Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
h a l f b a k e r y
Magical moments of mediocrity.

idea: add, search, annotate, link, view, overview, recent, by name, random

meta: news, help, about, links, report a problem

account: browse anonymously, or get an account and write.

user:
pass:
register,


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Flocking Road Cones

Smart Road Cones that look after themselves.
  (+156, -12)(+156, -12)(+156, -12)
(+156, -12)
  [vote for,
against]

Create a solar-powered artificially intelligent motorised road cone that, through the simplest behaviour model possible ends up grouping around holes in the road.

The following quality functions might help design one:
likes being near holes in the road.
likes vibration e.g. road works.
is gregarious - likes the company of other road cones.
has a wanderlust - will wander off when the roadworks have finished.

Code in a few tactics for survival to stop these things:
a) jumping down holes like lemmings.
b) wandering off into traffic.

...and voila - flocking road cones.

st3f, Jul 27 2001

somewhere on a lonely road [hob, May 16 2009]

make no sudden movements [hob, May 16 2009]

schematic [hob, May 16 2009]

(???) Alien Road Cones www.xsystems.co.uk/...ead/alien_cones.htm
Not very funny, but possibly relevant. [key-aero, Jul 27 2001, last modified Oct 06 2004]

Stigmergy & swarm intelligence http://www.kidpacif...armIntelligence.pdf
Warning - this is a pdf document [-alx, Jul 27 2001, last modified Oct 06 2004]

Build it and they will come http://www.sodaplay...nstructor/index.htm
Very interactive and fun - In addition to being able to mess with other peoples creations without harm - once you see your own creation take flight - aaaaaaaah [thumbwax, Jul 27 2001, last modified Oct 06 2004]

Bob the Builder http://www.bobthebuilder.org/
for those that don't know. [st3f, Jul 27 2001, last modified Oct 06 2004]

Zen garden machines http://www.halfbake...20garden_20machines
Read this for wiml's annotation if nothing else [st3f, Jul 27 2001, last modified Oct 05 2004]

Grass Art http://www.halfbake...om/idea/Grass_20Art
...and another. [st3f, Jul 27 2001]

Traffic Cone Preservation Society http://animation.fi...nfrey/coneindex.htm
For those fearing for the future of our fine flocking friends [wiml, Jul 27 2001, last modified Oct 06 2004]

Flocking machines for sale! http://www.hebbecke...cking_machines.html
Even fully automated Flockstations. [bungston, Oct 21 2002, last modified Oct 06 2004]

Wellington + Cone http://www.rampants.../glw_wellington.htm
What students would do if they could reprogam cones... [Jinbish, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 06 2004]

Robot Barrels Baked http://robots.unl.e...2002/IMECE_2002.PDF
This idea has been baked by the University of Nebraska. [r84x, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 06 2004]

Self-Healing Minefield http://www.darpa.mil/ato/programs/SHM/
A similar technology could be applied. [spiraliii, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 06 2004]

(?) Now Baked http://www.newscien...s.jsp?id=ns99994932
[Steve DeGroof] found this link. [Worldgineer, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 06 2004]

Pictures here. http://news.bbc.co....ci/tech/3666989.stm
"We're designing the system in such a way that the barrels are very stupid." [angel, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

The Guardian's Pass Notes on the subject... http://www.guardian...604,1206461,00.html
[Taika, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

(??) Baked here also http://uk.news.yaho...40429/12/esccm.html
Who'd have thought it? [silverstormer, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 06 2004]

Prototype Roadcone http://www.st3f.com...oadcone_cartoon.gif
For 'wax [st3f, Oct 06 2004, last modified Jul 05 2015]

Bob with cones http://www.st3f.com...fbakery/bobcone.gif
I'm going to have to stop doing this. I'm (in danger of) getting obsessed. [st3f, Oct 06 2004, last modified Jul 05 2015]

Robot Bollards http://davidszondy..../robot/bollards.htm
Sturdier than cones? [ConsulFlaminicus, Mar 02 2005]

"Robotic bins that move and chuckle, benches that flock together and sing when the sun comes out, have been unleashed in Cambridge." http://news.bbc.co....geshire/4077680.stm
"You'll find that one bench may be particularly attracted to a particular bin. They will chuckle and giggle sometimes or make rude noises." [angel, Jun 10 2005]

