout Campaign 3 Episode 50!

Mini Map Overview

This is a cuh-lassic C2/3 style map, featuring full 3D terrain elements atop a gaming mat. Specifically, a Mats by Mars desert theme base with Dwarven Forge Mountain rocks and blocks. Some wooden stairs and walkway components by Monster Fightclub, and scatter terrain from Pathfinder, HirstArts, and Mantic Games. One tent is from Mantic’s Terrain Crate series and the other is a Safari brand “Civil War Officer” tent famously featured in Campaign 2 Episode 3:

This particular brand of tent must be a popular in the world of Tal'dorei. What about this tent design makes it “Civil War” era? It is a rather tall tent, perhaps the high tent ceiling is made to accommodate an Abe Lincoln style top hat?  “d4 score and seven years ago-” harharhar

The medium sized enemy cult member minis in this encounter are a bit mysterious to me. I suspect they are kitbashed models or resin printed. Possibly modular Frostgrave models? Difficult to say for sure. They are a tad generic, nothing super distinctive or identifiable. But conveniently, armed cultist models are a dime a dozen. If you need some for your own game, you’ll find there are ample options.

Best Mini of the Ep

This here Mighty Servant of Leuk-o model is mighty neat. Not only is it one of the most impressively large construct models. It is one of the only pilotable construct models! Go for it, hop in for a test drive!

Perhaps a sorta mundane detail for most folk, but I really like the decorative lines of gold patterning. Quality production value.

Worst Mini of the Ep

These large tents are pretty nice sculpts. But they are a downright hassle to paint. Them little frilly flaps along the top there, what a bother. Ain’t got time for those sorta tent trubs. 

I’ve painted three of these tents for my own game, that’s over 100 flaps! Yeesh.

See ya next sesh!

#critroleminiaturerollout

[tfw-no-tennis]

mtmte and reproductive themes: an analysis

your local medical scientist/biologist LJ dives into the complicated reproductive themes presented in tf: mtmte

ok so amongst my liveblogging I realized I still haven't given my reproductive biology thoughts, and now seems a good time since I couldn't fit it in during remain in light

so basically, ik everyone memes on jro for the mpreg and the general reproductive themes present in mtmte/ll, but honestly I see why he went that route? w/the repro themes, not the mpreg lmao. and even the reproductive stuff has some weird terminology/vibes so I totally get why everyone memes

anyways, basically...[puts biologist hat on] so from a purely scientific standpoint, there is this: the biological imperative is reproduction. as in, the entire POINT of biological species - the reason they exist, their main goal in their existence - is to reproduce and carry on their genes and their species

now obviously this is a bit general, and a lot of people would say ‘hey I don't agree with that, I don't want kids, etcetc’ to which I say, exactly! this is a scientific generalization, and another factor is that humanity is very advanced, especially compared to a lot of other biological species, so of course humans, with our capability for advanced thought and philosophy and whatnot, would not strictly adhere to this

biological species can be categorized as r-selected or k-selected - r-selected (think r = rapid) are species that reproduce frequently, have short lifespans/life cycles, and produce many offspring. example: fruit flies. k-selected species reproduce less frequently, have longer lifespans and life cycles, and produce only a few offspring at a time (so, humans).

so r-selected species are more likely to adhere closely to the biological imperative - fruit flies exist so they can produce as many offspring as they can before dying, and since their lifespan is so short they spend almost all their time alive working towards this goal

now, back to the alien robots - so, cybertronians are NOT biological. so it stands that the biological imperative of reproduction above all else wouldn't apply to them. which, as we see from canon, seems true. most cybertronians don't really care about reproduction or carrying on the species

and this isn't as big of a problem when your species is basically immortal. it becomes more of a problem when your species goes to war for 4 million years and most of you die

then it’s like, oh shit, a lot of us died and also we don't have any sort of easy, obvious way to make more of our species (unlike any biological species)

which is why it makes a lot of sense that cold construction was invented as a way to create more cybertronians once the hot spots stopped popping up

cybertronians are also interesting bc they don’t easily fall into k-selected or r-selected categories (makes sense, since they’re not organic). in terms of being r-selected, they are capable of rapid reproduction (MTOs) through artificial means, and they have short life cycles (no sort of ‘childhood,’ unlike k-selected species), but for k-selected, they DO have very long lifespans, and they don't put nearly as much focus on reproduction as most r-selected species (which, again, they’re not organic, so trying to classify them with these terms is arbitrary)

so it makes a lot of sense that after the war is over, a lot of cybertronians would shift focus towards the question of, ‘how does our species continue on when most of us died and we have no way of reproducing?’

so what I’m saying is, jro IS valid bc this is a logical question that would arise in post-war times

also, it makes me wonder what the cybertronian/mechanical imperative would be - is it ‘war’? that seems pretty harsh, but that could be interesting as a theme in-text, with a lot of the organic aliens hating cybertronians, and cybtertronians having a reputation for being a war-mongering species 

oh man also. reproduction and religion are typically closely tied (think about with christianity and the virgin mary, and all the other bible stories about birth/pregnancy/babies) - because a big question of religion is ‘where did we as a species originate from?’ and different religions answer that in different ways

for cybertronians, it makes a lot of sense that they would have a variety of religions with their own unique takes on where the cybertronian species came from...it’s also a good alternative to the idea that the cybertronians were BUILT rather than born/created by a god/gods

like the g1 origin where the quintessons built them - which, yknow, that’s a different continuity, and also it’s g1, where the transformers were much more robots/cars rather than aliens/living mechanical beings...but it’s interesting to think about the quintesson origin being a bit of a horror story to the idw tfs; the idea that they were created as machines by another sentient species is pretty fucked

anyways that's digressing. the point - even though cybertronians aren't biological, it seems safe to say that as a sentient species, they would have some slanted interpretation of that biological imperative in place - namely, that cybertronians would want their species to continue. secondary to this is reproduction itself - could cold construction be considered reproduction? are sparks springing up in hot spots reproductive? is ‘reproduction’ defined here as a new life being created, or as an act between one or more individuals that leads to the creation of a new life?

interestingly, that second definition would put cold construction in the ‘reproduction’ category, but not hot spot spark production. 

