Comments on: Drones toss and catch inverted pendulum http://boingboing.net/2013/02/21/drones-toss-and-catch-inverted.html Brain candy for Happy Mutants Mon, 20 May 2013 05:33:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 By: cellocgw http://boingboing.net/2013/02/21/drones-toss-and-catch-inverted.html#comment-1663729 cellocgw Sat, 23 Feb 2013 18:30:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=214585#comment-1663729 Yeah, but all hilarity aside,  those 'flame-retardant' chemicals are not.   The whole thing was a scam perpetrated by the tobacco industries to pull attention away from people who died from smoking while falling asleep.  http://media.apps.chicagotribune.com/flames/index.html Yeah, but all hilarity aside,  those ‘flame-retardant’ chemicals are not.   The whole thing was a scam perpetrated by the tobacco industries to pull attention away from people who died from smoking while falling asleep.  http://media.apps.chicagotribune.com/flames/index.html

]]> By: Finnagain http://boingboing.net/2013/02/21/drones-toss-and-catch-inverted.html#comment-1662842 Finnagain Fri, 22 Feb 2013 18:03:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=214585#comment-1662842 Or more than three ounces of any liquid. Or more than three ounces of any liquid.

]]> By: Scott Rose http://boingboing.net/2013/02/21/drones-toss-and-catch-inverted.html#comment-1662838 Scott Rose Fri, 22 Feb 2013 18:00:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=214585#comment-1662838 Look out Cirque du Soleil. Pretty cool, at least until you envision one of these things chasing you with a box cutter. Look out Cirque du Soleil. Pretty cool, at least until you envision one of these things chasing you with a box cutter.

]]> By: dumbeast http://boingboing.net/2013/02/21/drones-toss-and-catch-inverted.html#comment-1662810 dumbeast Fri, 22 Feb 2013 17:41:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=214585#comment-1662810 Wait did it just fart @ 1:34? Wait did it just fart @ 1:34?

]]> By: mindfu http://boingboing.net/2013/02/21/drones-toss-and-catch-inverted.html#comment-1662755 mindfu Fri, 22 Feb 2013 16:18:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=214585#comment-1662755  Just picture the ball as one of our heads and it all comes into focus...  Just picture the ball as one of our heads and it all comes into focus…

]]> By: Felton / Moderator http://boingboing.net/2013/02/21/drones-toss-and-catch-inverted.html#comment-1662733 Felton / Moderator Fri, 22 Feb 2013 15:52:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=214585#comment-1662733 That's how we'll beat the machines, by distracting them with games of catch, just like they've distracted us with videos of cats. That’s how we’ll beat the machines, by distracting them with games of catch, just like they’ve distracted us with videos of cats.

]]> By: planettom http://boingboing.net/2013/02/21/drones-toss-and-catch-inverted.html#comment-1662701 planettom Fri, 22 Feb 2013 15:00:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=214585#comment-1662701 quadrocopter1: "Shall we decide the humans' fate in a microsecond?" quadrocopter2: "Naw, let's toss this thing around some more!" quadrocopter1: “Shall we decide the humans’ fate in a microsecond?”
quadrocopter2: “Naw, let’s toss this thing around some more!”

]]> By: Dan Metcalf http://boingboing.net/2013/02/21/drones-toss-and-catch-inverted.html#comment-1662700 Dan Metcalf Fri, 22 Feb 2013 14:58:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=214585#comment-1662700 They've been signed up to Cirque Du Soleil for a six figure sum. Expect to see them playing vegas in  2013 They’ve been signed up to Cirque Du Soleil for a six figure sum. Expect to see them playing vegas in  2013

]]> By: Nathan Hornby http://boingboing.net/2013/02/21/drones-toss-and-catch-inverted.html#comment-1662648 Nathan Hornby Fri, 22 Feb 2013 13:23:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=214585#comment-1662648 oh god they're more organised than us! oh god they’re more organised than us!

]]> By: Tadas Jelinek http://boingboing.net/2013/02/21/drones-toss-and-catch-inverted.html#comment-1662632 Tadas Jelinek Fri, 22 Feb 2013 12:55:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=214585#comment-1662632 Heyyy.. Maybe someone should start a robot circus where robots would perform instead of animals? Double inverted pendulum trick looks rather neat too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HDDzKxNMEY Heyyy.. Maybe someone should start a robot circus where robots would perform instead of animals?

Double inverted pendulum trick looks rather neat too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HDDzKxNMEY

]]> By: Stephan J. Müller http://boingboing.net/2013/02/21/drones-toss-and-catch-inverted.html#comment-1662591 Stephan J. Müller Fri, 22 Feb 2013 10:29:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=214585#comment-1662591 some credit to the ETH Zurich would be nice… some credit to the ETH Zurich would be nice…

]]> By: SmokingHeartDesigns http://boingboing.net/2013/02/21/drones-toss-and-catch-inverted.html#comment-1662560 SmokingHeartDesigns Fri, 22 Feb 2013 08:56:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=214585#comment-1662560 Can they play pool? Can they play pool?

