3 ms·

Robots are being applied as fast as (i) they really work, and (ii) they make economic sense. Precise, powerful mechanical actuation is really expensive. High q

Robots are being applied as fast as (i) they really work, and (ii) they make economic sense. Precise, powerful mechanical actuation is really expensive. High quality motors use expensive rare-earth magnets and require very accurate manufacturing. Right now, only very valuable manipulation tasks can justify using a robot. Hence, robots built most of my car, but I take out my own trash. Non-physical AI stuff will catch on much faster than robots. edit: The exception is clever things like Roomba, where the mechanical parts are dirt cheap, and the robot's behaviour compensates for its lack of precision. Neat.

Houshalter 12y ago
I wonder if using imprecise motors would be acceptable with sufficient AI. So it could account for errors and imprecision in it's movement.
- robotresearcher 12y ago
  Example project partly motivated by that idea: http://cswww.essex.ac.uk/staff/owen/machine/cronos.html http://cswww.essex.ac.uk/staff/owen/machine/cronos.html (no affiliation)
krasin 12y ago
I only partially agree. Just recently, pretty decent stepper motors have become very cheap (~$6 for NEMA-17), thx to all this 3d printer boom, and lots of things are now finally possible to implement on a budget. But I agree that good servos with high torque are still super-expensive.
- robotresearcher 12y ago
  Some manipulation tasks require force control, too.
  - krasin 12y ago
    Surprisingly, this is also getting solved. For example, there're demos of self-calibrating cheap Delta robots which use force sensors on the plate: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/deltabot/6fxnM20nYKc https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/deltabot/6fxnM20nYKc Sure, it's not yet there, but with the space of feasible is growing fast.
    - robotresearcher 12y ago
      I'm not an expert on 3D printing, but it looks like this uses force sensing to make sure the effector velocity vector is nicely parallel to the position of the base plate. The effector is not exerting any force on an object. So it's velocity control not (the more demanding) force control. Let me know if I have misunderstood what's happening here.
      - krasin 12y ago
        You're right, I was slightly off in my example.

Houshalter 12y ago

I wonder if using imprecise motors would be acceptable with sufficient AI. So it could account for errors and imprecision in it's movement.

robotresearcher 12y ago
Example project partly motivated by that idea: http://cswww.essex.ac.uk/staff/owen/machine/cronos.html http://cswww.essex.ac.uk/staff/owen/machine/cronos.html (no affiliation)

krasin 12y ago

I only partially agree. Just recently, pretty decent stepper motors have become very cheap (~$6 for NEMA-17), thx to all this 3d printer boom, and lots of things are now finally possible to implement on a budget. But I agree that good servos with high torque are still super-expensive.

robotresearcher 12y ago
Some manipulation tasks require force control, too.
- krasin 12y ago
  Surprisingly, this is also getting solved. For example, there're demos of self-calibrating cheap Delta robots which use force sensors on the plate: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/deltabot/6fxnM20nYKc https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/deltabot/6fxnM20nYKc Sure, it's not yet there, but with the space of feasible is growing fast.
  - robotresearcher 12y ago
    I'm not an expert on 3D printing, but it looks like this uses force sensing to make sure the effector velocity vector is nicely parallel to the position of the base plate. The effector is not exerting any force on an object. So it's velocity control not (the more demanding) force control. Let me know if I have misunderstood what's happening here.
    - krasin 12y ago
      You're right, I was slightly off in my example.