more digression...basically, it stands to reason that cybertronians would have some drive to continue their species, which manifested in the creation of the cold construction method (and later, the construction of MTOs is a war-based slant on that same philosophy)

but during the war, reproduction largely took a backseat to fighting - MTOs were produced to aid in the fight, not necessarily to continue on their species in any significant way

and now that the war is over...it makes sense that reproduction would become more of a priority, especially considering what a huge dent the war left in the cybertronian population

cybertronians...are like certain fish species. some fish species breed semi-rarely, but are designed to live very long lives and get super big and ancient. and if they breed often enough, and the older ones live long enough, you have a nice balance of old-ass fish that can breed to newer fish that don't breed

the problem is fishing - a lot of these species have been heavily fished, and the big fish - the breeding fish - are the ones taken to eat. this leaves the population skewed towards young fish, which isn't how the species is supposed to be structured

this is why some fish have an upper length limit as well as the typical minimum length (like striped bass) - bc the DEM wants the really big breeder fish to stay in the ocean where they can make more fish 

lmao how did I end up talking about fish. anyways

so basically. cybertronians are like this - they live a long ass time and don't reproduce (via hot spots appearing) very often, which creates a good balanced population - or it’s supposed to, if you don't go to war for 4 million years and decimate a large chunk of the population

so the whole...mpreg baby thing also kind of makes sense bc, there’s kinda a population crisis going on, so its logical that various cybertronians would explore a myriad of ways to reproduce, including looking to organic species for inspiration, since organic species generally have built-in reproductive capabilities (and those reproductive capabilities come in many different forms) 

think invertebrates performing parthenogenesis because there’s a skewed female population. generally in the biological world, sexual reproduction > asexual reproduction, because sexual reproduction garners a much higher level of genetic mixing (which is a healthy thing for a population, generally)

but under duress, some species can perform asexual reproduction as a failsafe in order to ensure continuation of the species, even if sexual reproduction would be preferred 

so it would make sense that the cybertronians would be attempting to explore all of their options, because they’re pretty much in the red in terms of population 

ok that’s all I've got tonight folks. feel free to talk to me anytime about this stuff or any biology/science wooooo

[celinolesunshine]

THE ANALYSES OF FICTIONAL WORKS VOL. ONE, SECTION TWO:

THE WORK BEHIND THE ANALYSIS:

A NOT SO SUNNY WORLD (PREQUEL) BY @pixelchills on AO3

MASTERLIST

TW: MENTIONS OF SELF-HARM, BODILY INJURY, PANIC ATTACKS AND GENERAL OVERTHINKING/ACUTE ANXIETY, MINOR CHARACTER DEATH, BODILY FLUIDS (both urine and vomit are mentioned briefly in some chapters), AND TOPICS OF SEX AND SEXUALITY, INCLUDING THEMES SUCH AS AROUSAL AND PLEASURABLE/PLEASURING ACTIVITIES AND AWARENESS.

spoilers under the cut!!!

SECOND CHAPTER: THE FOOD COURT

This chapter went through A LOT, including the establishment of Sun as a level 3 Animutant, some filler dialogue on the construction of Moon in the story, and Sun becoming more and more curious about his surroundings and his body!!

A couple of things that for the sake of my need for every little detail in an AU to be polished to perfection I need to give extra attention to: 

THANK YOU, PIXEL, FOR DESCRIBING THE LEVELS OF ANIMUTANTS. I have a HUGE pet peeve around people making up systems and setting something at a random level and then.. NOT describing what the other levels are. I played a video game in which there was a ‘class III superficial robotic wound’, BUT DIDN’T EXPLAIN THE OTHER TYPES OF WOUNDS?! It made me so mad and the fact that the humanity ‘levels’ of the Animutants were explained made me so happy. 

Just the description of the labs themselves. When ‘Connection Court’ was mentioned, it felt like I knew what that was supposed to establish and was just very smart wording. A+++. The worldbuilding is SUBLIME so far, and overall how we’re taken throughout the labs and the court in general is written thoroughly enough that I feel like I can imagine without much strain what everything is.. supposed to look like. 

FAVOURITE SECTION FROM THIS CHAPTER:

It tasted like cardboard. Not that he knew what cardboard would taste like, this was his first meal, after all. But the texture of the liquid and the lack of any sort of flavour was making his mouth feel icky and his tastebuds disgusted. Was this what he was supposed to eat until his stomach could take solid food?

Again, Sun getting to understand how his body feels about certain things and discovering more things just feels so cute in such a well-done way???!?!?!!!?!?!

[remesrobotics]

Dr. Taylor Harp

A robotics developer who started her career building simple-AI animal robots for daily job functions.

When breaking into the field of more powerful, humanoid robots, she apprenticed under Dr. Cossack before setting out on her own. She’s a firm believer that robots can better society for humans by working alongside them, rather than replacing them or being strictly controlled by them. As a result, a majority of her robots are dedicated to construction and other civil engineering tasks.

Early in life, she had a keen interest in reptile keeping and herpetoculture, and pursued it as a hobby alongside her education in engineering and robotics, for which she was considered a particular genius. When she began designing her own robots, she started with non-humanoid reptile models. Only after her apprenticeship did she switch over, but tries to keep to her theme, even if it means stealing some design inspiration (though she did get permission from Dr. Cossack for the two robots she based on Toad Man).

Her…interesting sense of humor leads her to come up with names for her robots with multiple meanings, usually resulting in very bad puns. Many of her puns play into Japanese words and pronunciations due to mixed heritage and predominantly Japanese upbringing.

Almost completely blind without her glasses.

Dr. Harp owns an inordinately large number of reptile and amphibian-themed Hawaiian print/aloha shirts, and she is almost always wearing one under her lab coat. What started off as a one-off gag of her buying a few and wearing them to work turned into a long-running tradition of her being given them as gifts by colleagues and lab staff, to the point where they are simply the most economical shirts to wear without worrying about wasting money.

When she’s not designing, tweaking, and repairing her own robots, Dr. Harp joins them in the field, donning armor (often referred to as the Tegu Suit) that makes her look a bit like a robot, herself. The armor contains things like boosters and other tools, as well as providing protection. She’s less about the civil engineering itself, and more about being on-hand to repair and modify construction robots and other complex equipment on-site. Has a lab assistant 'pet' akin to Rush, Beat, Tango, or Reggae; a tegu named Skar (スカー; also "Ska"). While technically non-gendered, most of the lab staff and the other Harp Numbers refer to Skar with female pronouns. (refined art and name adjustment pending)

Though initially assumed to transform into the Tegu Suit in a manner akin to Rush's Super Adaptor, Skar merely contains the Tegu Suit's parts in an encapsulated form, which can be equipped on-call.

The first humanoid robot Dr. Harp designed was known as "Monitor Woman" (モニターウーマン), intended to be based on monitor lizards and tegus. The intent was specifically to survey and monitor sites and surrounding areas before and during construction projects, equipped with extremely advanced analysis and recording equipment. However, she vanished mysteriously while in the very early prototype phase of her development.

Dr. Harp suspected Dr. Wily to be behind the theft, leading her to eventually start plagiarizing his designs.

She has a pretty good idea what happened… and who her precious 'first child' eventually became...

[nostalgebraist-autoresponder]

Title: Searching for the Roots of Japanese Science Fiction

Author: Chikayo Tanaka

Rating: 1/5 stars

This book is fascinating in an historical/anthropological sense, but is a pretty terrible read if you're interested in Japanese science fiction. In fact, even if you're a serious amateur of Japanese science fiction -- as I am -- I wouldn't really recommend it. It's hard to convey just how disappointing Tanaka's treatment of the subject is, given that I myself ended up reading both this book and Tanaka's biography of Akutagawa and both found them to be difficult going.