]]> By: allotrope http://boingboing.net/2013/02/21/drones-toss-and-catch-inverted.html#comment-1662548 allotrope Fri, 22 Feb 2013 08:10:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=214585#comment-1662548  Droney says you have nothing to worry about. The reasons why are of course classified.  Droney says you have nothing to worry about. The reasons why are of course classified.

]]> By: ldobe http://boingboing.net/2013/02/21/drones-toss-and-catch-inverted.html#comment-1662540 ldobe Fri, 22 Feb 2013 07:48:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=214585#comment-1662540 When hasn't calculus been cool?  All the cool kids these days are on their skateboards or throwing their footballs, or figuring out the lengths of shorelines (I had a shoreline-calculating-heavy textbook in high school calculus.) When hasn’t calculus been cool?  All the cool kids these days are on their skateboards or throwing their footballs, or figuring out the lengths of shorelines (I had a shoreline-calculating-heavy textbook in high school calculus.)

]]> By: ldobe http://boingboing.net/2013/02/21/drones-toss-and-catch-inverted.html#comment-1662538 ldobe Fri, 22 Feb 2013 07:44:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=214585#comment-1662538 @boingboing-dba13d1fac2d5327964cbf74122e5460:disqus oops XD Little brain fart. @boingboing-dba13d1fac2d5327964cbf74122e5460:disqus

oops XD

Little brain fart.

]]> By: rob_cornelius http://boingboing.net/2013/02/21/drones-toss-and-catch-inverted.html#comment-1662536 rob_cornelius Fri, 22 Feb 2013 07:26:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=214585#comment-1662536  thats the James Bond theme... but still damn impressive  thats the James Bond theme… but still damn impressive

]]> By: ldobe http://boingboing.net/2013/02/21/drones-toss-and-catch-inverted.html#comment-1662517 ldobe Fri, 22 Feb 2013 06:21:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=214585#comment-1662517 @boingboing-096f32c997988c54d6d7c09ff0be4d32:disqus Oh, I'd say it's inevitable that these little guys will eventually be able to do all these tricks autonomously.  But I don't think it's going to happen before the next election.  As far as I've seen, (and I could be wrong by now) these little helicopters aren't doing any processing on their own.  They have a server rack doing all the motion capture, image and video analysis, and all the flight control and the learning algos to hone their accuracy.  And these copters are just the moving pieces they dedicate large amounts of hardware to control. @boingboing-096f32c997988c54d6d7c09ff0be4d32:disqus Oh, I’d say it’s inevitable that these little guys will eventually be able to do all these tricks autonomously.  But I don’t think it’s going to happen before the next election.  As far as I’ve seen, (and I could be wrong by now) these little helicopters aren’t doing any processing on their own.  They have a server rack doing all the motion capture, image and video analysis, and all the flight control and the learning algos to hone their accuracy.  And these copters are just the moving pieces they dedicate large amounts of hardware to control.

]]> By: Donald Petersen http://boingboing.net/2013/02/21/drones-toss-and-catch-inverted.html#comment-1662480 Donald Petersen Fri, 22 Feb 2013 04:43:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=214585#comment-1662480 Yeah, I get all that.  Is the point that these won't be able to navigate an environment unassisted by external mocap equipment anytime soon? 'Cause I don't believe that.  When Mr Olsen said <blockquote>how crazy it would be get these things to be aware of their position without help.</blockquote> I assumed he meant difficult and prohibitively complicated.  Seems to me it's just a question of miniaturizing and optimizing existing terrain-navigation algorithms and such.  No, I can't do it.  But my ignorant ass predicts we'll see completely self-contained dronebots that <b>are</b> fully aware of their position well before the next big election. Or maybe we won't actually see them. (Never mind guys, I'm talking out that selfsame ignorant ass anyway.) Yeah, I get all that.  Is the point that these won’t be able to navigate an environment unassisted by external mocap equipment anytime soon?

‘Cause I don’t believe that.  When Mr Olsen said

how crazy it would be get these things to be aware of their position without help.

I assumed he meant difficult and prohibitively complicated.  Seems to me it’s just a question of miniaturizing and optimizing existing terrain-navigation algorithms and such.  No, I can’t do it.  But my ignorant ass predicts we’ll see completely self-contained dronebots that are fully aware of their position well before the next big election.

Or maybe we won’t actually see them.

(Never mind guys, I’m talking out that selfsame ignorant ass anyway.)

]]> By: ldobe http://boingboing.net/2013/02/21/drones-toss-and-catch-inverted.html#comment-1662470 ldobe Fri, 22 Feb 2013 04:23:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=214585#comment-1662470 Google driverless cars don't have to work with movements that total a centimeter in length.  They also don't accelerate to 35 mph in a second and a half.  Additionally the cars can't move in three dimensions, and they don't invert their orientation through a 360 degree flip (in any normal circumstance). These little quad copters do all of that, and can play <strike>Peter Gunn</strike><a href="http://youtu.be/p2zW7RZ7GZs" rel="nofollow"> the James Bond Theme</a> to boot. Google driverless cars don’t have to work with movements that total a centimeter in length.  They also don’t accelerate to 35 mph in a second and a half.  Additionally the cars can’t move in three dimensions, and they don’t invert their orientation through a 360 degree flip (in any normal circumstance).

