Exobots And Robonauts: The Next Wave In The Search For Extraterrestrials

Self-replicating robots could be the solution to making first contact with an alien civilization.

These proposed exobots could efficiently explore our local galactic neighborhood and help locate any extraterrestrials that may be sending radio signals in our direction.

After 50 years of searching the heavens with radio telescopes and coming up empty, the SETI Institute's search for extraterrestrial intelligence may need an extra robotic boost.

In the current issue of the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, John D. Mathews, a Penn State University professor of electrical engineering, offers his vision of a future populated by helpful and cost-effective exobots.

"It's extremely expensive to put humans in space," Mathews told The Huffington Post. "It's relatively cheap to put robotic vehicles in space. It's the path I started exploring and realized along the way that maybe we've elevated ET to this sort of god-like creature with amazing technology, and maybe that's not true -- maybe that's why we haven't found ET."

Mathews suggests that extraterrestrials may be traveling the same path to the stars as humans are, sending robots instead of living beings.

"If we explore our solar system, we'll use robots first," he said. "Humans may follow, and we can't launch everything from Earth because of the cost. We need to have robots reproduce themselves. Furthermore, they would communicate using very narrow-beam laser systems. If ET is doing that, it makes them very difficult for us to see, except by accident."

NASA took its first step in using humanoid robots in space last year when Robonaut 2 hitched a ride to the International Space Station on board one of the final space shuttle missions.

R2 was created to help with specific tasks, and with many more robots planned for future space endeavors (like the two mechanical men at right), it's a natural leap to have robots help make that first contact with an alien civilization.

But there are still some who oppose reaching out to ETs.

In 2010, famed British astrophysicist Stephen Hawking said he believed aliens are out there, but cautioned against trying to make contact with them, fearing it might turn out very badly for Earth.

"Hawking is concerned about the possibility of betraying our presence, that, if they were to come here, it might not be good for us," said Seth Shostak, senior SETI astronomer. "It's hard for me to believe that they actually have (hostile) intentions on us," he added.

Shostak told AOL News that the search for aliens is like listening to a radio station: "When you tune in your favorite DJ, he doesn't know you've tuned him in, so there's no danger in SETI."

Mathews agrees that there's probably nothing to worry about if aliens pick up on any signals humans send into deep space.

"Unless there's a way around the limitation of the speed of light, it's very difficult for me to see why anyone -- why ETs -- would want to come to Earth in robotic form to do any harm. The barrier is immense, but if there's a way around the speed of light, all bets are off."

Check out this SETI video:

The Penn State engineering professor would like to see humans go back to the moon to establish a robotic factory. From there, he envisions sending exobots to asteroids to monitor the many large space rocks that pose potential threats as their orbits sometimes bring them close to Earth.

These exobots could aid the search for alien signals and might eventually intercept one from an extraterrestrial robot coming toward Earth. "As we go out into the solar system, we might actually find that ET is already here in the form of robots," Mathews said.

"We need to make decisions on what we will do when approached or when we discover that we're not alone, because I firmly believe we are not alone."

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Comments

[BannedInBoston]

12:04 AM on 06/30/2012

I forget the source of this theory (possibly Frank Drake) but it's this. Any ETs in this galaxy are not likely to be at (or even anywhere near) the same stage of development as we are. Either they're way behind us, in which case there is no possibility of contact unless we were somehow to visit THEIR home planet, or else they are WAY more advanced than we are. In this case, we are in "Contact" or "2001: A Space Odyssey" territory where we will need somehow to come to grips with an unimaginable Other. In either of these cases, it would seem as though essentially godlike _aliens may be "bringing us along," including possibly through "telepathic broadcasts" of contact scenarios (an idea Jaques Vallee explores).

"There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy, Horatio."

--Hamlet....

[Montie99]

01:00 PM on 06/05/2012

DO IT!

[jenniferkizzy]

04:48 PM on 04/28/2012

even if we are capable of such wonder our presence in space will no longer have mattered we will be extinct before then our mind will long dim before we reach the farthest star bye

[greenalva]

02:32 AM on 04/28/2012

SORRY to break it to ya NASA but extraterrestrials have already been found. anyone who thinks we still have to go out and look for them is an idiot who hasn't done any serious scientific research on the subject. Save your robots for fixing Fukushima, this search for aliens nonsense is a serious waste of money. SETI by the way is pure rubbish, any logical person can see that CSETI is the real deal and has done more to help us understand the subject of contact than anything that was done by seti.

[darth geekboy]

01:38 AM on 04/28/2012

this reminds me of that book "code of the lifemaker."

awesome sci-fi book, and probably very prescient.

[ProudToBeVeryLiberal]

07:22 PM on 04/27/2012

"Self-replicating robots could be the solution to making first contact with an alien civilization."