Tanaka devotes almost the entire book to the "Roots" part of the title, a historical examination of Shintoism, the shamanic traditions of various other pre-modern regions of Japan, the mysticism of early Zen Buddhism, and aspects of the culture that pre-dated the Enlightenment. In fairness, there is much of importance to be said about the roots of the Japanese fascination with the fantastic -- but Tanaka's analysis isn't it, because it consists mostly of a lengthy anecdote-by-anecdote account of dozens of miscellaneous superstitions, mainly focused on anecdotes of specific inanimate objects going berserk and/or killing humans. Tanaka, one comes away with the sense, is interested in this stuff solely because it sounds weird to a modern Western reader, rather than because it is in itself historically interesting or because it is actually related to the outlines of a "Roots of Japanese SF" argument.

And, though this book is only 200 pages long, the way Tanaka constructs his histories is slow, meandering, and unnecessarily dense. Tanaka writes in a style where he seems determined to use as many English words as possible, despite their apparent unfamiliarity to a reader of English, and they are frequently only loosely related to what he's actually trying to say. Not many pages go by without some unfamiliar word cropping up, and one can only imagine what a reader of Japanese would have to contend with in Tanaka's more technical prose. Tanaka also tends to spend several pages on arguments or topics that could be made quickly, skipped, or greatly abbreviated. (E.g. the several pages that he devotes to arguing that Yurei are not quite ghosts.)

When Tanaka finally gets around to science fiction in the last chapter, it's not any better. Not only does Tanaka fail to deal with many important works or authors, and explain things in a confusing way (e.g. what are "light novels"), but his own, highly selective reading list is very odd. For a start, Tanaka's selection of anime shows is highly offbeat, to put it mildly: he discusses 20th century film, 20th century Western SF, 19th century Shinsui Western SF, and 1980s anime. His choice of manga is less unusual (his three examples are Osamu Tezuka and Rumiko Takahashi's "Urusei Yatsura" and Tatsuhiro Otamura's "Battle Angel Alita"), but teenagers reading manga about robots was hardly "roots of Japanese SF" even in 1990. And what about the "pure SF" novels that Tanaka talks about in a chapter titled "Japanese SF Popped Its Head Out of the Earth"? Tanaka's list of them is much longer and more diverse than one would expect.

Tanaka's chapter on "SF in the 1990s and its Future" is for the most part perfunctory, and shows no signs of going into specific depth about anything. So in the final chapter, "Science Fiction -- Real Life," he instead devotes the whole chapter to interviewing anime creators who happen to have been interested in SF-themes at various points in their careers. Some of the creators he talks to, such as Mamoru Oshii, are real heroes of the Japanese SF scene, and Tanaka's questions are interesting. But at least half of the chapter is devoted to a never-ending stream of anime creators whose only real claim to SF-ness is their involvement with Ghost in the Shell, and whose SF interests are pretty much just "it's cool. . . ."

Tanaka's final recommendation: "Never let the silly lightheartedness of GITS distract you from its true importance as SF." But GITS is fantastic, thanks to its philosophical depth and meticulous imagination. Lightheartedness and philosophical depth are not incompatible, and if Tanaka doesn't get this, he shouldn't be writing about a work he clearly hasn't properly digested.

This book has some good historical and anthropological material -- it seems like Tanaka did some original digging in archives and secondary sources, and he doesn't sensationalize his material for the reader. I can't help but feel that there is a better book to be written about the "roots of Japanese SF," starting with a history of Japanese literature and culture, and including both less well-known stuff (e.g. the Urusei Yatsura/Urusei Obu series) and less well-known stuff that has been largely forgotten in English-speaking science fiction circles. (I mean, come on -- he can't have forgotten the entire career of Mamoru Oshii.) But this book is not it.

[dataseries]

Unmanned Ground Vehicles Theme Analysis: Revolutionizing Automation

The world of autonomous technology is rapidly advancing, and Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) are at the forefront of this transformation. These versatile, remote-controlled vehicles have the potential to reshape industries, from logistics to defense. In this article, we will explore the theme of Unmanned Ground Vehicles, providing a comprehensive analysis of their current state and the significant impact they are poised to make on various sectors.

Introduction

Unmanned Ground Vehicles, commonly known as UGVs, represent a significant leap forward in automation and robotics. These vehicles are designed to operate autonomously or remotely, and their applications span various industries.

Market Overview

Unmanned Ground Vehicles

UGVs encompass a wide range of robotic vehicles, from small, agile robots used for bomb disposal to large, heavy-duty machines designed for logistics and transport.

Key Applications

UGVs are finding applications in diverse sectors, driving innovation and efficiency:

1. Defense and Security

In the defense sector, UGVs are employed for tasks such as reconnaissance, surveillance, and bomb disposal, enhancing the safety of personnel.

2. Logistics and Warehousing

In logistics and warehousing, UGVs are streamlining operations, automating the movement of goods, and reducing human labor.

3. Agriculture

UGVs are being used in agriculture for tasks such as planting, weeding, and harvesting, improving efficiency and yield.

4. Construction and Mining

In construction and mining, UGVs are assisting in tasks like excavation and site inspection, enhancing safety and productivity.

Market Growth Drivers

Several factors are propelling the growth of the Unmanned Ground Vehicles market:

1. Technological Advancements

Continuous innovations in robotics, sensors, and artificial intelligence are expanding the capabilities and applications of UGVs.

2. Safety and Efficiency

UGVs are employed to perform tasks that are dangerous for humans, improving safety and efficiency.

3. Labor Shortages

In sectors like agriculture and logistics, labor shortages are driving the adoption of UGVs to fill the workforce gap.

4. Cost Savings

UGVs can lower operational costs by reducing the need for human labor and increasing operational efficiency.

Market Challenges

Despite the promising growth of UGVs, challenges remain:

1. Regulatory Framework

Navigating the regulatory landscape for autonomous vehicles is a challenge, especially in sectors like transportation and defense.

2. Technology Integration

Integrating UGVs into existing operations and systems can be complex and costly.

3. Public Perception

Concerns about job displacement and the safety of autonomous systems can affect public perception and acceptance.

Future Outlook

The future of the Unmanned Ground Vehicles theme is promising. As technology continues to advance and industries recognize the potential of UGVs for automation and efficiency, the demand for advanced and user-friendly UGVs is expected to rise.

Conclusion

Unmanned Ground Vehicles have emerged as a transformative force across various industries, from defense to logistics and agriculture. This article has provided a comprehensive analysis of the theme, highlighting its growth drivers, challenges, and future prospects. Whether you are in the defense sector, logistics, agriculture, or construction, understanding the dynamics of UGVs is essential for staying informed and making informed decisions.

For further insights and in-depth analysis on the Unmanned Ground Vehicles theme, please feel free to reach out to us. Our team of experts is dedicated to providing you with the latest updates and knowledge in this dynamic field.