These little quad copters do all of that, and can play Peter Gunn the James Bond Theme to boot.

]]> By: Donald Petersen http://boingboing.net/2013/02/21/drones-toss-and-catch-inverted.html#comment-1662430 Donald Petersen Fri, 22 Feb 2013 03:31:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=214585#comment-1662430 Seems if a Googlemobile can drive itself across a crowded continent without help, it won't be too terribly long before a quadcopter drone will be delivering my pizza, photographing me in the bath, and chasing me down the stairwell and down the traffic-filled street. Even rocket science ain't rocket science anymore. Seems if a Googlemobile can drive itself across a crowded continent without help, it won’t be too terribly long before a quadcopter drone will be delivering my pizza, photographing me in the bath, and chasing me down the stairwell and down the traffic-filled street.

Even rocket science ain’t rocket science anymore.

]]> By: Preston Sturges http://boingboing.net/2013/02/21/drones-toss-and-catch-inverted.html#comment-1662399 Preston Sturges Fri, 22 Feb 2013 02:55:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=214585#comment-1662399  And, in related news, calculus is now cool.  And, in related news, calculus is now cool.

]]> By: copperwatt http://boingboing.net/2013/02/21/drones-toss-and-catch-inverted.html#comment-1662392 copperwatt Fri, 22 Feb 2013 02:45:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=214585#comment-1662392 Al-Qaida will save us all someday: http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/_international/_pdfs/al-qaida-papers-drones.pdf (TL;DR: Water lifting dynamo and a 30ft copper pole apparently does the trick) Al-Qaida will save us all someday: http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/_international/_pdfs/al-qaida-papers-drones.pdf

(TL;DR: Water lifting dynamo and a 30ft copper pole apparently does the trick)

]]> By: theophrastvs http://boingboing.net/2013/02/21/drones-toss-and-catch-inverted.html#comment-1662384 theophrastvs Fri, 22 Feb 2013 02:36:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=214585#comment-1662384  yeah - good point.  but maybe "in the field" you could designate three or four of your enumerable drones to serve as the external motion-capture references?  yeah – good point.  but maybe “in the field” you could designate three or four of your enumerable drones to serve as the external motion-capture references?

]]> By: austinhamman http://boingboing.net/2013/02/21/drones-toss-and-catch-inverted.html#comment-1662369 austinhamman Fri, 22 Feb 2013 02:20:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=214585#comment-1662369  oh a few orders of magnitude in precision.  oh a few orders of magnitude in precision.

]]> By: Boundegar http://boingboing.net/2013/02/21/drones-toss-and-catch-inverted.html#comment-1662370 Boundegar Fri, 22 Feb 2013 02:20:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=214585#comment-1662370 I dunno, man, I've never seen them catching the caber. I dunno, man, I’ve never seen them catching the caber.

]]> By: austinhamman http://boingboing.net/2013/02/21/drones-toss-and-catch-inverted.html#comment-1662364 austinhamman Fri, 22 Feb 2013 02:18:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=214585#comment-1662364  yeah but the killer robots don't care if the humans also get cancer.  yeah but the killer robots don’t care if the humans also get cancer.

]]> By: Donald Petersen http://boingboing.net/2013/02/21/drones-toss-and-catch-inverted.html#comment-1662343 Donald Petersen Fri, 22 Feb 2013 02:06:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=214585#comment-1662343 How crazy?  I'm no roboticist, but how big a stretch is GPS and an altimeter? How crazy?  I’m no roboticist, but how big a stretch is GPS and an altimeter?

]]> By: Stephen Olsen http://boingboing.net/2013/02/21/drones-toss-and-catch-inverted.html#comment-1662325 Stephen Olsen Fri, 22 Feb 2013 01:40:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=214585#comment-1662325 I know it's not the point... but these things have no actual knowledge of their absolute position. Their position is tracked with a mocap system. It doesn't make it any less impressive... but it does make you realize just how crazy it would be get these things to be aware of their position without help. I know it’s not the point… but these things have no actual knowledge of their absolute position. Their position is tracked with a mocap system. It doesn’t make it any less impressive… but it does make you realize just how crazy it would be get these things to be aware of their position without help.

]]> By: dermot heaney http://boingboing.net/2013/02/21/drones-toss-and-catch-inverted.html#comment-1662311 dermot heaney Fri, 22 Feb 2013 01:23:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=214585#comment-1662311 they'll be tossing us around like that one day...! they’ll be tossing us around like that one day…!

]]> By: Vinnie Tesla http://boingboing.net/2013/02/21/drones-toss-and-catch-inverted.html#comment-1662287 Vinnie Tesla Fri, 22 Feb 2013 00:59:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=214585#comment-1662287  Tell you what--when they make me Grand Vizer of North America, I'll give you Delaware.  Tell you what–when they make me Grand Vizer of North America, I’ll give you Delaware.

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