Mr Woo's Robots.
Makes you wonder why good robots are so rare yet. This man builds them from junk!
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Alex expounded:
Good robots are so rare?
I guess it depends on you definition of robot. I've seen some pretty awsome robots working production lines, but then a robotic arm looks a little less like a robot, and how much "intelligence" does it have? A lot of these robots are blind, but have a sense of touch.
The more impressive robots are like those bipeds put out by Honda a couple of years ago. To see a bipedal, humanoid robot walk up stairs is quite impressive.
iRobot make domestic robots. They are call Roomba's and are like automated curling stones which clean your floor. iRobot also make military/bomb disposal robots.
It turns out that they are introducing autonomous cars now. There is a trial turnpike in Southern Cal where they are embedding transponders in the road for course guidence and the vehicles are also equipped with adaptive cruise control (forward looking range finder, typically radar to govern headway).
More impressive robot cars are the ones raced in Nevada every year. These things have binocular vision to navigate the terrain. They are raced across the desert, and not on a track.
Home robotics is becoming more accessible. Lego Mindstorms have adopted a more powerful processor, and now have tools from National (ViewLab) which is a WYSIWYG editor, and 3rd party add on's include accelerometers and colour sensors. The older sets could have a video camera, but then became tethered to a PC. I only know two or three people who have scratch built home robots. We'd BS about how they'd do certain things, things that seem so simple like "how can I get it to plug into it's charging station in a way that is cat friendly."
Oh, there are hacks for Roombas out there too, you can mod them to do things other than the random clean patterns. I've heard tell of them being used to play Frogger - which strays into the realm of more money than sense, or urban legend.
One of the most interesting pieces I've read about robots was a chapter in Bradburys "The Silver Locusts" (Martian Chronicles), though Asimov certainly has much to say.
From the video it looked like Mr Woo had a combination of automata, and some seem to be controlled machines. I've seen many automata, be they clockwork or air logic or sequenced motorized critters. Woos automata have an interesting gait, more complex than an old 1950's tin robot with it's interlocking feet.
Ah, to have the time and resources to build something more that a simple trundle that can follow a line.
Robotics is very advanced now, the field I find fascinating are nano-bots.
So, my top fave robots of fiction:-
Maria from Metropolis - best styling.
Huey, Dewey & Louis from "Silent Running" most human non-humanoid robots.
Gort from "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (aka Gnut from "Farewell to the master")
Marvin - the most wretched of souls from the Hitch Hikers Guide.
Data - the Android from Star Trek Next Generation.
I love Mr. Woo (and his long suffering wife!). It's a regular recurrence in the human animal, the backyard tinkerer who neglects the crops ...
ReplyDeleteI think robots of Mr. Woo's complexity are out there being used all the time. Many of the supposedly "machine" actions that we're used to seeing happen "non robotically" are identical to the things that he's created. Just as an example, when you turn a steering wheel in an average automobile, little gears turn against one another and all sorts of other gewgaws operate to transfer the small, human-propelled motion into something quite massive that also doesn't jam the front wheel's suspension. That we don't call this action "a robot" is just nomenclature.
In addition, little self-contained gizmos are regularly used in a lot of non-civilian environments. One thing that makes Mr. Woo's contraptions unappealing for public consumption would be their "klunkiness" (for lack of a better term). Manufacturers tend to prefer a "slick" or "smooth" motion before they'll try to sell it to Joe and Martha McPublic. Klunkiness isn't an issue in outer-space or under-water, where gravity is essentially beside the point, and you'll note that those two locations are more heavy on robot-friendly productivity than most.
Now if only I could get a robot that would bring Francoise Hardy over here to sing for me ... :) ...
God you're dumb, final identity. You must think to yourself: Why say in a few words what I can say in 200? You're the type who thinks they're smart, but you aren't.
ReplyDeleteWow. I got an admirer ... :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, you're really racking in the fan letters today.
ReplyDeleteGood robots are so rare?
