Philip K. Dick is missing

[Dave Monroe]

--- "K. Michael Babcock" <aesova at gmail.com> wrote:

> The interview photo is amazing!
> 
> On 2/21/06, Dave Monroe <monropolitan at yahoo.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > February 13, 2006 - 12:43PM
> >
> > Philip K Dick is missing.
> >
> > Not the American science fiction writer whose
> novels
> > spawned hit films such as Blade Runner and Total
> > Recall -- he died more than 20 years ago -- but a
> > state-of-the-art robot named after the author.
> >
> > The quirky android, was lost in early January
> while en
> > route to California by commercial airliner.
> >
> > "We can't find Phil," said Steve Prilliman of
> > Dallas-based Hanson Robotics, which created the
> > futuristic robot with the FedEx Institute of
> > Technology at the University of Memphis, the
> > Automation and Robotics Research Institute at the
> > University of Texas at Arlington and Dick's friend
> > Paul Williams.
> >
> > "We're very worried because it's been a few weeks
> > now," said Prilliman. "We're pressing hard to find
> > Phil."
> >
> > Robotics wizard and lead designer David Hanson
> built
> > the robot as a memorial to Dick, whose 1968 book
> Do
> > Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? inspired the
> 1982
> > classic Blade Runner starring Harrison Ford.
> >
> > Short stories by Dick, who died in 1982, served as
> > inspiration for other hit films including the 1990
> > Total Recall, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, and
> the
> > 2002 Minority Report, starring Tom Cruise.
> >
> > In Blade Runner, set in a Los Angeles of 2019,
> > Harrison Ford plays Rick Deckhard, a Blade Runner
> or
> > policeman whose job is to track down and terminate
> > escaped human clones known as "replicants."
> >
> > The irony of the situation -- a missing replica of
> the
> > very author who championed "replicant" freedom --
> is
> > not lost on Phil's creators.
> >
> > But they still want him back.
> >
> > "We really need to find him soon because the
> > Smithsonian wants to put him in a travelling
> > collection in the autumn," said Prilliman
> referring to
> > Washington's Smithsonian Institute, an
> organisation of
> > museums and art galleries.
> >
> > Along with an eerie likeness to the author, the
> robot
> > features award-winning artificial intelligence
> that
> > mimics the writer's mannerisms and lifelike skin
> > material to affect realistic expressions.
> >
> > Top-of-the-line voice software loaded with data
> from
> > Dick's vast body of writing allows the robot to
> carry
> > on natural-sounding conversations, although it
> does
> > come off as a bit doddering at times.
> >
> > Biometric-identification software and advanced
> machine
> > vision allows the robot to recognise people --
> even in
> > a crowd -- read their expressions and body
> language
> > and talk to them sounding a lot like a normal,
> albeit
> > slightly senile, author who likes to quote his own
> > books when he gets confused.
> >
> > Prilliman and others close to Phil baulked at
> giving
> > too many details about his disappearance including
> the
> > name of the airline that was transporting the
> robot
> > when he went missing.
> >
> > Hanson officials said news of Phil's disappearance
> > could hamper the ongoing investigation and search
> for
> > the robot.
> >
> > The company officials said they feared ransom
> demands
> > might be made or Phil could turn up listed for
> sale on
> > an internet auction house such as eBay.
> >
> > A spokeswoman, Elaine Hanson, said the company is
> > considering building a new android if the original
> > Phil does not turn up.
> >
> >
> >
>
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/author-android-goes-missing/2006/02/13/1139679514495.html
> >
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