Almost Done!

Here's a snippet of my independent study I did this semester with Ezra Ardolino (my professor). I think it's pretty cool! And tomorrow, after I hand in my take-home exam THAT'S IT! I'M DONE! woohoo! this sem has been a blast man, even though this last stretch has been more killer than i thought it would be. 2 almost-all-nighters in a row... and not to forget my poor computer bending over backwards to render my movies. i love my inspiron! even though the screen is a little flappy now... but still, good job! *patpat*




Romads apis nomadis

Romads are quasi-intelligent creatures that currently inhabit the subterranean landscape of the Singapore urban rail network. Their body structure comprises three double-jointed legs; a body supporting a rigid shell covered with a soft padding; and a hemispherical head protruding from the center of the shell.

The Head
The romad head is embedded with three proximity sensors pointing in different directions. These sensors enable the romad to maneuver in its environment, as well as to interact with its neighbors.

The Body
The romad’s three arms are continuous with its head, and rigidly support a hexagonal shell. This shell is made up of a hard cartilage below and a soft, leathery padding on top. The romad’s body lies under its shell, and is also capable of producing a soft incandescent glow.

The Legs
The romad moves on its three legs which are supported on wheels. The legs themselves are capable of flexing, allowing the romad to change its height. It appears that the romads raise themselves up when moving, and lower themselves when in a rest position.

Habitat
Romads inhabit the underground station platforms along the urband rail network. They have never been observed wandering into subway trains, and they also appear to maintain a distance from major exits as well as elevators and escalators.

Varieties and Behavior
Romads are differentiated into two distinct types -- Reds and Whites. The Reds are highly territorial, each occupying a localized region around the numerous power ports embedded in a station’s floors, never wandering beyond a 2ft radius of their ports. The Reds are also equipped with a specialized tubular structure which extends from their undersides to plug into power ports at regular intervals. This provides the Reds with energy, which the Whites can only obtain by attaching themselves to the Reds.

The Whites are nomadic in nature, and also exist in greater numbers than the Reds, outnumbering them around 6 to 1. Their wandering tendencies only curbed when at intervals of 4 hours, the Reds settle down over their electrical ports to “feed”. During this period, which typically lasts about 20 minutes, the Reds emit an incandescent glow which attracts the Whites and causes them to gravitate towards the nearest Red, as well as responding with their own glow. The electro-magnetic nodes at the tips of their arms enable the romads to transfer energy to each other, thus causing them to aggregate into honeycomb configurations during the “feeding” period. When “feeding” is over, the Whites disperse again to resume their wandering.

Occasionally however, a White may also settle down and attract nearby Whites, forming temporary and short-lived localized groupings. This behavior does not appear to serve any functional purpose and also produces more varied configurations, unlike the Red-centric clusters formed during “feeding” periods.

When a White is forcefully stopped, such as when a human commuter sits on its shell, it will also start to glow and attract other Whites, forming a temporary cluster.

Romads move at a slow, constant glide, with a maximum speed about half the walking pace of an average human.

Interactions With Humans

The romads are social creatures that exhibit an ambiguous affinity towards humans, especially the young and elderly. They tend to move towards areas with higher densities of commuters waiting for trains to arrive, but do not initiate any contact with them. Humans however, have found the romads extremely useful as seating appliances, particularly due to their soft leathery shells, and sturdy form -- a romad is able to support up to 600lb in weight.

Each romad is big enough to seat 3 people, and once it is rendered immobile, it attracts other romads towards it, providing more seating. This behavior creates novel organizational patterns among commuters, and has been shown to stimulate interactions between strangers which otherwise would not have occurred.

Romads also tend to cluster together when the movements around them increase in speed. This has proven particularly useful during peak hours, as the clustering behavior reduces the likelihood of the romads becoming obstacles to commuter circulation. They have also not been found to cause any significant obstructions during fire evacuation drills.

Station controllers have therefore found no need to remove the romads from their habitat, although there were initial worries when they first appeared. Humans have even begun to further exploit the romads’ presence and behavior by affixing temperature sensors and bomb detectors on these wandering creatures in order to increase the security in urban rail stations, guarding against threats of terrorism as well as epidemics. Romads have yet to display any averse reactions to the attachment of these devices to their bodies.

Overall, the romads’ colonization of urban rail stations has been welcomed by administrators and the public alike. Through interactions with these creatures, commuters are also socializing to a greater degree, challenging the notion of “familiar strangers” that has been so pervasive in our urban society.