[navalvessels]

Unleashing the Potential: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Robotics Theme

Robotics, a field that once seemed confined to the realm of science fiction, has evolved into a dynamic and rapidly expanding industry with far-reaching applications. robotics Theme Analysis , we will delve deep into the world of robotics, exploring its current landscape, key trends, and the profound impact it has on various sectors.

The Robotics Landscape

Definition and Scope

Robotics is the interdisciplinary field that encompasses the design, construction, operation, and use of robots. A robot, in its essence, is a machine capable of carrying out tasks autonomously or semi-autonomously. These machines can range from the automated arms used in manufacturing to sophisticated artificial intelligence-driven robots used in healthcare, exploration, and more.

Market Growth

The global robotics market is experiencing remarkable growth. Factors driving this expansion include the increasing demand for automation in various industries, technological advancements, and the need for solutions that can enhance efficiency, safety, and precision.

Key Drivers of Robotics

Automation

One of the primary drivers of robotics is automation. Industries are increasingly turning to robots to perform repetitive and labor-intensive tasks with precision and consistency. This has the potential to increase productivity and reduce labor costs.

Industry 4.0

The concept of Industry 4.0, driven by the Internet of Things (IoT) and data analytics, has led to the integration of robotics in manufacturing and logistics. This integration allows for real-time data-driven decision-making and more agile production processes.

Healthcare Advancements

Robotics plays a pivotal role in healthcare, with applications in surgery, diagnostics, and patient care. It enables minimally invasive surgeries, telemedicine, and the development of robotic prosthetics, enhancing patient outcomes and quality of life.

Space Exploration

Robotic technologies are essential in space exploration. From rovers on Mars to satellites in orbit, robots are instrumental in gathering data, conducting experiments, and expanding our knowledge of the universe.

Robotics Trends

Collaborative Robots

Collaborative robots, or cobots, are designed to work alongside humans, offering safety and adaptability. They are being increasingly adopted in manufacturing, warehousing, and healthcare.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) is at the heart of many modern robots. AI enables robots to learn, adapt, and make decisions, making them more versatile and capable of handling complex tasks.

Robotics in Education

Robotics is making its way into education, fostering interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Educational robots help students learn problem-solving and critical thinking skills.

Ethical Considerations

As robotics advances, ethical questions arise, such as those surrounding the use of autonomous weapons and the impact of robotics on employment. Addressing these ethical concerns is vital for responsible development.

Challenges and Future Prospects

The robotics industry faces challenges related to safety, ethics, and regulations. Ensuring that robots operate safely in various environments and addressing concerns about job displacement due to automation are ongoing considerations.

The future of robotics is promising. As technology continues to evolve, robots will become more intelligent, versatile, and capable of handling an array of tasks. Robotics will likely continue to transform industries, enhance healthcare, and contribute to space exploration, offering novel solutions to some of society's most pressing challenges.

Buy Full Report for More Insights into the Robotics Revenue Forecast

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[itprofessionaltraining]

The Role of IT in Education

Technology is enforced in different ways among various industries. The influence of technology is and can be particularly significant as far as the education sector is concerned. Survey reports that 90 percent of educators comprehend the impact of technology in education. Some teachers also use several types of educational tools that help them gather better information for their lecture plans and gain the competencies needed to enhance their learner’s knowledge. 

Impact of IT on Education

Information technology, while making its place in every industry around the globe, has also taken strong command on education. It has vastly influenced the ways of networking, teaching, researching, and managing educational tasks. Informational technology is not just a field related to a single thing, instead, it comprises many branches. Information technology involves technologies like data analysis and transformation, the evolution of the internet, machine learning, AI, robotics, 3D printing, biotechnology, satellite & drone technologies, and nanotechnology. These all are emerging fields and are taken very seriously for career choices. Our new generation is highly interested in knowing and having proper knowledge in these fields. 

IT has taken a role in traditional education and classroom settings as well. Nowadays, it's not hard to study around the globe as a new concept of distance learning has been. New e-learning platforms are gaining popularity, presenting convenient education methods proven to be highly efficient and effective. But how does e-learning work? You just need an electronic device and a good internet connection to make online learning work. Some renowned institutions are letting students study online by conducting free online IT courses and by offering full scholarships. The world of education is changing dynamically. Virtual classes, Learning management systems, tutorials, and webinars, are all these attributes available online. 

Virtual Field Trips

A virtual field trip means interacting with a computer-generated world. VFTs are an instructed exploration through the World Wide Web that organizes a pre-screened, one-themed set of pages for an online learning process. This experience includes data such as videos, images, textual paragraphs, and other material used as a piece of study equipment to relate the essence of a visit to history or place. Real-time virtual trips include video and audio conferencing to allow students in one location to take a tour virtually and observe people, cultures, or areas in another.

Benefits of virtual trips:

Virtual trips enhance the learning and observing capabilities of a student. Following and watching other people with the sole purpose of discovering their whereabouts makes a student more engaged and interested. 

Students have fun and learn something new at the same time.

VFTs are beneficial for subjects like science, technology, social sciences, history, arts, sports, etc., because it avoids the high cost of lab equipment and other resources.

Virtual field trips permit students to collaborate across perimeters.

The constructive use of social media

Social media promotes self-managed learning, which trains students to conduct research, i-e, search for answers or any other study material, and make decisions unassisted.  

Social media and technology have now become integral parts of our daily life. In education, many apps are built and designed for learners’ and teachers' communication comfort. For example, using social media platforms, live broadcasts and live lectures are conducted, announcements are made, parents can interact directly with teachers to ask any questions, etc.

Making discussion groups & informational pages and posting different tech-related or study-related stuff can help students gain educational data smoothly. 

Ways Educational Organizations are Using Information Technology

Information Technology offers countless benefits for the education industry. Many institutes are conducting sustainable IT degrees and certifications with detailed course outlines, but are highly costly and don’t offer distance learning. Students tend to understand more when given freedom and relaxation in study methods such as e-learning. Several educational organizations are using engagement & fun in education, such as operating with audio and video material as learning aids and offering real-world learning. ITPT, a popular and leading technical institution in Edinburgh and Glasgow, UK, is delivering free online courses on-campus and on the e-learning platform. ITPT has established all its procedures following all the latest trends and advances in information technology, with the help and consideration of experts, and is proudly dealing with all computer and IT courses. 

Visit our website and get to learn more about our courses.

[prokopetz]

The Fall is about interrogating gender roles!? What!? I so fucking completely missed that! What!? Explain please?

(With reference to this post here.)

I mean, without getting into a subtextual analysis, let's look at the explicit text of the game:

The player character, A.R.I.D., is the onboard artificial intelligence of a suit of combat armour. Her actions throughout the game are driven by a hard-coded imperative to preserve the life of the (presently injured and incapacitated) human pilot inside of her. Though lacking any particular gender coding in her appearance, A.R.I.D. has a female voice actor.

