PlasticnoodleThe Shiny Part Of My Brain!Guitar Playing Machine, From Georgia Tech- July 13, 2005 Crazy J Guitar Playing Machine This made the rounds late last week, but since it's in Georgia, and it's about robotics, well, I'm giving myself license to do a "me too" post and take a look at this pretty neat project. It's a combination of a MIDI sequencer and a series of mechanical solenoids, levers, "pluckers" and "fingertips" which, when pressed in combination, make the guitar emit sound. The MIDI sequence is fed into a microcontroller, which then is used to press or pluck as needed. The.http://www.plasticnoodle.com/archives/000759.html Robot Makes 200-mile Autonomous Run- July 13, 2005 Carnegie Mellon's Sandstorm Robot Makes Unprecedented 200-mile Autonomous Run Now how's this for impressive Carnegie Mellon's robot for the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge was put to a test run, and went 200 miles in seven hours without a driver. Speaks volumes about this year's entries, really -- from a "no one finished" to a real race in only a couple of years is downright astounding. The drive was an endurance evaluation for the robot's computers, sensors and mechanical systems. The machine...http://www.plasticnoodle.com/archives/000758.html An Interview with Steve Bartman- July 10, 2005 Searching for Bartman via MetaFilter This story was fascinating. During the 2003 Baseball season, Steve Bartman caught a ball and gained a run for the opposing team, keeping the Cubs once again from the World Series. Suddenly a pariah in Chicago -- and reviled and tortured by Cubs fans -- he basically disappeared from view. In this article, an ESPN reporter goes in search of Steve Bartman, and finds him... "Steve," I tell him, "I've got one thing before I leave. Regardless of what I do for a..http://www.plasticnoodle.com/archives/000757.html Teasing Wal-Mart- July 10, 2005 Why so nervous about robots, Wal-Mart via Engadget Oh, this is just funny. An article on News.com mentions that Wal-mart seems to be investing in robotics... which then prompted the following interesting exchange: As soon as I mentioned robots, Gallagher seemed eager to end the call. "We are not looking into robots in any way, shape or form," she said abruptly. I tried probing for more, but she had nothing further to offer. Not surprisingly, Wal-mart probably doesn't want to even imagine that.http://www.plasticnoodle.com/archives/000756.html |