391–400 of 432 posts
I wrote a layoff database for Nortel Networks from ~1998 to 2001. The way I got my notice of termination was while I was running some tests on the production database and needed a "negative" so I searched for a userid that was not present in the database: my own. When I saw my name in the list I called my manager and asked him what was going on. He said "Alex, why don't you head on home for the day and I'll call you…
Since many of these robots use ultrasound locators based on echolocation to find other robots, we want to eliminate those from detecting us. One of the strategies we wanted to try, was to generate sound at the right frequency ourselves, which should completely ruin those sensors, thus making us invisible for no apparent reason.
So I bought a transducer used to clean ships, which was rated for use around the correct frequency. I connected it to a signal generator at an ultrasound frequency and wanted to test its effect on the echo sensor.
Now, I am doing this sitting in a noisy lab with a bunch of noisy instruments, robots whirring and computer fans. Some other people in a corner chatting away.
I put the transducer in front of the distance sensor, set up the program to print the distance measured, turn on the signal generator, and the whole room goes eerie silent.
I turn it off, and luckily the sound comes back immediately. It appears that if you pump 100+ decibels of ultrasound in a room, it actually drowns out other noise! This thing was quite powerful. After all, it was made for cleaning ships from foul.
At that point, I do realise I have no idea whether this is a safe thing to do for my hearing (and that of the audience), and shelve the idea. But I remember the split second where I thought I made myself and everyone else in the room deaf.
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I wonder how long it will be before we can 3-D print a dam in place.
I mean, the novel of 3d printing is that it's just additive construction, don't we already build dams and almost all other structures that way already? A crane is just a bigger print arm :)
You type in your commands and then magic happens and something is build (after a while). Nothing to be done by hand (ideally)
But I would love to play with a fully automated remote controlled printer the size of an crane, though.
But then there should probably be no humans around.
The context is building a robot for a sumo competition in university. By this time I am towards the end of my Phd, and regular strategies don't cut it anymore. We want to show off. Since many of these robots use ultrasound locators based on echolocation to find other robots, we want to eliminate those from detecting us. One of the strategies we wanted to try, was to generate sound at the right frequency ourselves, wh…
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My bachelor's degree is in neurobiology and it would have been very interesting if this was reproducible in other people. Experiencing physical pain from visual stimuli (stimuli unrelated to light intensity, at least) is not something I've ever really heard of. You may have discovered the visual equivalent to the Brown Note.
I know in the past I felt pain while trying to say certain lies. I do not mean I felt uncomfortable, I mean I felt real pain. It is weird, but sometimes you can cause pain without a direct physical cause.
Since the brain and the body are wired up pretty closely - this is not so weird at all.
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Using the analogies above, a drill like that could put the trigger on the awkward handle, forcing the operator to use it
The second handle sometimes needs to be removed to fit into a narrow space. In that case, you set a torque limit and operate the drill with one hand.
The context is building a robot for a sumo competition in university. By this time I am towards the end of my Phd, and regular strategies don't cut it anymore. We want to show off. Since many of these robots use ultrasound locators based on echolocation to find other robots, we want to eliminate those from detecting us. One of the strategies we wanted to try, was to generate sound at the right frequency ourselves, wh…
Did it affect the other people in the room, or were they too far away from it?
Obviously, we did not shelve it right away since there seemed to be no permanent effect. Some people were really creeped out after they had been exposed in my first try. But this is an engineering lab, so soon enough the lab was filled with cowboys wanting to experience it and trying to figure out how it works. Meanwhile, the more safety minded people took a short break and went for some air outside.
We stopped after the professor figured out something odd was going on on his floor.
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> Including the network share of my other computer’s /home. TIL network shares also get deleted in recursive deletions.
Unlike on Windows where each drive has its own letter (so I don't think it's possible to create a path including all drives), in Linux the filesystem originates from "/" and any additional drives or network shares are "mounted" into folders within that parent filesystem, so recursively deleting everything from the parent would also affect everything else.