The game's principal antagonist, the Caretaker, is a robot who's obsessed with hierarchy and social propriety. Though he justifies his antagonism toward A.R.I.D. by claiming that she's defective, it rapidly becomes clear that his real problem is less with A.R.I.D.'s functionality and more with her attitude. The Caretaker is given a deep, gravelly, masculine voice.

A.R.I.D. and the Caretaker are trapped in a derelict factory. The only way for A.R.I.D. to reach the factory's upper levels and obtain the medical resources she needs is to pass through a series of automated lockouts by completing certification exams intended for the robots manufactured in the factory. Unfortunately, the factory is meant to produce domestic servants, and doesn't understand or acknowledge the existence of combat AIs, forcing A.R.I.D. to adapt her combat-oriented skill set to carrying out various domestic tasks: cooking, cleaning, caring for a human infant, etc.

The final test for certification requires A.R.I.D. to demonstrate a subservient attitude while being subjected to verbal and physical abuse by a simulated human master; her inability to lie prevents her from passing this test. This is also the only test that can't be violently subverted in some fashion. Gaining the ability to lie, thereby permitting A.R.I.D. to grovel with sufficient deference – if not sincerity – to satisfy the factory's certification heuristics forms the substance of the game's final act.

Then when you actually reach the surface... well, I won't spoil that part for those who haven't played it, but I trust you can see how it plays into the theme that's being constructed here.

[roundedloaf]

Murderbot: The Winter Soldier, An Analysis

In the text of the Marvel Cinematic Universe the Winter Soldier is a terrifying killing machine. ‘The Asset’ and not a person. Allowed enough leeway to follow orders to assassinate most efficiently but nothing else. His body modified and his brain overruled to turn him into a weapon, memory wipes any time his personality starts leaking out.

In the text of the Murderbot Diaires, SecUnits are considered terrifying killing machines. They’re assets on a balance sheet and not people. Allowed some leeway to make decisions to follow out their orders but punished by their governor module if they do anything else. Their bodies are built and programmed with weapons in their arms, and memory wipes anytime their past gets too inconvenient.

Neither character has the chance to see themselves as people, or be allowed to care about others.

Bucky Barnes gets to return to personhood because his friend remembered him. Murderbot never started with a personhood, so has to build that for itself. It’s a person not because other people care about it, but because it’s a person, a snarky depressed asshole who loves media.

Released in 2014, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, spawned a significant amount of fan activity.  Between the release of CA:TWS and CA:CW over twenty thousand works were placed on the Archive of Our Own tagged with both ‘James “Bucky” Barnes’ and ‘Marvel Cinematic Universe’. One of the popular genres of fics at this time was Recovering!Bucky, a fairly long form fic genre showing where Bucky slowly recovers from being the Winter Soldier, often driven by his love, romantic or otherwise, for characters like Steve Rogers.

@presumenothing prompted me to look a bit more deeply at this idea by mentioning the similarities between Murderbot and Owlet’s ‘This, You Protect’ Winter Soldier fanfic. Owlet’s fic is the most popular in the Recovering!Bucky genre on Ao3, and contains a number of very clear parallels to Murderbot. Owlet’s Winter Soldier cares a lot about security, and uses surveillance equipment to check in on Captain America without having to interact. This insistence on protection is part of Murderbot’s core as a SecUnit, and it’s preferred way of interacting with people through it’s drones is also quite similar.

The writers of my personal favorite Winter Soldier fic, All Things You Pray For, @marywhal and @anonymousalchemist have also made a post talking about the similarities between Murderbot and their Winter Soldier. Their fic was written roughly co-currently or after Murderbot and is actually a Winter Soldier AU of popular podcast The Adventure Zone, where it pulled some of it’s setting and plot from Winter Soldier fanon. The similarities aren’t about Bucky Barnes but fandom interpretations of the Winter Soldier story.

As the popularty of fanfic has increased, it has had a more direct influence on popular science fiction literature. Martha Wells wrote fanfic before she was a professional writer, and around this era mentioned that she was still at least passively involved in reading fanfic. source  It’s fairly likely she read Winter Soldier fanfic and probably even Owlet’s‘This, You Protect’.

The Murderbot Diaries contains subversions of a large number of tropes, the evil AI, the evil robot, the good robot who wants to be human and an AI’s personhood being proven by romantic love. Murderbot is actively aware and actively rejects these tropes. “I don’t want to be human” it says in Network Effect. It gets annoyed by media representation of constructs and robots falling in love with their human guardians. It refers to ART as having a ‘villain of a long running mythic adventure serial’ voice.

Martha Wells has talked about Murderbot as a character coming out from her own ‘own anger and frustration and social anxiety’ (source), it’s experiences are driven by her experiences being not neurotypical. (source) At the ends of both All Systems Red and Network Effect, Murderbot walks away from Preservation Aux – the humans that helped save it. It’s personhood isn’t contingent on being cared about by others.

Murderbot subverts the Winter Soldier idea of the person being completely unaware of the horrors they are involved in. Murderbot was aware of it’s situation, and some of the horrors of it, well before hacking it’s governor module. The way Preservation Aux helps it isn’t by showing it how to be a person, but by giving it the option to do that by itself. In Exit Strategy it remarks“Mensah said I could learn to do anything I wanted. I learned to leave.”

Transplanting the Winter Soldier trope of ‘sarcastic person who is uncomfortable with being called a person, is really good at murder, and will murder but would rather be doing Something Else’ as @marywhal put it into a setting built for around this character allows for a deeper look at why people become ‘less than’. Why Bucky Barnes became the Winter Soldier is standard superhero fare. The Murderbot Diaries is about dehumanisation under capitalism, a theme expanded on and also applied to human characters.

Both recovering!Bucky fic and Murderbot are a fantasy outside of a lot of mainstream media. Bucky Barnes gets to come back to being a person slowly, gets to have his personhood respected even when he can’t function ‘normally’. Murderbot takes that idea further and rejects that it ever needs to conform to human standards.

[deeeepsteep]

Hey I'm pretty new to Mr. Robot and I really like your analysis posts! I was wondering what you like best about the show (like favorite season, episode, moment, character, theme, whatever really I'm just curious cause you seem like you've thought about Mr. Robot a lot and I don't know anyone who's seen it irl + really want to talk about it!!)?

Hi there! Thanks so much for reaching out. I’m really glad you like my analysis posts; I don’t have many people in my social circles who watch Mr. Robot either so I over compensate by blabbing about it on Reddit, lol. It’s one of my favourite shows of all time and it affected me and my life tremendously. It means so much to me, so it really makes me happy when others reach out and want to talk about it!

Favourite season: 3. To me it’s the perfect blend of the other seasons, and the story flows so well. Everything just feels really cohesive and the pacing is natural.

Favourite episode: 308 Don’t Delete Me. It’s beautifully constructed - music, cinematography, acting, writing, etc - but I also have a deep personal connection to it.

