I did not know this technology was so far advanced

[glondor]

Fantastic and kinda spooky vid showcasing Flex Pickers. I didn't know what they were either.

http://video.stumbleupon.com/#p=d3zf25dmju

 

[Kurdt]

mmmm pain au chocolade.

 

[Cyrus]

Very cool.

Robot dog:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5349770802105160028&q=robot+dog&total=2201&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

This is why I do controls engineering.

 

[G01]

Wow I never though muffin organization could be so cool...Does this make me a nerd?

 

[Poop-Loops]

I love muffins.

 

[Math Is Hard]

Very cool.

Robot dog:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5349770802105160028&q=robot+dog&total=2201&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

This is why I do controls engineering.

You just want to test how it recovers when it jumps from a speeding car.

 

[Poop-Loops]

Here's a more recent video of Big Dog:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=W1czBcnX1Ww

 

[edward]

How it's Made a program on the Discovery Channel shows all kinds of robotic manufacturing technology. There are a lot of videos from the program on Youtube. Sometimes it is more interesting to watch something that is still hand made.

 

[Mk]

This one's pretty cool:

"Self-assembling self-replicating robots"

 

[edward]

This one's pretty cool:

"Self-assembling self-replicating robots"

Can they make cookies?

 

[Poop-Loops]

Sort of off topic, but if I get a bachelors in physics, can I still end up working on robots or AI? I am still really interested in that, but not sure what to do if I want to pursue that further.

 

[Moonbear]

Seems kind of inefficient to me. I mean, they package those nice yummy chocolate muffins with the boring chocolate chip ones...what a waste.

(I noticed a few sausages escaping earlier in the video too.)

 

[bassplayer142]

You would definitely like the tv show how its made. The title is self explanatory.

 

[Math Is Hard]

The sausage picking was kinda scary. I had this image of a company office party. Drunken coworkers sneak off to the assembly line room for a romantic interlude. Long story short: naked man + accidentally activated sausage picker. I'll leave the resulting newspaper headline to your imaginations.

 

[Poop-Loops]

I am pretty sure that the machines are very gentle. I mean, the muffins and sausages aren't damaged.

 

[Math Is Hard]

I am pretty sure that the machines are very gentle. I mean, the muffins and sausages aren't damaged.

One hopes!

 

[Mk]

Sort of off topic, but if I get a bachelors in physics, can I still end up working on robots or AI? I am still really interested in that, but not sure what to do if I want to pursue that further.

If you have a passion for something and you're intelligent, you can end up doing it. If you want to be designing robots or AI though, that sounds like computer science and programming.

 

[Poop-Loops]

and you're intelligent

Damn.

 

[Math Is Hard]

Poop, do they have any AI classes at your school? Could you fit one into your schedule just to try it out?

 

[Integral]

Seems kind of inefficient to me. I mean, they package those nice yummy chocolate muffins with the boring chocolate chip ones...what a waste.

(I noticed a few sausages escaping earlier in the video too.)

I would suspect that the vision system detected some flaw, making them unsuitable for packaging, those must be headed for the recycle line.

 

[Integral]

Sort of off topic, but if I get a bachelors in physics, can I still end up working on robots or AI? I am still really interested in that, but not sure what to do if I want to pursue that further.

Be careful, you may get what you ask for. I work with robots, I have a BS in physics. HOWEVER, you do not need a Physics, or any other degree. Most of the people I work with have AA's in electronics.

I think that, for the most part, you would find industrial robots to be pretty boring.

Now the vision system that directs those muffin and sausage graping robots must be something to behold. All our vision system does is find a small circle, we have trouble keeping them going reliably. I cannot imagine what it takes to teach a vision system to recognize a bad muffin as different from a good one.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Now the vision system that directs those muffin and sausage graping robots must be something to behold. All our vision system does is find a small circle, we have trouble keeping them going reliably. I cannot imagine what it takes to teach a vision system to recognize a bad muffin as different from a good one.

Not really a big deal: Size parameters and color.

But, in these sorts of applications the strategy can very complicated. In some systems that I've worked with where the product stream is highly irregular, the system had to scan the field and determine the sequence needed to catch all product before it passes the work zone. I have worked on applications where there is a Ph.D. that does nothing but these sorts of calculations - the salesman problem, I guess.

 

[Mk]

Poop, do they have any AI classes at your school?

So we're calling him Poop now?

 

[Math Is Hard]

So we're calling him Poop now?

Excuse me. Mr. Loops, I meant to say.

 

[BobG]

Seems kind of inefficient to me. I mean, they package those nice yummy chocolate muffins with the boring chocolate chip ones...what a waste.

(I noticed a few sausages escaping earlier in the video too.)

I was kind of thinking that, myself. Packaging the chocolate with the chocolate chip ones is okay, but they should program in some imperfections using a Gaussian distribution. A little less perfect robot that sometimes packaged 3 chocolate with one chocolate chip or 3 choc chip with 1 chocolate would be nice. And being able to find a rare all chocolate one or an all chocolate chip one would be a great find!

(And I'm not sure the escaping sausages were flawed, since the escaping ones were always located about the same location on the belt. Edit: Actually, that's not true. Once way over on the left got skipped, too. I think it's because there was no room on the belt the sausages were being placed on. Too many sausages were on the belt in too short of a time.)

 

[Integral]

I was kind of thinking that, myself. Packaging the chocolate with the chocolate chip ones is okay, but they should program in some imperfections using a Gaussian distribution. A little less perfect robot that sometimes packaged 3 chocolate with one chocolate chip or 3 choc chip with 1 chocolate would be nice. And being able to find a rare all chocolate one or an all chocolate chip one would be a great find!

(And I'm not sure the escaping sausages were flawed, since the escaping ones were always located about the same location on the belt. Edit: Actually, that's not true. Once way over on the left got skipped, too. I think it's because there was no room on the belt the sausages were being placed on. Too many sausages were on the belt in too short of a time.)

My money stays on skipped for a reason. Whatever, the end result is still the recycle line.

 

[Schrodinger's Dog]

Nice soon they will replace all workers and free us up to do more important things, like watching tv and using the internet and reading and stuff.

Work both absorbs and degrades the mind.

Socrates I think?

Although I doubt he was thinking of particle physics or advanced neurosurgery.

 

[Poop-Loops]

Excuse me. Mr. Loops, I meant to say.

I hope to be Dr. Loops some day. :grin:

I'll be taking more Comp Sci classes next year when I have my GRE out of the way. Just labs and electives. I'll try to get into an AI class then.

Be careful, you may get what you ask for. I work with robots, I have a BS in physics. HOWEVER, you do not need a Physics, or any other degree. Most of the people I work with have AA's in electronics.

I think that, for the most part, you would find industrial robots to be pretty boring.

Yeah, I suppose I am being caught up in the 1% of robotics that pushes the edge (like military, Asimo, or those cube things) and forgetting that 99% is pretty mundane, but vital, applications like assembly line robots.

 

[Mk]

That's why studying computer science and then knowing a friend can get you straight to the top.