OK, why am I thinking Skynet? :)

[cosmicdart]

05:48 PM on 04/27/2012

I suspect that we wish to observe the thousands of asteroids in our solar system to find out if any of them harbor ancient Alien technology. Android colonies may live inside of some of these large asteroids. Contact with Alien robots or androids may be only at close range through the use of narrow laser beams. The Nation that first gains this Alien technology could rule the Earth with possible superior weapons found there. We must get to these asteroids before China, France, and Russia do cuz only we may be trusted to be in possession of such technological power as may be found there. We have a good record of treating other nations humanly.

[greenalva]

02:34 AM on 04/28/2012

lay off the decaf.

[johnnyplant]

04:46 PM on 04/27/2012

I get it, we want to know the big question. Our planet is a living ship itself moving through space with a force field! Let us be quiet, listening is fine, inviting is another thing. We are natural born explorer warriors. They will discover us a ugly violent race that if we took to the stars, a definate threat. Man is not civilized, We cannot even stop warring upon ourselves. Giant corporations want new alloys and to mine planets, if there is life there, disregard it. We dont even cherish lesser life forms here, we exploit it, eat it, even cause animal extinction. No, we are not evolved enough yet, if we were, we would cherish all life existing here, no matter how insignificant it appears to be. We are warring flesh eating monsters craving fortune, money, power and total exploitation of our own nest, earth. Primitive beings who lost regard for life, still killing each other over religion, territory, century old feuds, splurging obeise creatures, exhausting and depleating resourses. Before we go out in space, we need a new food source that is for everyone, races united in peace, a common wealth shared with no classes, tending our earth for what it is, a precious unique living organism. Six billion people, many starving, homeless, poverty. We will not even feed them. The earth can support 10 billion people, thats it, maxed out. Lets take care of here before we go there.

[Zloki]

02:11 PM on 04/27/2012

""It's hard for me to believe that they actually have (hostile) intentions on us"

Really now? You take a look around the whole ecosystem and you can't possibly imagine a hostile, pervasive, intelligent life form that is busy killing and crowding out biodiversity on Earth?

Basically, if we find aliens, we better hope they're a lot nicer than we are. I know what happened to the Native Americans when the US settlers came. I would not expect much better from a random other life form.

[LIKEWHAT]

10:33 AM on 04/29/2012

I have heard a good argument they would not kills all of us nor enslave us because why would they need to? If they need resources, there are planets that are not full of aggressive beings that may destroy the planet before losing any kind of battle. They would likely get their energy from some source such that they would need nothing from us.... So it would be pointless to be aggressive towards us.

[Zloki]

03:14 PM on 04/29/2012

Certainly, I can't imagine why enslavement would ever occur. Anything advanced enough to cross light years to reach Earth would certainly have little use for any tangible goods or labor we have.

But since when did aggression ever need a point? Many species are highly territorial.

Let's put it this way: spiders live in your house. There's plenty or resources in the house and you don't even compete with the spider for them: they are entirely harmless and mainly out of sight. But what do most people do when they see a spider? Or any insect in their house? (SPLAT)

If some advanced species feels like we're a bug in their house and could squish us as easily, that's not a good situation.

[Bringbackethics]

02:08 PM on 04/27/2012

Oh what does Stephen Hawking know? Because as all truly enlightened people know if extraterrestrials are found they will all be gentle, caring creatures and would love to be shown the way to our planet and come smell our flowers and smile at our butterflies... and give us world peace... and make Disneyland the new capitol of Earth! Hooray!

[mario andretti]

02:05 PM on 04/27/2012

We come in pieces.

[Charles Spero]

12:35 PM on 04/27/2012

LOL!

[nitecinc]

12:11 PM on 04/27/2012

Maybe they don't use radio waves to communicate.
Maybe there is a better way and we just don't know it yet.

[cuoi]

12:27 PM on 04/27/2012

We use "consciousness" to communicate. Problem is we don;t know what the heck it is. There is no one accepted definition.
Speaking of communication, there is a measurable aspect of particles called "quantum entanglement". Even though 2 entangled particles are separated by the distance of a universe or more, when you measure the properties of one, both are correlated. Like consciousness, we are observing a phenomenon but we really don;t know "what the heck it is" (pardon my use of a cuoi scientific term).
My SWAG is when we achieve a fundamental understanding of these two things we will be much farther along in our ability to travel and communicate over vast distances.

[czmars]

11:37 AM on 04/27/2012

what are these clown seti talking about. spend useless dollars with no returns on your investment. hell no. if they extraterrestiral are here on the bluewhitemarble already. why not just let everyone on this planet know already. usa,russia,china and united nations come forth and speak. thank you.

[ohiopositive]

09:53 AM on 04/27/2012

Robonauts. Good name for a band.

[cuoi]

12:18 PM on 04/27/2012

Gives me an idea. To test humor of ET's we could chain some Robonuts trailing outside on the space craft to see what they think about that...