Don’t Hold Your Breath for Real Transformers

Just what would it take for a car to turn into a robot (and vice versa) anyway? That’s the central concept of the Transformers franchise, and that’s what we’re tackling today!

How do you solve an engineering problem like the Transformers? This might be one of the most iconic franchises of the 1980s, but it might also be as scientifically implausible as say, the Power Sword from another beloved ‘80s property, Masters of the Universe. Or…is it? After all, there’s already technology out there that can autonomously transform and combine, so is it really that much of a leap to think that an autonomous robot might also be able to disguise itself as a self-driving car? The answer might surprise you!

You know what else might surprise you? Hakeem’s apparent phobia of getting squished by giant robots. If a scientist is this worried about something like that, maybe we should be, too! Dive into these concepts and questions as well as the most reasonable, thoughtful unpacking of Transformers basic story logic you’ll ever find. 

Roll out! No, wait, stay right here to watch or check it out on our YouTube page!

SUGGESTED VIEWING 

The Transformers franchise is vast. And we do mean vast. Multiple animated series spanning dozens of seasons and hundreds upon hundreds of episodes plus almost a dozen movies both animated and live action. Oh, and then there are the hundreds of comic books, with at least three distinct continuities. And that doesn’t even take into account the lore and character info that was included with the toys themselves. But don’t worry, flight cadets, we’re making this easy on you.

For this episode, Hakeem and Tamara dealt with the following pieces of the franchise to really focus their discussion. They are…

The Transformers S1 Episodes 1-3 “More Than Meets the Eye”

The first three episodes of the original Transformers animated series pretty much tells you what you need to know about the Autobots and Decepticons and gives you a reasonable understanding of how they function. This is the cartoon that really started it all, and features the most iconic, recognizable versions of the characters.

The Transformers: The Movie (1986)

The first animated big screen Transformers adventure serves as a bridge between seasons one and two of the animated series and also scarred a generation of elementary school age Gen-X-ers. But it enriches the lore of the franchise and also gives a sense of what “death” is like for these characters, so we figured it makes sense as a bookend to those first three episodes.

Transformers (2007)

Michael Bay’s first live action Transformers movie serves as a fresh start for the franchise, features its own take on the lore, and was instrumental in helping our hosts wrap their heads around the physics and engineering of transformation. It kicked off a massive blockbuster franchise which…you can mostly avoid. However, if you want to go a little further in your viewing, 2011’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon is worth your time for some truly mind-blowing visuals, and 2018’s soft reboot Bumblebee is one of the best pieces of Transformers media out there. There’s also a brand new animated prequel, Transformers One, in theaters now, but we hadn’t seen that at the time this episode was being produced. 

Unfortunately, we don’t have the footage of Hakeem in the “vomit comet” for you to watch.

FURTHER READING 

Do you want to delve a little deeper into the facts, concepts, and stories Hakeem and Tamara referenced in today’s episode? Of course you do! 

Self-Assembling Modular Robots

They might not look like much, but these self-assembling modular robot cubes might be a precursor to Transformer-like technology in the real world down the line. While Hakeem isn’t fully on board with the Transformers as we know them in pop culture, he sees the potential in these little weirdos.

Multi-Modal Mobility Morphobot (M4)

OK, so…THIS one might be a little bit more in line with what you expect from the Transformers. For those of you who want a more in-depth look at what makes this one tick, you can read the scientific paper here. But really, it needs to be seen to be believed!

Liquid Robots

One way to get around the engineering problem that comes with the sheer scale of the Transformers is by making them REALLY small. Or in this case, liquid. Once again, the article might not fully do the concept justice so here’s a video for you!

Transformers Vol. 1

While there have been many iterations of Transformers comics through the years, the newest series from Image Comics “Energon Universe” by Daniel Warren Johnson is exceptional…and an Eisner winner! 

Want to follow in Hakeem’s footsteps and ride the um…zero gravity aircraft? Good luck!

WANT MORE FROM DOES IT FLY?

Speaking of robots…check out our discussion of the rules governing the Terminator franchise.

Was Hakeem any kinder, scientifically speaking, to the concept of Iron Man armor? Only one way to find out!

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