Thursday, January 24, 2013

Knight Industries Two Thousand (KITT)


There was a reason my first word was car and it had everything to do with KITT.  While most kids between the ages of two and five were watching Sesame Street, Mister Rogers Neighborhood, or taking a look in a book on the Reading Rainbow. I was obsessed with shows like Knight Rider and Air Wolf.  Everything a young boy loved: cars, attack helicopters, and crazy explosive stunts.  KITT was not a traditional humanoid robot, but a 1982 Pontiac Trans AM with more tricks than James Bond’s DB5.

Who can forget his first appearance where Michael Knight sneaks into a pitch black warehouse and is greeted with the eerie red cylonesque light and woooe wooe echo sound.  Then the head lights flip up and the tries screech as it races to a stop at Michael’s feet.  The first episode, Knight of the Phoenix, had many great memorable moments like Michael falling asleep at the wheel and getting pulled over by a cop.  It taught a valuable lesson on how to get out of tickets, just act deaf. 

KITT is nearly indestructible; his Molecular Bonded Shell can deflect gun fire and explosive devices and later high energy laser beams. Turbo Boost is the most iconic feature allowing KITT a boost of speed and the ability jump over obstacles and gaps.  KITT’s tool kit includes: grappling hook, oil jets, smoke screens, tear gas, laser, microwave jammer, chemical analyzer, and with more scanners and sensors than you can think of. 

KITT is my number one seat when it comes to robots and AI.  He may not be humanoid, but what is cooler than a super intelligent talking car.
Fee Hee Hee Hee EEENY… FEENY!

-Matt

No comments:

Post a Comment