Skinwalker Ranch (Updates)

That thing was HUGE! And it just vanished. Poof. Gone, from what I saw.

Is that the season finale episode? I've lost count.
There should be two more episodes, so the giant rocket episode then the season finale.

We'll have to wait and see but I'd be curious about what it is that vanishes in the sky and where. In the episode with the astronomy team and their malfunctioning telescopes at the very end Erik saw that flash in the sky. Looking at that flash in slow motion, it's exactly what I was picturing when they were talking about people who see portals opening up in the sky. It was reminiscent of something from a sci-fi movie like Stargate.

Although I'm a bit disappointed by the lack of robots, like those Boston Dynamics robot dogs. Getting a few dozen of those, loaded up with sensor packages, and constantly patrolling the ranch would greatly increase the data collected beyond what stationary cameras could do. There is an AI technology called Swarm Computing that would allow several robots and drones to work together to find and identify areas of interest.

I'd also like to see them try to transmit a message of their own using that 1.6Ghz frequency. Maybe not an actual message with words but tonal messages based on mathematical formula. Something to show we are trying to intelligently communicate.
 
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There should be two more episodes, so the giant rocket episode then the season finale.

We'll have to wait and see but I'd be curious about what it is that vanishes in the sky and where. In the episode with the astronomy team and their malfunctioning telescopes at the very end Erik saw that flash in the sky. Looking at that flash in slow motion, it's exactly what I was picturing when they were talking about people who see portals opening up in the sky. It was reminiscent of something from a sci-fi movie like Stargate.

Although I'm a bit disappointed by the lack of robots, like those Boston Dynamics robot dogs. Getting a few dozen of those, loaded up with sensor packages, and constantly patrolling the ranch would greatly increase the data collected beyond what stationary cameras could do. There is an AI technology called Swarm Computing that would allow several robots and drones to work together to find and identify areas of interest.

I'd also like to see them try to transmit a message of their own using that 1.6Ghz frequency. Maybe not an actual message with words but tonal messages based on mathematical formula. Something to show we are trying to intelligently communicate.
There's a portal. I just feel it in me bones. And "It" can control it. We just keep knocking on that door and they seem to have a "get off my lawn" reaction by sending something through to annoy us.
 
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There should be two more episodes, so the giant rocket episode then the season finale.

We'll have to wait and see but I'd be curious about what it is that vanishes in the sky and where. In the episode with the astronomy team and their malfunctioning telescopes at the very end Erik saw that flash in the sky. Looking at that flash in slow motion, it's exactly what I was picturing when they were talking about people who see portals opening up in the sky. It was reminiscent of something from a sci-fi movie like Stargate.

Although I'm a bit disappointed by the lack of robots, like those Boston Dynamics robot dogs. Getting a few dozen of those, loaded up with sensor packages, and constantly patrolling the ranch would greatly increase the data collected beyond what stationary cameras could do. There is an AI technology called Swarm Computing that would allow several robots and drones to work together to find and identify areas of interest.

I'd also like to see them try to transmit a message of their own using that 1.6Ghz frequency. Maybe not an actual message with words but tonal messages based on mathematical formula. Something to show we are trying to intelligently communicate.
You have some good ideas here, Robot dogs!
 
Although I'm a bit disappointed by the lack of robots, like those Boston Dynamics robot dogs. Getting a few dozen of those, loaded up with sensor packages, and constantly patrolling the ranch would greatly increase the data collected beyond what stationary cameras could do. There is an AI technology called Swarm Computing that would allow several robots and drones to work together to find and identify areas of interest.

Drones have a habit of malfunctioning on the ranch. Autonomous machines always require rebooting. Additional support staff would probably have to be hired, Erik is the only full-time researcher at the ranch outside of the yearly production shooting schedule.

Remember that what you are watching now actually took place last summer and fall. Much has been going on behind the scenes in the time since, I have no doubts that when season 4 starts shooting soon, Travis and Erik have a lot more planned, based on what they learned last year. They also have experiments in the works that require a long lead time to bring everything together, so again there are probably efforts underway for many of the public's suggestions.

Although Brandon has been very generous in the ranch's technical budget, it must be remembered that the ranch doesn't have a blank check to pick up whatever equipment they desire. This time around, the research isn't being bankrolled by Uncle Sam.
 
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Drones have a habit of malfunctioning on the ranch. Autonomous machines always require rebooting. Additional support staff would probably have to be hired, Erik is the only full-time researcher at the ranch outside of the yearly production shooting schedule.