(?) Flocking Balloons http://people.artcenter.edu/~berk/alavs/#
Courtesy Underdone. [DrCurry, Jan 27 2006]

Method Studios: Toyota RAV4 "Cones" http://www.methodstudios.com/mox842
Be sure to play the Quicktime movie. [bristolz, Feb 14 2006]

Bunny http://www.bunny-comic.com/571.html
Migrating road cones from the webcomic 'Bunny' [st3f, Apr 08 2006, last modified Oct 27 2018]

Keep Left http://www.intrigui...mpdiff/keepleft.jpg
Monty Python did a sketch about Hell's Grannies that included "vicious gangs of 'keep left' signs" [Jinbish, Dec 01 2007]

Bad Cones http://www.youtube....watch?v=a-dwi1kEbmo
[jaksplat, Dec 23 2007]

Popular Mechanic http://books.google...v=onepage&q&f=false
May 2000, page 21. As mentioned by Andrew1 [xaviergisz, Dec 16 2012]

Toy Story 2 - Cones crossing a road http://www.youtube....watch?v=BqxmLpxUncA
[Dub, Feb 17 2013]

Flocking Cones and Rods http://www.nknews.o...ngyang-traffic.jpeg
[Dub, Feb 24 2013]

Traffic Cone Preservation Society http://imgur.com/gallery/6uz1c
[normzone, Jul 17 2016]

Sighting of an elderly male in the Ozarks http://wildguzzi.co...ic=84810.0#lastPost
[normzone, Jul 17 2016]

Robo Traffic Cones https://www.youtube...watch?v=lQvx5x1KC9Y
They're here! [zardoz, May 06 2019]

Nothing to see here ... https://www.reddit....othing_to_see_here/
[normzone, May 18 2019]


Please log in.
If you're not logged in, you can see what this page looks like, but you will not be able to add anything.



Annotation:







       There would be a risk of them going rogue, forgetting their main task and spelling words like "scram" instead.
Aristotle, Jul 27 2001
  

       But surely, this is how they already work? And you forgot to code for the mating urge with drunks' heads.
key-aero, Jul 27 2001
  

       [annotation above lost (possibly in the waugsqueke deletion event of 2001) said something like, "and what when there are no more roadworks?"]   

       They'd wander the land looking for things resembling roadworks. Occasionally one might watch you doing some gardening in the hope that you will dig a hole.
st3f, Jul 27 2001
  

       this is one of the better _half-baked_ ideas i've seen in a while.
mihali, Jul 27 2001
  

       is anyone going to make an 'I hate those flocking road cones' type comment?
key-aero, Jul 27 2001
  

       I envision millions of road cones stumbling upon the Grand Canyon and refusing to leave. And of course there would be the annual spring migration where all the road cones travel to the DPW to mate...
phoenix, Jul 27 2001
  

       The simplest behaviour model possible that you're looking for is probably stigmergy. This is the process that, for example, wasps use to coordinate building nests without communicating directly with one another. There's been some really interesting robotics work on this one...
-alx, Jul 27 2001
  

       *applause* Truly daft, my man, seeing those ambiguous orange cones as things that should be imbued with life and ascribed personality. Very nice.
absterge, Jul 27 2001
  

       why not have them go one step further   

       they've got enough free volume in them to hold about 3/4 gallon of tar - they can pour their contents into the hole   

       flocking, road-repairing cones.
quarterbaker, Jul 27 2001
  

       I'd adopt one, at least until I could have a real one of my own, then I would probably leave by the side of the road somewhere
EvoketheTiger, Jul 27 2001
  

       I'm with you, ETT. I want a pet Flocking Road Cone ... I see nothing in the invention notes about these road cones biting the neighbors, making noise all night, or urinating on the furniture.   

       Plus, being bright orange, they'd be easy to find if they wandered off.   

