Robonauts

>> Probably not nuclear reactor repair.. radiation is really rough on electronics, more so than biological tissue. Well, until they invent self-repairing circuits anyway. <<

People in L-Japan are already working on robots meant for that purpose. I assume they have extensive shielding.

T-Japan already has better equipment. Among the options for creating self-repairing code and robust circuitry is to include multiple copies of code which can be cross-checked to correct errors from damage. (There are high-security systems with parallel relays which already do this.) Redundant hardware means that as one part fails, another can be brought online to replace it.

>> Another potential source of pilots would 'locked in' patients. You'd need a brain/machine interface, but if we can do that here, now.. then Terramagne probably has them and better to. <<

Likely so.

>> But.. why limit the robot body to a human shape? Aside from being an obvious first step that is. Why not brain ships? <<

Because Anne McCaffrey made a valid point in those novels: infants are selected because their brains and personality are still malleable enough to adapt. Most adults aren't. This is one reason for a high rate of rejection among prosthetics; some people can incorporate those into their self-image and use them effectively, others not. A human shape is easier to adapt to. The farther it is from the original, the harder to adapt for most users. But there is a fluke factor; some people do better with things that look nothing like what they had. Ragno is one of those, for instance.

Scientists have been using all kinds of shapes for robotic exploration, with pretty good success. But they're not quite taking it to prosthetic level, which makes things somewhat different. It's worth a try, though.