Chapter 92: Robot
Chapter 92: Robot
Chen Mo sat on the sofa in the villa, reading a book. These days, he read whenever he had free time. He planned to finish 1,000 books before graduation. Dragging it out like this was not a solution.
Just as he was deeply absorbed in reading, his phone suddenly rang.
“Brother Mo, I have some news.” As soon as he answered, Ink Girl’s childish voice came through.
“What news?”
“Shugel killed himself.” Ink Girl said.
“Suicide? So fast.”
Chen Mo was a little surprised. The choice to commit suicide was unexpected, but after thinking about it, it made sense. Those matters were very sensitive. If Shugel did not end himself, someone else would surely end him, because many people were involved.
With Shugel’s suicide, Chen Mo’s goal of using others to eliminate him was achieved. He felt relieved. The person who had been watching him from the shadows was finished. Now, he could focus on his own work peacefully.
But he did not feel happy. Capital held too many hidden, unknown dark sides. Once involved in such things, the deeper one went, the more troublesome it became.
After hanging up, Xiaoyu came out of the bathroom. She sat down beside Chen Mo and quietly watched TV.
“Take a break at home for the next couple of days, no need to go to work.” Chen Mo put away his phone and gently rubbed Xiaoyu’s neck.
“But there’s still so much work at the company!” Xiaoyu said.
“Zhao Min will handle it. Just stay home and rest. Your neck is as stiff as a long-necked goose right now. You can go back to work after your neck gets better.”
“You’re the long-necked goose.” Annoyed by Chen Mo’s description, Xiaoyu retorted: “I’m still going to work tomorrow.”
“If you go to work, I’ll deduct your pay.” Chen Mo said, and then laughed himself.
“You dare deduct my pay?” Xiaoyu snorted lightly: “Then I’ll cut your meals.”
“Learning to talk back now?” Chen Mo was amused and ruffled Xiaoyu’s hair: “Stay home, be good.”
“You…” Xiaoyu didn’t know how to respond to Chen Mo. For some reason, she just couldn’t resist his head pats: “Fine, I’ll stay home, okay!”
The night passed without incident.
“Apple Board Member Shugel Commits Suicide”
“What’s Behind the Suicide of the Former CEO of the Third Largest Arms Dealer?”
…
News of Shugel’s suicide appeared in various news outlets. Different media outlets were buzzing with the story.
As the former CEO of the world’s third largest arms dealer and a current board member of Apple, the impact of his identity was obvious.
After this news came out, affected by it, the stock prices of Northrop Grumman and Apple also experienced a slight drop.
Not long after, the criminal evidence was leaked.
For a while, public opinion was in an uproar. People finally understood the darkness behind it—it was clearly a case of suicide to avoid punishment.
Then, federal agents investigating certain politicians and lawmakers involved in crimes kept making headlines.
Because that evidence existed, many chose to remain silent, while the internet erupted with intense discussion.
“Shocking. There are many dark corners in this world that ordinary people cannot access.”
“Terrifying. My limited perspective restricts my view. Life is more dramatic than TV shows.”
“This is just the tip of the iceberg, the only part of the iceberg we can see. What lies deeper inside? You can’t even imagine.”
…
The internet was ablaze, and there was also quite a stir within the federal government. Especially military personnel close to Shugel were on edge, afraid the matter would affect them.
The scandal had spread and become a global topic. The incident caused a huge uproar, but all of this had nothing to do with Chen Mo.
Chen Mo’s work was solely focused on assembling the robot.
Half a month had passed since the previous incident. Many things, whether open or secret, were none of his concern.
If it didn’t involve him, he wouldn’t get involved. He, the one who started it all, was completely like an outsider. Every day he came to the company, he assembled the robot and read books.
After working hard all this time, the robot’s assembly was finally nearing completion.
After twisting the last screw into its hole, Chen Mo tossed aside the screwdriver. He stroked his chin and looked at the robot lying on the lab table.
Without any paint job, the robot still had the natural color of carbon-aluminum alloy and plastic.
This robot had taken a lot of his effort.
Inside its body were three large Carbon Crystal Batteries, located in the two thighs and the abdomen. Luckily, carbon crystal wasn’t very dense, so it didn’t add much weight to the robot.
Free movement and the computing of the microcomputer control system were the biggest power drains. To allow it to operate longer, three large batteries were necessary.
At various joints, small servo motors and stepper motors were used as driving mechanisms. The ankles also had hydraulic shock absorbers.
This could more closely mimic human upright walking.
Bipedal walking is very unstable, so for a robot to walk upright, it needs a balance system. The built-in balance system in this robot was a set of gyroscopes.
The control system was decentralized control.
It used multiple microcomputers to control the robot. The microcomputer in the head was responsible for system management, communication, kinematic calculations, and sending instructions. At various joints, there were corresponding CPUs for control and interpolation calculations. This type of control could reduce the load on the main microcomputer.
Finally, the sensors, including Laser Sensors, thermal sensors, sound sensors, fluid sensors, etc., served as the robot’s sensory organs.
With so many components from top to bottom, Chen Mo wasn’t sure how long this battery-powered robot could operate.
He tried to see if it could start up.
Chen Mo turned on the power. The robot’s pupils and the Laser Sensor in the center of its chest lit up.
It worked! Chen Mo let out a sigh of relief.
“Ink Girl, can you connect to it?” Chen Mo asked.
“Yes, I can.” Ink Girl’s childish voice replied.
“Try controlling it to stand up now. Don’t run directly inside it; it can’t handle your operation. Send instructions to it and let it move according to those instructions. Control it that way.” Chen Mo said.
“Okay.”
As soon as Ink Girl’s voice fell, the robot on the lab table sat up.
After the robot sat up, Chen Mo glanced at the computer to check if all its parameters were normal. This was a design obtained from the Science and Technology Library, so there shouldn’t be major issues.
“Now try walking on the ground.”
Clack… Thud!
The robot, having just stood on the ground, immediately lost its balance and fell straight down.
“Is there a problem with the balance system?” Chen Mo crouched down to inspect it.
“Brother Mo, it’s not a problem with the balance system. I don’t have specific data on human upright walking. I can’t determine the walking method or the amount of force needed.” Ink Girl said.
“What can be done?” Chen Mo asked.
“Test the movement data of a person walking. I can imitate their walking style.” Ink Girl said.
“It seems we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to test it. It shouldn’t be urgent.”
Chen Mo turned off the robot’s power, carried it back to the lab table, and covered it with a cloth. Then he dialed Zhao Min’s number.
“What is it, Chairman?”
“Have someone bring two treadmills to the laboratory. We’ll need them tomorrow.”
“Okay.” Zhao Min agreed without hesitation.