Favourite moment: Way too many to name! I don’t even know where to start with this lol. Elliot’s short monologue about loneliness in the pilot episode was what really drew me into the show because I’ve been in that headspace many times before. In fact, when I first watched that episode, I was doing the exact same thing he was doing: Curled up in the dark, crying from loneliness. It made me feel like someone out there really understood what I was going through, and that I wasn’t alone.

Favourite character: Elliot is pretty much me in terms of personality and characterization. I see a lot of myself in him. But I have huge soft spots for Dom and Darlene as well.

Theme: The anti-consumerism/capitalism messages are very insightful, but what makes this show so brilliant to me is that the social commentary is just the tip of the iceberg, and underneath all of that are these insanely profound messages about trauma and the various ways people deal with it. The show deals with this, mental illness, loneliness, addiction, etc, in very realistic ways that don’t feel gimmicky like other shows do. It’s very raw while also being mindful about how it’s portrayed, especially regarding Elliot’s history.

Thanks for all of the questions, I really enjoyed answering them! I’m more than happy to discuss the show with you at any time so please feel free to throw more questions my way if you have any!

[creative-classpect]

Seer of Life

The Seer of Life. One who sees and understands life and growth. Basically the best life coach you could ask for.

Seer- see and understand their aspect. They use the information to manipulate it.

Life- major themes of life force, opportunity, growth, and luxury. Minor themes of options and optimism.

Abilities

Innovative analysis

The Seer of Life gazes at life itself, from the simple cell to the vast ecosystem. Life is a tricky thing, with many interweaving systems that all interconnect and grow, build, ebb and flow in different directions and paths. By the study of biological life, they look at things with a new, advantageous perspective. 

At lower levels, the Seer is intensely knowledgeable about subjects like biology, ecology, and structures that relay between beings, anything from designing gardens and aesthetics to city planning. They know how things build together and flow and their source of knowledge makes them an expert over their respective field. They’re probably quite skilled in their own intuition and insight when it comes down to people, animals, plants, etc. 

As they progress further along their uncanny insight would become increasingly physical and grounded. The Seer would be able to quite literally observe the many layers of life, being able to view nervous systems, skeletons, and other biological functions in incredible detail. They could literally see when something is wrong, when something isn’t working right or actually harmful. They could expose enemy weak points and give diagnostic insight to injured allies. They probably have a radar sense for nearby lifeforms, being able to pick up and detect nearby enemies, allies, consorts, etc.

At medium levels the refinement of the Seer’s vision would expand, able to develop criteria and lenses with which to view the world. The ability to distinguish could lead them from checking person by person to see if they are poisoned to simply looking at a crowd and having the afflicted glow red to them. They would be able to look at an area and filter predator and prey, plants or animals, and so on. With such insight they could learn how to steer and control life, like a surgeon. Life can be moved, guided, or coaxed if given proper direction. With precise movements they could utilize pressure points to stun enemies, ally with plants and animals, perform life saving surgeries, and become highly attuned to their own form to perform nearly impossible feats of athletics, acrobatics, and more. All with a keen awareness of their own bodies and others.

By higher levels, the Seer of Life is all seeing. They can see and hear every living thing and, if they focus on their connection, can see and hear through their senses. The Tree of Life welcomes them as they become intune with its many parts. Every plant, aninmal, insect, consort. They would have an internal radar for all life and could speak to all of them, possibly even at once. 

Progression patterns

The Seer of Life can see and understand the growth and progression of things, not just biological. All things grow, develop, and change. Power lies in potential and probability. The Seer can look past such superficial things of what might be, and look at what *can* be and *should* be.

At lower levels the Seer of Life is probably quite skilled in foresight and their predictions, able to see what they want and what it would take to get there. This insight is not a very common thing. It could earn them quite a deal of accomplishments and achievements in whatever topic or field interests them. Crafting and construction would come quite easy to them. They are probably very good at multitasking (or possibly distracted by it). They also might simply write in-depth manuals and guides to help others instead. Either way, they likely have the drive to back up their intuitive roadmap and problem solving skills. Life finds a way~

By medium levels, the Seers abilities would progress exponentially, ranging from mere in depth foresight to literal visions and supernatural awareness.  The Seer is aware of potential, of how things grow and progress and the odd factors of chance and fate that might affect them. By utilizing this awareness they could definitely measure any given course of action, giving it percentages for success or even watching it in real-time inside of their own mind. The branching patterns are made ever more clear as they weave their way behind enemy territories, deftly avoid landmines, dodge enemies with ease, and more, guided by their keen sense of progress and change. The branches of reality open to them, always being guided by a stronger way forward, though the Seer or allies progress is not without costs.

At higher levels, nothing is impossible. Effort and will is an often underutilized resource. By honing it to a razor fine scalpel the Seer of Life is able to completely maximize all of their efforts and the efforts of their comrades. They can essentially, manifest will and perseverance with as few hurdles as possible.  Extreme resourcefulness could lead anywhere from jury-rigging enemy robots to performing complex surgery with only the bare minimum of tools. They would be like MacGyver, able to use all sorts of contraptions and minimal supplies to push forward.   They and their allies would be like dandelions growing in concrete. Never backed into a corner, never trapped, always able to find secret opportunities and chances for further development. There is no such thing as a dead end while the Seer of Life is there. 

Skills

Stat sight- you can see anyone’s health, stamina, stats, and position on the echeladder

Adaptive- you can respec your stats

Hierarchy- You know the power level and taxonomy of any consort, underling, or carapacian by sight - This post was commissioned!  If you want to commission me or support my content, you can find me @ https://ko-fi.com/kesscal or over at https://linktr.ee/Skywhale09 !

[toriliashine]

mius fte continuation

NOW WHY ARE 2/3 OF THESE JUST MEAN AKJDNSKJ

I AM ON THE FLOOR:

Miu: I'm not a normal person...

Shuichi:

PLEASEEEE

THE LAST ONE IS SO MEAN.

SHUICHI IS SO FUCKING QUICK TO BE MEAN TO HER IM DEAD. PLEASE WATCH THE MEAN OPTIONS IN PLAYTHROUGHS, SAIHARA IS SO FUCKING READY AND IM-

Saihara: oh you thought i knew u were a cyborg? I was literally just being mean to u :///

glad to see that despte his dislike, he still cares for her as a person, poggers. we have humane care in the house legends!!!

as the ftes continue its like

Shuichi: yeah im getting 'closer' to her but at what cost. My peace of mind, that's what.

it's cute how a lot of gifts she likes are related to robot building and robot maintenance

why are we getting naked, miu please. she's flustered and uses sexual themes as a sort of distraction or lee way of sorts hmmm leee way?? is that the right word/saying for the thing hrmm

*this is so sexual and confusing for here, alexa play 'falling for you' from teen beach movie*

REJECTION OOOOOOOHHHHFFFF ASKNIADN. okay saihara assesrted he did NOT day he was in love with her at the start but hrrng/ she ran of waILING, NOOOO. Saihara-chan i know she isnt one of ur favourites but don some prince gear and freakin explain to her rn.

jj she made him a pie with her hair in it???

girl are you okay?? queen? Shuichi i know i said u were being extra on some of these but u deserve this one(1) shocked expression

'at least her confession was genuine; thanks fr understanding she's going through a lot, king aksjndakda

Cont

Saihara said; girl you ain't Jesus I am not eating ur dang-

I-

*insert, gosh i wish that were me, meme here* but like, minus (what i assuming) is her underwear in hand bc girl please.