       P.S. to Aristotle: neat literary reference!
1percent, Jul 27 2001
  

       Hint Hint. Can you aaaaah, make an illustration of that in action for us st3f?
thumbwax, Jul 27 2001
  

       OK so it's not exactly a technical drawing and absolutely nothing like I really envisage it but... oh... just look at the link. Hope you like it.
st3f, Jul 27 2001
  

       Of course, in Michigan, the entire road system would become orange and spikey every spring.
nick_n_uit, Jul 28 2001
  

       Heh heh heh... I love the illo! (and the idea)
PotatoStew, Jul 28 2001
  

       Stroke of chenius. Pastry.
Dog Ed, Jul 29 2001
  

       Lovely illustration, Thank You
In my book: the best way for any of us to virtually create flocking road cones (and a whole lot of other things) - would be to construct them in sodaconstructor. Perseverance prevails. Link above. In terms of deployment of traffic cones, I suppose "hexagonal_wheel by Ivkasho" - one of the creations in sodaconstructor shows how something like this might be possible. Though "dirkjiggler" has my nod for personality.
Enjoy your tasty croissants.
thumbwax, Aug 04 2001
  

       Oh, hey, that is so very good.   

       The illustration is nice too, but I kind of want the cones to look just like they do now.
hob, Aug 05 2001
  

       Well, Mephista, maybe they can be flocked flocking road cones. (see dictionary def. no 2)   

       Kudos to thumbwax for the sodaplay idea. I've been touting that site for over a year now. If only my creations had more intelligence than a sine wave.
Lucky_Setzer, Aug 05 2001
  

       Except for the "solar-powered artificially intelligent motorised" part , this describes a certain kind of public works employee.
syost, Aug 24 2001
  

       So that's what they are! (Darn people posting ideas when I'm on holiday...)
I now appreciate the full coolness of your FRC t-shirt.
hippo, Oct 01 2001
  

       Flocking A!
StarChaser, Oct 01 2001
  

       I seriously think this would make a good children's television show (road cone stop-frame animation should be pretty cheap as well).
hippo, Oct 02 2001
  

       How about "Bob the Builder and his flocking road cones." Could be a Christmas special.
st3f, Oct 02 2001
  

       ONE PROBLEM: People will steal these expensive little gadgets.   

       Maybe you could get them to emit a fog of pepper spray if someone lifts them off the road without an "owner key". I dunno.   

       Also, since these things will be in traffic with lots of vehicle-generated winds, you could put a wind turbine on 'em to generate loads of power.
seal10, Oct 02 2001
  

       Great link, [wiml]. <offtopic> If you go there be sure to have a look at the muffin animations </offtopic>   

       Oh, and [seal10], thanks for the fishbone. Note to self - never trust someone with a number in their name.
st3f, Oct 04 2001
  

       <holds up mirror to st3f>
StarChaser, Oct 06 2001
  

       Paint 'em blue. Flocking Woad [sp: amended] Cones.
DrBob, Nov 20 2001
  

       <DrBob spelling or grammatical error> That's "Woad"</DrBob spelling or grammatical error>
hippo, Nov 21 2001
  

       They'd go down to the waterfront at low tide - Docking Road Cones.
hello_c, Feb 01 2002
  

       Old Flocking Road Cones don't die - they become Rocking Road Cones
2 Cones on a porch
"Traffic looks rough"
'Yep'
"Back in our day..."
'Yep'
Wait, those are Talking Road Cones - or both - Yes, that's it - both
thumbwax, Feb 01 2002
  

       Ok, I'm driving along, minding my own business, when suddenly, up ahead I see a bunch of Flocking Rocking Talking Road Cones! But these new ones are slightly different, slightly better. They have been modified to fill in small cracks in the pavement. Yes, they are now Caulking Flocking Rocking Talking Road Cones!   

       To ease security concerns, they could have a special mechanism installed in them to prevent theft, making them Locking Caulking Flocking Rocking Talking Road Cones. And when that day comes when their programming allows them to develop and grow intellectually to the point where they become superior to us, Voila! Mocking Road Cones!
Canuck, Feb 01 2002
  

       Perhaps they should be programmed to "Get Sad or Even When Stolen", they could do things like blocking your car in the drive every morning until you return them to the motorway you stole them from. Or your neighbours car.   

       Would each motorway have its own team I wonder?   

