Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ex-Googler's startup comes out of stealth with simple, clever robot design

spectrum.ieee.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

81–90 of 387 posts

Re: Ex-Googler's startup comes out of stealth with simple, clever robot design

#81

Post by Cthulhu_ »

russellbeattie wrote: post #69
nick0garvey wrote: post #30

The idea of it being controlled by a remote person makes me feel like a new breed of gig-jobs could be around the corner. Buy a robot, and pay someone remotely to do your housekeeping for you. The housekeeper could even operate it from their smartphones.

Actually, I imagine these robots connected to video game consoles so people with OCD from around the world can compete to see who can clean and organize real houses faster or more efficiently... Who needs a gig economy when you can gameify it!

Is that what Human Viscera Cleanup was training us for?

Re: Ex-Googler's startup comes out of stealth with simple, clever robot design

#82

Post by Cthulhu_ »

ragebol wrote: post #25

Mobile base with a long stick on top, camera on top of the stick and arm moving up and down the the stick: I'd say that's a proven design featured in many custom-built robots for RoboCup@Home. This has some potential.

I just don't know why it's costing 20K. Maybe because it's not mass-produced?

Re: Ex-Googler's startup comes out of stealth with simple, clever robot design

#84

Post by Cthulhu_ »

lnsru wrote: post #38

Robots have a big problem - price tag. Research robot for $18k, Spot for $75k, single robot arm moving stuff from A to B - $50k+. How many organizations can afford that? No wonder, that robot adoption is extremely slow.

It's because they're specialist gear for generic purposes; if they discover a problem that can be solved by automation, they'll invent and mass produce a machine for a singular task (reading other comments, think of dishwashers and washing machines. They're robots for a specific task, price-optimized down to the $250 - $1000 price range)

Re: Ex-Googler's startup comes out of stealth with simple, clever robot design

#85

Post by petra »

lnsru wrote: post #38

Robots have a big problem - price tag. Research robot for $18k, Spot for $75k, single robot arm moving stuff from A to B - $50k+. How many organizations can afford that? No wonder, that robot adoption is extremely slow.

There are companies renting robot labor by the hour(or per work done). It often comes out cheaper than hiring a person.

Re: Ex-Googler's startup comes out of stealth with simple, clever robot design

#86

Post by cosmodisk »

spyckie2 wrote: post #26

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 think at this point, if there was a robot capable of doing this, it would also drive my kid to school,walk the dog,and even do the dishes on its spare time. Instead we get a tall clothe hanger on a motorised base.

Re: Ex-Googler's startup comes out of stealth with simple, clever robot design

#87

Post by netcan »

onion2k wrote: post #28
spyckie2 wrote: post #26

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…

This is what a 10 year old would want a robot for.

That isn't necessarily a bad frame for "what a cool robot should do" ideas.

Re: Ex-Googler's startup comes out of stealth with simple, clever robot design

#88

Post by harperlee »

manigandham wrote: post #67
spyckie2 wrote: post #26

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…

The base can be redesigned and replaced to be more capable, or more customized to the environment it works in. Attaching some Segway bits would work.

It will still be a base. Awesome thing about legs is they can step way out of the equilibrium point thus creating a huge leverage for e.g. pulling or holding heavy things.

Re: Ex-Googler's startup comes out of stealth with simple, clever robot design

#89

Post by edf13 »

mleonhard wrote: post #57

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…

Interesting point - did Google delay robotics by 4 years.

How many other areas are also effected by this 4 year lock-in period...

Post reply on HN