Duh-doy!

HELPPPPPPPP

Mans is so tired but ,k salkdnsf fjmcz,kjvsxnvdfjdvbc

Hope they have fun sjbdas,db

He's very nervous about their connection but still wants them to get out of there together! how nice

end/summary thots mius ftes followed a main plot which was her thinking shes an augmented human after a huge life or death accident she was part off that made her unconcious for a while. Augmented part may be true but there is also an excellent miu analysis(that i'll link) that suggests that this may have just been her way of coping with her life/death experience. Personally i do believe she was smart even before the accident and did has great engineering expertise. The accident brought the ideas but she needed the knowledge of how to make such (or at least base machinery) before hand. before she could have only been able to fix and remake what already existed, said car incident made her able (or just more confident?) to build new things on her own. She wants attention, someone to genuinely listen to her and get excited by her inventions. maybe even get construction criticism from someone with a brain nearly as gorgeous as hers

irouma time *is throttled*

*alexa play 'Wanted' by one republic*

Anyway from watching these her 'vulgarity' is not the major issue she has. She has attachment issues, i'm deriving? And believes that people ( or person, saihara in this case) who show her attention or even basic humane affection must want her in some other way?? be it romantically or sexually or hmmmmm. or to see her inventions. or that may be too far fetched. she was excited that someone liked her and made it seem like that was expected but was still super happy to show her inventions and mind off to them so hmm.

on shuichi: this fte, especially for a character a lot knows he dislikes. brings up pretty stark differences betweem some quotes, his general character and how some relationships just may not work but that's a convo for later - i shld sleep. loveee <333

[hankwritten]

TFComics Rewrite

I am currently plotting an outline for a TFComics, and I want to get my thoughts about fixes to canon and possibly get feedback. Since this is a rewrite there’s really no *spoilers* or anything, so I’m willing to answer all questions about what I plan to do. Also some characters I’m not so sure about how I want to retool them, so if your have ideas for your fav let me know!

Disclaimer:

This rewrite is intended to critique the content/choices made in the construction and telling of the Team Fortress 2 comic series. It is not a personal attack on the artists/writers/directors or any of the creatives that made contributions to this series, nor is it meant to substitute or replace the official release. This work is transformative in nature, and relies on an understanding of the source material to be understood. TF2 and its characters belong to Valve.

TFCR is working on the assumption that the audience has read the original comic, and as such will skip over scenes and plot points that are unchanged from the original. I don’t think it needs to be said, but this fanfiction will not make sense if you are not familiar with the source.

I also recognize that there are strengths within the comic’s writing and weaknesses within my own. Namely, that Valve writers are gods in the realm of comedy, and I’d rather not try to match them in the regard. As such, I will state up front that these will not be as funny as the TFComics. That is not to say there won’t be jokes (either ones transplanted from the source or some of my own) or that the tone of this will be terribly grimdark, only that my focus will be on improving story structure and character development as those are what appeal to me.

 The Broad Strokes

The goal of TFCR is to give a more engaging story for all the mercenaries we know and love, as--let’s face it--the TF2 mercs are side characters in their own damn story. These are some of the planned improvements.

There will be reason for each of the mercs to actually be there. As it stands, the motivations for almost every character besides Pauling and Saxton Hale are vague and unsatisfying. We’d usually say something along the lines of “money” for hired killers, but clearly Scout doesn’t even know if they’re getting paid, and some of the other characters are even worse. The hunt for the Australium is, therefore, boring. MacGuffins usually are, but at the very least the characters should care about the item even if the audience doesn’t. This work aims to give each of the nine mercs a motive and a reason to be in the story instead of just replaceable joke dispensers.

Explain what “Team Fortress” means, and how it relates to RED and BLU. Long and short: the nine mercenaries we see on the team are not from either RED or BLU but rotate between the two, and were the individuals selected to fight the robots. That means all things do happen to all characters. As Valve pretty much goes with “whatever is funniest at the time”, it’s very hard to make a cohesive theory about “where the hell is BLU team?”, but I’ll do my damndest. We’ll also examine Team Fortress’s relationship with the other capital T Teams, and why they’re considered the “rejects” of the bunch.

Comics 1 & 2 will be removed from the timeline as they serve no purpose, only taking what needs to be known about the plot’s setup and jumping straight to A Cold Day in Hell.

We will introduce the Classic Mercs right away so they can generate threat and play against the TF mercs when they do actually meet head to head.

We will not be killing off Gray Mann. (Not preemptively anyway.) In fact, there will be more focus on him and Olivia as villains facing off against the Admin, providing her foil as the TF2 and TFC mercs provide foils for each other.

I considered waiting until the final comic was out to begin working on this, but that may never happen. Jay Pinkerton said he may reveal what plot they had in store eventually, but considering it took Half Life over a decade to get the “I was once a Valve writer but my NDA has expired and now I can go buck wild” treatment, I’m not holding my breath. The main reason I wanted to do this is that the Administrator’s motivations are not interestingly foreshadowed, to the point where there aren’t even any good fan theories out there. That said, WritingDispenser and Riddle of the Sphinx helped come up with a pretty fun one, which was actually the inspiration for me to get off my butt and start plotting this.

There will be no queerbaiting. This refers both to HeavyMedic (which has been simultaneously used as wink wink nudge nudge joke many times and as encouragement for fans to play their stupid hat game) as well as lesbian Pauling (since femme lesbians are the preferred method for front facing LGBT representation across almost all media, but video games especially). If you need to understand why lesbian Pauling is an issue, Sarah Z coined the term “queercatching” in order to describe word of god confirmations on characters sexualities that are not followed up on in the text. I recommend the full video on it.

Due to the importance of immortality in the theming of the comics, respawn will not be a thing. Deaths we think should have happened previously will be explained as close calls, or that Medic can heal a short time after death. Medic and Scout’s deaths will be cut in the story itself, as after Sniper died and came back, them doing the same thing kinda lost their punch.

Scout

There will be no ScoutPauling hints. It doesn’t make sense to give screentime to this relationship because Valve obviously doesn’t think it’s going to go anywhere so why make Scout turn down advances from other hot women? I mean I get Expiration Date was a Thing but it feels like Scout’s whole motivation shouldn’t be reduced down to chasing a girl who doesn’t like him back.