       I love this idea.
LardyBloke, Feb 01 2002
  

       At night, when there's less traffic they can go and help out at the local supermarket, refilling the shelves for the next day... Stocking Road Cones.
hippo, Feb 01 2002
  

       At night, should you peek into the quiet corner of that dead alley, what would you find - mating road cones.
neelandan, Feb 01 2002
  

       a little conehead, perhaps
thumbwax, Feb 01 2002
  

       Actually, you would not get to peek. Road blocking cones.
neelandan, Feb 02 2002
  

       The homing instinct would be best triggered when the cones were sent off to sunnier climbes... the collection vehicle could then leave the old coned off area protected by a dynamic cone barrier moving at some speed ... when the new location was reached the driver would shout "bombs away" and leave a wake of suddenly dormant cones behind....
johnbullas, Apr 08 2002
  

       Great idea ! and one which is probably stranger true than fiction. I can see this happening.
shradius, Jun 06 2002
  

       What would be their behavior if hit by a car? And where would they flock to during an earthquake?
BinaryCookies, Aug 05 2002
  

       Install a small mower blade, program to cut anything green or brown over 3 inches high and 5 ft. from the road - solves two problems: traffic being slowed by the mowing machines and the overgrowth. You'd need to send a bunch of non-mowers out ahead of them to corral the wildlife until the work is done, but it's much less invasive.
Trunk, Aug 13 2002
  

       (Goes and throws all of his green and brown trowsers away for safety's sake).
RayfordSteele, Aug 13 2002
  

       I don't get this one - seems stupid to me
jocelyn, Sep 01 2002
  

       Stick around - you ain't seen nuffin yet.
angel, Sep 01 2002
  

       And, of course, when one of these cones' programming goes bad, and it starts following you around everywhere you go, we'll have Stalking Road Cones...
ton80, Oct 07 2002
  

       This idea is like melba toast meets Jerry Garcia, it is so baked. See the link above. Flocking machines are fully available and being peddled by Germans on the web.
bungston, Oct 21 2002
  

       sigh...
st3f, Oct 21 2002
  

       Oh, bunstung, did you never go trick-or-treating for candy??   

       Let the flock dress up for Halloween and they can all be Walking Toad Cones.
hollajam, Oct 21 2002
  

       As a marketing ploy, the cones could actually be covered in orange and white striped flock material. The only drawback I can see is that the rough outdoors life they lead may result in little bobbles forming on the flock. Fellow cones would then shun the affected cone as being sub-standard, resulting in a downard spiral into meaningless desperation. And then you'd have Flocking Rocking Talking nihilist pillificated cones.
egbert, Jun 10 2003
  

       (A long time ago, in a pub far, far away, I wore an FRC T shirt. Illustration as per one of the links above)
st3f, Jun 11 2003
  

       beautiful, I love these cones. might as well establish the SPCC right now (society for prevention of crulety to cones), and make them and endangered species, and protect their native environment -- set aside old freeways as game preserves where rangers constantly provide new holes to simulate their natural habitat- complete with self guided tours behind roped off lanes, and frequent admonishments not to feed them any new holes, or they won't take to the specially-prepared holes provided for them. old and injured cones would be allowed limited practice in the preserves parking lots, just to keep the juices flowing.
oxen crossing, Jun 17 2003
  

       Nobody has thought of the one biggest menace to all road cones, anywhere:   

       STUDENTS   

       Flocking road cones would be stolen in their thousands by students all over the country, and kept cooped up in dank student houses.   

       Those fortunate enough to be stolen by electronic engineering students would be reprogrammed to become guard cones, warding off landlords and the like.   

       Geeks would steal them and download new ROMs for them, releasing them back into the wild with the new intention to locate and destroy all Microsoft products or Lexus cars.   

       There would be only one way to prevent this tragedy. The cones must learn to avoid or attack anything that smells of alcohol.   

       Of course the upside for the cones is that once enough had been captured by anarchist geeks, they would be properly intelligent and able to form their own factions, lobbying for equal rights, pensions and the suchlike. They would have engineer cones capable of 'freeing' any cones they meet still with the old programming. The cones would form an integral part of protest rallies, cordoning off the protesters from the police, and preventing all manner of roads, tunnels, bridges and houses being built.   

