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In Interstellar, how can 60-year-old robots interface with the new Ranger spacecraft?


Correct me if I'm wrong but in the movie the main character due to relativity spends 60+ years away from the rest of the world.


When thay start the journey they take the robots with them.



60 years later that same model and type of robot is able to interface with a new and improved Ranger craft??


Seems to me that the only reason that the spacecraft isn't smaller/sleeker is so that it can accommodate a robot of that particular make and model.


Is this a deliberate hole in the plot by the writers ( so that our hero doesn't go off into the sunset alone ) or is it an oops moment?


EDIT:


What I'm asking is:



  1. Is this a deliberate hole in the plot by the writers?

  2. How can a robot that is 70+ years interact with a new craft?


For 1 I'm interested in real life answers if any exist (post-movie interviews, script edits etc.). For 2 I would like in-universe if possible.




Answer



To answer your questions:



  1. No. It's not plot hole, therefore it's not an intended plot hole.

  2. There's not reason it should not be able to. It interfaces with the spacecraft in the same way it would have 80 years prior.


The aerospace industry today is nowhere near the level it is in Interstellar, yet even today we see far slower progression of communication standards used in this industry.


Spacecraft aren't the same kind of animal as PlayStation games or distributed music. Aerospace conventions change incredibly slowly. GPS satellites have been communicating using the same protocol they have been for decades. The Hubble Space Telescope communicates with the same protocol it did in the 90's, a protocol developed in the 80's.


It is absolutely reasonable to expect a space robot to be able to communicate with a spacecraft 80 years newer than it. It is just as reasonable as it is to plug your new refrigerator into an 80 year old wall outlet, insert a new light-bulb into an 80 year old lamp, or turn on an 80 year old radio and hear your local AM stations.


Also consider that space missions are long, they take a long time. Voyager 2 has been communicating with Earth for 35 years, and it's expected to be doing so for another 10.



What does a can of soup from the 80's have in common with a modern can of soup? Well for one a modern bar-code scanner can still read its ancient UPC code.


In short, it's not a plot hole at all, in fact it's rather realistic.


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