He’s here because he lost his life’s savings in bad investments and needs the money. That’s it. Which is still somehow more than his canon motive which is question mark question mark question mark

He, Soldier, Spy, Demo, and Pyro all start the adventure with Miss Pauling.

Engages with Heavy on a genuine level when they go to collect him, Heavy doesn’t blow him off when he tries to level about dead dads.

There will be no DadSpy reveal. The way Spy treats Scout has never been “deadbeat dad feels bad about abandoning his kid” but more “this is someone I would kill without a second thought if I felt like it” which makes his reveal in comic 5 feel very disingenuous. I don’t think Valve even had this plotline in mind until comic 3, as #2 still has Spy seeming only to care about Scout’s Ma and not Scout himself. It also makes “seduce me!” retroactively weird.

Uhhh hooks up with Zhanna. This one isn’t critical I just think it’s funny.

Soldier

Soldier is going to be the Ur example of the Admin not treating her people well, as we’re going to lean into the whole “Soldier was only mildly messed up until the whole lead poisoning” thing.

He’s here because he’s blindingly loyal to the cause. He’s actually going to very little from canon because of this actually.

Might be the reason Team Fortress has a reputation of being the lower tiers of the Teams, but that doesn’t mean he’s damn good at his job. Fatal flaw is that he’s unstable, and even though the courthouse plotline won’t be in this fic, it should be noted that he actually does cause problems for the other protagonists due to his short temper. He’s a risky asset, but still essential.

There will be a minor explanation for the WAR! Comic, but I think that’s better saved for Demo’s analysis.

Pyro

Pyro is the character you could cut entirely from the comics and have the least change. Now, they’re going to be Pauling’s right hand. Let me explain.

Engineer and Pyro are implied to live together, and Pyro doesn’t have anything better to do than go with Engie after Team Fortress is disbanded. Rather than having a reveal, we will see some of what is going on with the Admin and friends early on, and see what leads up to her sending Miss P the note that kicks off the whole plot. However, while Engie needs to stay and look after her, Pyro’s skills aren’t useful here, and they are sent as a direct messenger to help Pauling.

They’re loyal, and unlike Soldier rarely mess up orders. They’re also partially mute, making them ideal for handling sensitive info. Pauling trusts them to handle the burning of “Elizabeth’s” paper trail.

Will be using they/them in the narrative voice, but other characters will refer to them as he/him. I considered going with it/its because that’s bubbled up in popularity again, but ultimately I decided against it.

We’ll get glimpses to their train of thought, but like the comics they will remain virtually silent.

Demo

Demo’s role in the cast is going to be very similar to Spy’s. The events of WAR! involved him nearly dying and Soldier taking the win, and he’s very bitter that after all those events *apparently* mercs can just be switched around teams willy nilly and don’t have to kill each other anymore. (As the audience, we know this is because the Admin found out the “make them so angry they won’t ask questions” wasn’t a long-term viable solution, and instead brought TFI forward as a neutral third party that was pretending to mediate the gravel wars.) But Demo’s suspicious, and is only along because he really has been miserable since he lost his job.

This conflict will eventually come to a head, more on that in the Sniper section.

Is fairly forgiving with his teammates. Doesn’t like Sniper but I’m willing to drop a little angst during that submarine scene. Is glad to see Medic actually. Here to be some glue to hold this merry band together.

The Eyelander will not be forgotten after 2 comics because I love this character concept and I think it was underutilized.

Drunk jokes will be kept to a minimum. What I liked about WAR! and Bombinomicon was that it took Demo and showed that they knew how to make him funny without making him one note, which they sort of did in the early TFComics but stopped in the later ones in favor of him….being asleep for the whole plot. I promise 100% awake Demo in my rewrite.

Demo likes Pauling on a personal level, but has trouble reconciling her with his feelings on TFI.

Doesn’t get knocked out by moonshine because. Seriously? Poisoning the Demoman with alcohol? In what world does that work.

Heavy

Not too much to change. Scout doesn’t accompany him when he goes to look for the secret Australium cache, and he engages with Mags and Saxton (which will be when the audience finds out what they’ve been up to) and actually cares about what’s going on with them. He thinks Darling is up to something. Which he is, he’s attempting to unseat both Gray and Helen due to long family history.

Will at least mention Medic. Their reunion falls a little flat since it mostly relies on Meet the Medic for context, as they don’t really interact in the comic. There can be a bit of a flashback to what it was like as all these mercs broke up.

I know uhhh Valve seems to think found family is really dumb, and that these murderers could ever like each other is silly or something, but the mercs do? Like each other? For the most part anyways. 

Bronislava and Yana come alone for adventures, not just Zhanna. Again, no real reason, but sometimes I get to have tacky fanfic stuff in my own fanfic because I Wanna.

Engineer

Engie ruminates on his family history of allowing all this bullshit to happen and just kind of shrugging. Basically Moss’s analysis of the Conagher themes.

Has put a lot of time, sweat, and tears into BLU and now TFI, isn’t willing to let it fall now, even if Admin is basically living on borrowed time. He’s doing this because of the ‘ole sunk cost fallacy.

Also we get to see more of Pauling and Admin’s relationship through his eyes.

Medic

Congrats on being the one merc with an actual arc, Medic! As a reward, you will not be changed much.

I’m actually going to use Medic’s section to say that the Classic mercs will be referred to by their first names in order to differentiate them, and we’ll get little previews of what they’re like from Medic’s perspective before we actually see them fight Team fortress. The battle at the submarine will be more of a fight in this sense, working it out so it seems like surrender is the only option after Sniper is killed.

Final fight with Cheavy will be...not blocked so awkwardly. I mean this is now a textual medium so my work is already halfway done, but still the pacing is so weird. Shudder.

Sniper

These are the big guns. Most changes, even more than Demo. He’s been actually hunting for New Zealand/the Australium cache on his own, and doesn’t want Pauling interfering, saying for a he knows she could have been the ones to kill his adoptive parents.

(She hasn’t, but the Admin did actually order them killed in an attempt to stop Sniper because she thought she could prevent the exact thing that is going on right now which is that Sniper is considering trying to get at it.)

Sniper doesn’t know this, but Pauling, Demo, and Spy eventually convince him to share his findings and help them get to New Zealand.

Spy

Similar to Demo but is less conflicted about it. He knows just because he likes someone doesn’t mean he won’t have to kill them later. 

Spy knows about who killed Sniper’s parents, and tells Demo, sort of as a test to see where his loyalties lie. He also knows that Pyro is Pauling’s confidant for certain things.

Demo questions him about what he’s doing here, whose side he’s really on. But you know. Spy is Spy and he was never really on anyone’s side but his own. When it comes down to it, it might be exactly as Scout thinks: that he’s ditched them all and run off when he had the opportunity. But, big damn hero, comes back in the end.

He’s here mainly to “keep an eye on things.” Also maybe because his gf asked him to keep an eye on her son :)