Remember that what you are watching now actually took place last summer and fall. Much has been going on behind the scenes in the time since, I have no doubts that when season 4 starts shooting soon, Travis and Erik have a lot more planned, based on what they learned last year. They also have experiments in the works that require a long lead time to bring everything together, so again there are probably efforts underway for many of the public's suggestions.

Although Brandon has been very generous in the ranch's technical budget, it must be remembered that the ranch doesn't have a blank check to pick up whatever equipment they desire. This time around, the research isn't being bankrolled by Uncle Sam.
I'm sure that robots would be found shutdown or mysteriously run out of power. (But hopefully not become sentient or start taking commands from some unknown source) However they can also safely gather data within a radioactive area and can run without a lot of supervision.

There is also the question of how and what equipment is affected by odd failure. We don't really know what goes on behind the scenes but it's obvious that there are still cameras running when something fails on the show. I'd be curious to find out how often the TV crew has experienced these equipment issues. It might be a case where a set of hypothetical robots are set up with different monitoring equipment and some may be allowed to passively patrol while others are prevented from carrying out specific tasks.

As for the budget, yes these Boston Dynamics robot dogs are about $70k-$80k each. But I figure that along with the royalties from the show the guy who drives a Lambo and owns an Airbus H130 (which is a very nice $2.5M-$3M helicopter) might be able to pickup a few. There are also other companies making similar robots with different functions, capabilities and price points. I know that there are robot snakes that have been used to wind their way through rubble to aid rescue crews after an earthquake. A collapsed cave system sounds like a perfect environment for these bots as well.

Of course I'm a bit biased because I just love robots.
 
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For some time, I've had an idea of seeing if a spirit can control a drone. If they can manipulate an Ovilus, I'm pretty sure they can fly a drone. Stay tuned.

I would love to see a drone on the ranch suddenly come under the control of something other than the operator, fly up into the anomaly, and disappear, lol. I'll settle for a rocket though. ;)
 
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I'm sure that robots would be found shutdown or mysteriously run out of power. (But hopefully not become sentient or start taking commands from some unknown source) However they can also safely gather data within a radioactive area and can run without a lot of supervision.

There is also the question of how and what equipment is affected by odd failure. We don't really know what goes on behind the scenes but it's obvious that there are still cameras running when something fails on the show. I'd be curious to find out how often the TV crew has experienced these equipment issues. It might be a case where a set of hypothetical robots are set up with different monitoring equipment and some may be allowed to passively patrol while others are prevented from carrying out specific tasks.

As for the budget, yes these Boston Dynamics robot dogs are about $70k-$80k each. But I figure that along with the royalties from the show the guy who drives a Lambo and owns an Airbus H130 (which is a very nice $2.5M-$3M helicopter) might be able to pickup a few. There are also other companies making similar robots with different functions, capabilities and price points. I know that there are robot snakes that have been used to wind their way through rubble to aid rescue crews after an earthquake. A collapsed cave system sounds like a perfect environment for these bots as well.

Of course I'm a bit biased because I just love robots.
Brandon does not accept royalties or money from the show. He has made it clear he wants this to be an independent research.

During the off-time from the program shoots, research does continue at the Ranch and some new sources to keep the info flowing to people have been created. First is the FB page run by Ryan Skinner. Several of the staff at the ranch have posted there and you can even post your own questions there.

Second is the SkinWalker-Ranch.com site, which is trying to keep info up to date for people. Now, this site does offer an "insider" option as well, which I am considering joining, but they do try to post info for those not doing the paid option.

 
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Brandon does not accept royalties or money from the show. He has made it clear he wants this to be an independent research.
That's really interesting to hear. One of the issues that people like to bring up is that TV shows like this are entertainment that's bought and paid for by the station who hopes for ratings. Knowing that there is no financial incentive to pander for the camera adds a good chunk of credibility.

Thanks for the link. I never knew just how interested I was in this subject until now.
 
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That's really interesting to hear. One of the issues that people like to bring up is that TV shows like this are entertainment that's bought and paid for by the station who hopes for ratings. Knowing that there is no financial incentive to pander for the camera adds a good chunk of credibility.

Thanks for the link. I never knew just how interested I was in this subject until now.
No problem. Also, Prometheus films as a documentary of events and uses "The Fourth Wall" approach. So they are not allowed to participate in giving input during the filming and we don't get to see how many of their cameras, batteries and equipment does the same as the ones you see the researcher's equipment malfunctioning, although they suffer the same equipment problems.
 
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