171–180 of 387 posts
In 2014, I was at Google and went to an open house event at the Google robotics lab in SF. The people I met there were nice. I almost applied for a job there. Then I looked up the person who would have been my boss. He was scowling in his Google profile photo. His LinkedIn showed him as founder of a robotics company, with no mention of Google. He obviously wanted to be the CEO of a robotics company, not a director in…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
This seems a bit harsh. What about an elderly/ill/disabled person, who would love the companionship and would make for a kind and responsible owner, except that they aren't capable of consistently giving the dog sufficient exercise?
I think many dog breeds would outsmart the robot after a while.
In 2014, I was at Google and went to an open house event at the Google robotics lab in SF. The people I met there were nice. I almost applied for a job there. Then I looked up the person who would have been my boss. He was scowling in his Google profile photo. His LinkedIn showed him as founder of a robotics company, with no mention of Google. He obviously wanted to be the CEO of a robotics company, not a director in…
But how does Google force CEOs into a 4 year contract post acquisition?
Sign here:
Kids' chores 2000: Take out the trash, 2 minutes. Kid's chores 2020: Up until 3AM programming the robot to take out the trash. Purchased the robot two weeks ago. Kid only moves to go to sleep. Trash is building up. No other chores are getting done. Chores dashboard is flashing red. Take out trash sprint way overdue.
In the distance: sirens.
Things it can't do: - go up stairs - get up after a fall / reset itself - pick up heavy objects - precise motion (so no cooking) - interact with buttons or touch screens (so laundry might be hard) The one use case I think it might be worth it is if the robot can take a room full of toys and return everything back to where it belongs. Kind of like a one click, reset this room. If it can help me keep organized and clea…
> I'd gladly pay 5k for a robot that can auto-organize my stuff around the house The main equation for general-use household robots is: can it beat human fares? A good weekly cleaner (4 hours) is about €22/h in Paris, or €4.5k/year. Let’s say your robot lives 4 years, similar to your computer (which seems fair, since it is one, and an abused one at that). Since you amortize its price over 4 years, its initial cost mu…
- 4-year robot lifetime is overly pessimistic. If upgrade is not the reason (which has nothing to do with lifetime, it's your choice to upgrade), a robot could last way more than 4-years (especially with right-to-repair laws in place).
- That said, such a robot will most likely be available for less than $21k and very soon in the near future.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I'd gladly pay 5k for a robot that can auto-organize my stuff around the house The main equation for general-use household robots is: can it beat human fares? A good weekly cleaner (4 hours) is about €22/h in Paris, or €4.5k/year. Let’s say your robot lives 4 years, similar to your computer (which seems fair, since it is one, and an abused one at that). Since you amortize its price over 4 years, its initial cost mu…
Or If we get a universal income, the cost of personal cleaners goes way up, and it suddenly makes way more financial sense to automate such routine jobs...
Things it can't do: - go up stairs - get up after a fall / reset itself - pick up heavy objects - precise motion (so no cooking) - interact with buttons or touch screens (so laundry might be hard) The one use case I think it might be worth it is if the robot can take a room full of toys and return everything back to where it belongs. Kind of like a one click, reset this room. If it can help me keep organized and clea…
Lots of washing machines and other household equipment now has APIs, so interacting with buttons or touch screens might not be necessary.
this is very cool. could anyone help break down the costs? specifically: 1. what are the most expensive parts, and how fast is technology advancing (or costs declining) on those parts? 2. what scale is necessary for a comparable robot to retail for < $1000?
- Cameras. I think that's an Intel RealSense on top - Lidar on the base. RPi-Lidar costs a few hundred dollars. - Motors. A bunch of Dynamixels according to the docs, also a couple hundred dollars each - Carbon fiber tubes. No idea what those cost.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The important part is that people know how to do the things - and that the things have to be done - without the equipment. I grew up with a dishwasher, but when I moved out I was without for five years. I didn't end up panicking and just did the manual washing up for five years. I own a house now with a dishwasher; I don't NEED it, but it sure is convenient. Anyway, when it comes to kids picking up their shit, the im…
Anybody can learn how to do housework when and if they need it. Doing it as a child can instill a work ethic which is very useful, but there's no need to train them on how to do it.
I have seen recent college grads go over a year without washing/changing their bed sheets. In one case I found a couple dead bugs under the sheets. It may be pure laziness but in that case they are also feigning ignorance.