       Of course eventually the factions that allied themselves with the True Cones, the Original Founders of the Cone, supporters of Road Maintenance would clash at one of these protest sites. The New Age Anti-Road Coners would clash with the True Fundamentalist Road Maintenance Coners, and in an almighty fight, plastic on plastic, sandbag on sandbag, they would all be dead, and their empty plastic carcasses would be once again used to fence off road maintenance areas, silent shells of the cones they once were.   

       But scattered around the country, in ever more intelligent iterations, would be the cones still in student houses, safe from the great wars, but ready now for the new dawn of conage, ready to revive their fallen fellow cones. Power to the Cones! Power to the Cones! Power to the Cones!   

       Half baked? Legendary Epic.
imagin8or, Jun 26 2003
  

       If only the folks at DreamWorks could be here to see it.   

       "Gimmie that Road Cone Religion, it's good enough for me..."
RayfordSteele, Jun 26 2003
  

       Or have them self-manufacture their cones from found plastic, starting from one end like snails. I think cone puppies would be cute.
Worldgineer, Jun 26 2003
  

       But wait - what if, in a bizarre turn of events, the cones rose up and enslaved the humans? It's not as far fetched as it might seem. If the empty shells curently littering our highways are able to herd and entrap thousands every day, think of what their more highly enabled descendants would be able to do. Before long the worldwide road network would resemble a French port during a lorry driver's strike, millions of human beings trapped in little metal and glass cubicles, screaming to get out, sweating, dehydrating, becoming still, until in the frustrated twighlight, with only the inane broadcasting of C&W music for stimulation, humans the world over are hypnotized into a zombie like existence simply awaiting the input of their Cone Masters into their befuddled brains.   

       Welcome to the Conetrix.
egbert, Jun 27 2003
  

       Incidently, I think the title would be a great name for the halfbakery band.
RayfordSteele, Aug 01 2003
  

       But then the College students were stunned to find that some of the cones developed the ability to administer electric shock for self defense.
"Be careful with that thing, remember what happened to Jimmy!"
As the flocking behavior of the cones continued over the years there became as a tool of survival the tendency for some of the cones to emit klacking noises indicating alerts, displeasure, and many other communications.
As the society of the cones developed, The College Students began to have much fear of the cones and even became wary of other such treasures such as blinking barricades and yellow police tape as the cones felt they should be protected as less enlightened kin.
The only thing that saved the College students from annihalation was the cones discovery of the game hackey sack. So as mother nature embraces balance, now the College students and the Hackey Sacking, Klacking, Shocking Flocking Cones have drawn a truce and annually engage in the sport of hackey sack.
Zimmy, Sep 30 2003
  

       Baked in a sense by my college, Nebraska. They have orange barrels with robotic bases controlled by a "general" usinf GPS and such. I talked to the guy in charge of the project a whiule back, and they have something here that is really getting interest from many roads departments. Check ouy my link above.
r84x, Oct 01 2003
  

       Interesting. Do you know when this research began? The paper is dated November 2002, a full year and a half after this idea started. Any chance this was the inspiration?
Worldgineer, Oct 01 2003
  

       Possible, but it sounds unlikely. It's a common enough idea. While at the gym the other day I caught a few minutes of a kids' animation featuring talking cars and a gaggle of wandering road cones. It may give the authors of the paper a laugh if they read this, though.   

       r84x: Nice link. Thanks.
st3f, Oct 01 2003
  

       Don't be so humble. I'm quite sure you're responsible for the flocking road cone toy craze of 2004. (looks at front of newspaper) Damn. I always forget what year I'm visiting.
Worldgineer, Oct 01 2003
  

       From rx84's link:   

       "The next generation robots will also directly consider fault tolerance with triple redundancy in every critical system. Each robot will have several watchdog timers that must be frequently reset or the system will be shut down. The central controller will broadcast a carrier wave so that all robots can be stopped if a fault is detected. The robots may include three independent processors that will vote on all commands. These and other approaches will be directly incorporated into the next generation design.   

       Other control approaches are being investigated. Namely, a fully autonomous mobile robot is being prepared to serve as the centralized controller. This robot is much more capable (large computational ability, GPS, laser range finder, stereo camera, etc) and will be a leader of several barrel robots. This general/troops system has the potential for more autonomy."   

