“Dr. Jackt’s Robot Island” by Graham
Conference:
- SIGGRAPH 1996
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More from SIGGRAPH 1996:
Type(s):
Entry Number: 08
Title:
- Dr. Jackt’s Robot Island
Program Title:
- Digital Bayou
Presenter(s):
Project Affiliation:
- Silicon Graphics
Description:
Dr. Jackt’s Robot Island is an interactive three-dimensional application. Its intent is to provide an entertaining environment to showcase the technology of VRML 2.0 and CosmoPlayer. Players explore each of Player. Players explore each of these modular application spaces in order to discover “The Secret of Dr. Jackt’s Robot Island.”
Background: In the late 1950s, a young researcher by the name of Vernon Jackt grew restless with his place at the Robotics Lab of Generic Electric. After years of trying to get his innovative work in robotics implemented or even noticed, he hit a brick wall. “The world NEEDS mechanized modularity,” he railed. “These FOOLS can’t see that!” His work was truly revolutionary. Dr. Jackt was indeed a genius. He had conceived the first totally modular being, an artificially intelligent robot that could be made from semi-intelligent parts, so he decided to create his own Robot Island.
To discover the secret of Dr. Jackt’s Robot Island, players must complete five modules, each divided into a separate island that the player explores. The player starts the game on the main island, where Dr. Jackt constructed his Robot Lab, where players construct unique robots that act as avatars. From there, players move on to the second island, where the Electro Field Generator lies dormant and must be reactivated. On the third island, players discover The Fountain, a database designed to serve up complex behaviors to the robots. Players must activate the database so that their avatars can drink from The Fountain, which allows them to perform complex functions. On the fourth island, an ornate statue stands in a grand space. There is more to this story, but it cannot be revealed, for it is the secret of Dr. Jackt’s Robot Island, waiting to be discovered.
Dr Jackt’s Robot Island is an open VRML 2.0 application that can be loaded and run on any VRML 2.0-compliant browser.
Additional Images:
![©Clay Graham](https://history.siggraph.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/1996-ETech-GRAHAM_Dr.Jackts-Robot-Island-03.jpg)