ReplyDeleteI guess it depends on you definition of robot. I've seen some pretty awsome robots working production lines, but then a robotic arm looks a little less like a robot, and how much "intelligence" does it have? A lot of these robots are blind, but have a sense of touch.
The more impressive robots are like those bipeds put out by Honda a couple of years ago. To see a bipedal, humanoid robot walk up stairs is quite impressive.
iRobot make domestic robots. They are call Roomba's and are like automated curling stones which clean your floor. iRobot also make military/bomb disposal robots.
It turns out that they are introducing autonomous cars now. There is a trial turnpike in Southern Cal where they are embedding transponders in the road for course guidence and the vehicles are also equipped with adaptive cruise control (forward looking range finder, typically radar to govern headway).
More impressive robot cars are the ones raced in Nevada every year. These things have binocular vision to navigate the terrain. They are raced across the desert, and not on a track.
Home robotics is becoming more accessible. Lego Mindstorms have adopted a more powerful processor, and now have tools from National (ViewLab) which is a WYSIWYG editor, and 3rd party add on's include accelerometers and colour sensors. The older sets could have a video camera, but then became tethered to a PC. I only know two or three people who have scratch built home robots. We'd BS about how they'd do certain things, things that seem so simple like "how can I get it to plug into it's charging station in a way that is cat friendly."
Oh, there are hacks for Roombas out there too, you can mod them to do things other than the random clean patterns. I've heard tell of them being used to play Frogger - which strays into the realm of more money than sense, or urban legend.
One of the most interesting pieces I've read about robots was a chapter in Bradburys "The Silver Locusts" (Martian Chronicles), though Asimov certainly has much to say.
From the video it looked like Mr Woo had a combination of automata, and some seem to be controlled machines. I've seen many automata, be they clockwork or air logic or sequenced motorized critters. Woos automata have an interesting gait, more complex than an old 1950's tin robot with it's interlocking feet.
Ah, to have the time and resources to build something more that a simple trundle that can follow a line.
Robotics is very advanced now, the field I find fascinating are nano-bots.
So, my top fave robots of fiction:-
Maria from Metropolis - best styling.
Huey, Dewey & Louis from "Silent Running" most human non-humanoid robots.
Gort from "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (aka Gnut from "Farewell to the master")
Marvin - the most wretched of souls from the Hitch Hikers Guide.
Data - the Android from Star Trek Next Generation.
Oh, do I have to insult anyone, or is inane waffling enough?
I think that insulter-robot is pretty interesting. :)
ReplyDeleteOne thing I found interesting about Marvin in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was that he repeatedly remarked that he had a "brain the size of a planet," and everyone ignored him.
ReplyDeleteGiven that the planet Earth was a computer built to calculate the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything, I've always wondered felt that Marvin never got enough respect.
The connection between earth and Marvin's brain is never otherwise remarked upon in the books.
Marvin does claim to be able to see inside Arthur's mind and read the answer. This was on the black ship, though I can't remember if that was in the book, the LP, the TV or the Radio version. Was the black ship the admirals ship, or Disaster Area's ship?
ReplyDeleteDisaster Area.
ReplyDeleteI think it was in "The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe".
"The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe"?
ReplyDeleteThat's a bit of a long way to go for lunch...
It gets worse: it's meant in the temporal sense, so you need a special vehicle to go.
ReplyDeleteIn "Fit the Fifth/Sixth" The black ship belongs to a Haggunenon admiral. So that would mean that in Restaurant the black ship belonged to Disaster Area. I seem to remember in the TV series too it was DA's ship. But I can't be bothered getting the DVD out.
ReplyDeleteI've only got one disaster area song on tape "It's Only The End of The World Again".
I like how you can afford to go to Milliways just by the compound interest on one penny.
Strange thing is how the pub scene got changed for the movie. "What from a fiver" was credible back in 1980, now that'd only get you one pint.
Did we all see the original TV Marvin make his cameo in the movie?