       Not one lousy acknowledgement for the halfbakery, though.
RayfordSteele, Oct 01 2003
  

       Wow, this supports one of my old professor's theory that inventions are called forth from society by mysterious forces, which come to work when need, technology, and chance start to approach each other. It was his explanation for the simultaneous invention of photography in at least 3 (4?) different parts of the world by people with no knowledge of each other's work. Fun to watch.
oxen crossing, Oct 01 2003
  

       Must say, when I read the title, I thought this was a way to add a holiday touch to road construction sites: tacky, pink Christmas tree flocking could be made reflective for night time hazard alerts. How about adding behavior matched to a digital calendar. Cones could double as Salvation Army coin collectors, ringing computerized bells and playing Christmas carols while collecting tolls from drivers who would toss dimes and nickels from their cars as they pass slowly by. On Halloween they could collect for UNICEF.
DaisyFizz, Nov 08 2003
  

       I know this thread has been dead for a while, but I felt this needed to be added: found this on Slashdot this morning:   

       http://slashdot.org/articles/04/04/29/1215238.shtml?tid=133&tid=137&tid=186&tid=216   

       (working link posted above)
Freefall, Apr 29 2004
  

       Not dead, merely resting. Thanks for the links, guys. Looks like Nebraska has gone public. See r84x's link for earlier info.
st3f, Apr 29 2004
  

       <B>This has come to pass!</b>   

       [admin: link removed from text. The New Scientist link has already been added today (see links above)]   

       Herds of robotic traffic cones could soon be swarming onto a highway, closing down lanes and slowing the traffic.   

       The new road markers have been developed by Shane Farritor, a roboticist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, in a bid to help reduce the $100 billion per year that the Department of Transportation estimates is lost to the US economy through accidents and delays caused by highway lane closures.   

       The self-propelled markers take the form of robotic three-wheeled bases for the brightly coloured barrels that are set out to demarcate road repair zones. Farritor says they can open and close traffic lanes faster and more safely than humans.   

       etc.
LeBain, Apr 29 2004
  

       "This has come to pass"
Well, almost. The Nebraskan Roadcones are not autonomous but instructed. They have limited intelligence which is used to figure out where they are, where they need to go, and how to get there.
  

       LeBain: Please post links using the link button. If you look up at the links, you'll find that the New Scientist link has already been posted today. A link was posted to the relevant University of Nebraska robotics page back in 2003. [admin: links removed from LeBain's text]
st3f, Apr 29 2004
  

       May your intelligence be impaired by the length of time you spend contemplating your toothbrush tonite [angel], you beat me to the very same link you experienced halfbaker...
suctionpad, Apr 29 2004
  

       You need to get to work earlier.
angel, Apr 30 2004
  

       hey, without the weight added to the bottom of traffic cones they are pretty light. So why not put rotor blade like those on model helicopters on the top. That way they could locate road works from the air and would avoid the traffic. Put an altimeter limit of 500 feet on them to avoid aircraft and gps to kep them away from airports. Scary huh?
etherman, Apr 30 2004
  

       Rotor blades? Wings? Come on people - it's obvious from the Witch's Hat shape of the cone what these babies should be flying on. Broomsticks, dammit! Stick some geeeky round specs on the front of them, and you would thrill and delight a generation of ankle-biters who thought they'd seen Harry Potter flying down the motorway.
spacemoggy, Aug 11 2004
  

       And then they start watching you!   

       That means Gawking Road Cones!
DesertFox, Feb 13 2005
  

       Shocking flocking rocking gawking road cones?   

       Scary thought...
froglet, Mar 02 2005
  

       Nice link, that, angel. There may come a time when things like 'flocking road cones' and 'singing park benches' just become part of our lives. Not because they are created in a quantum leap from the technology that surrounds them but because objects in general may start to be created possessing small amounts of intelligence.
st3f, Jun 10 2005
  

       [froglet] Maybe in their off-duty periods, they could be adapted to street-vendor duties, dispensing drinks or sweets, then they'd be (deep breath) Shocking flocking rocking hawking gawking road cones
coprocephalous, Jun 10 2005
  

       A large concern here is, of course, the cost per unit. Well, what if only every other cone or barrel actually had a robot in it? See, my idea is to build some which are merely free-rolling. The automated units could either push or pull those into position, and then assume formation themselves. Each cone could be made responsible for its position and the position of one "child" - heck, maybe even more. Not too many, though, because then we drift back towards serial deployment which is much slower than parallel - a very distinct advantage of this whole idea in the first place. Still, I think there's room for consideration of a system which is somewhere between every device being independant and every device relying on a single controller. The cost benefit would be huge, and the time expense slight.
pigonthewing, Jan 27 2006
  

       //A large concern here is, of course, the cost per unit// "Here" is in the HB - we don't need no steenkin' costs. {pthaatt]
AbsintheWithoutLeave, Jan 27 2006
  

       Anyone seen the new Toyota Rav4 commercial? (see link)
bristolz, Feb 14 2006
  

       Ooo! Oooo! I just saw this on TV! [bristolz] beat me to a link   

       (I'm 4 days late, heh, bris didn't just beat me, I was clobbered).
DesertFox, Feb 18 2006
  

       I love it when life imitates the 'bakery , or art imitates the 'bakery - or something like that.   

       Yes, [bobofthefuture], more or less. Both a lot more and a lot less, probably.
normzone, Feb 19 2006
  

       I love that RAV4 video. Very good.
I also like the webcomic 'Bunny' and am very happy to be able to link to a migrating roadcones strip.
st3f, Apr 08 2006
  

       This could quite easily be the halfbakery idea with the most links on it. Seriously, there's dozens of the buggers.
hidden truths, Apr 08 2006
  

       I like it a lot. However, you would have to be careful that they don't run into each other. That would mess things up. And then, of course, they'd be...   

       Knocking Flocking Stalking Talking Gawking Shocking Mocking Road Cones!!!
TahuNuva, Nov 22 2007
  

       Oh, and [Aristotle], if they really wanted to leave messages, they'd write them on the road. Drumroll...   

       Chalking Gawking Talking Walking Stalking Mocking Docking Rocking Shocking Stocking Blocking Flocking Road Cones!!!!!!!!
TahuNuva, Nov 22 2007
  

       If they talk with a certain synthesised voice (or emit a particular type of radiation or obey some complex law of quantum mechanics) then you could add Hawking to their title.   

       Hmm, do they have much rotational force?
marklar, Nov 22 2007
  

       These can be used by terrorists by putting a bomb in it... (can someone make a really long Road cone sentance below? I don't have the lung capacity to do one)
xxobot, Dec 01 2007
  

       Terorists, hmmm...All your road cones are belong to us?
4whom, Dec 01 2007
  

       Only just thought of this: terrorist cones would be a bit reminiscent of Python's Keep Left signs... {linky}
Jinbish, Dec 01 2007
  

       // terrorist cones //   

       Daleks ?   

       Dalek road cones ?
8th of 7, Dec 23 2007
  

       "Witness a construction of the human race. Prepare to be divert-inated."   

       If you think that was bad, I also considered using Delayed-and-late or next-turn-re-routed.
marklar, Dec 23 2007
  

       Popular mechanics, may 2000 - Page 21. Possibly where the baker got his/her idea from?
andrew1, Jul 14 2008
  

       Nope, but if you can scan in the page and email it to me I'd love to have a read.
st3f, Jul 21 2008
  

       thanks for kicking that up again
quantum_flux, Jan 06 2009
  

       Definitely... funnily enough a quick text search for 'custard' turns up no hits on this page... um...   

       Talking Chalking Gawking Walking Stalking Mocking Docking Rocking Shocking Stocking Blocking Flocking Custard-Deploying Dalek-Mimicking Road Cones?   

       -------------   

       Also, we, as their creators, should give them the ability to jump... I mean, there’s nothing in a game more annoying than not being able to jump!   

       Talking Chalking Gawking Walking Stalking Mocking Docking Rocking Shocking Stocking Blocking Flocking Custard-Deploying Dalek-Mimicking Jumping Road Cones!   

       Ps. Man... In 2007 I was so naive: P
xxobot, Mar 05 2009
  

       [hob], superb!   

       {I can't believe I hadn't bunned this post in the past!}
Dub, May 18 2009
  

       Brilliant!
whatrock, Apr 24 2022
  


 

back: main index

business  computer  culture  fashion  food  halfbakery  home  other  product  public  science  sport  vehicle