MechSkep

5 ms·

1.
by MechSkep 10y ago
Looks good for robotics applications. The power density is comparable to the low end of brushless motors, and it can use hydro-carbon fuels which are about 25 times more energy dense than current batteries. At 3 hp, it might be a reasonable
2.
by MechSkep 11y ago
You've made some good points in this thread about actuation. Can you point me to more info on SCHAFT's actuation strategy? I've been trying to turn up info, but haven't found anything great.
3.
by MechSkep 11y ago
I have a plan for overhauling/replacing Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing. The way it's done now consumes way too much design time, and honestly is a bit silly considering the inputs and outputs of the system. I'd like t
4.
by MechSkep 11y ago
Yep, and it makes sense for Tesla to do this. It's a new product, and the information they collect from maintenance and inspections is going to be invaluable for future revs.
5.
by MechSkep 11y ago
There was no difference between the control experiment and fish exposed to parts made with FDM. Read the article to see how FDM could become toxic/harmful, turns out it didn't.
6.
by MechSkep 11y ago
Very hype heavy article. No mention of Form Labs who is already on the market with a similar product.
7.
by MechSkep 12y ago
So there was a DARPA initiative to do stuff like this back in the 90's/early 2000's: http://archive.darpa.mil/darpatech99/Presentations/dsopdf/ds... Turns out it's easy in controlled envir
8.
by MechSkep 12y ago
After the single lethal attack in 1945: "Several Japanese civilians have visited ... to offer their apologies for the deaths that took place here, and several cherry trees have been planted around the monument as a symbol of peace&quot
9.
by MechSkep 12y ago
I was looking for this workflow for my research, and ended up going with an ipython notebook.
10.
by MechSkep 12y ago
Ah, well here is where I could use some advice. I disagree with the way they have gone about their hardware both in the sensing electronics and the hive box itself. I don't want to go into it here; I'd feel a bit rude criticizing
11.
by MechSkep 12y ago
Weight is another good one, it drives our complexity and cost up but is hugely important. Most extant hive monitoring tools record weight. NASA uses some of these measures to track mass flow rates of nectar.
12.
by MechSkep 12y ago
It's hard to say with CCD being so large and varied. One thing we know is that beehives exposed to certain pesticides [1] are much more likely to collapse. [1] http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/s
13.
by MechSkep 12y ago
We certainly have a microphone. There is such a richness in the sounds a colony produces. Our minimal sensing package also contains temperature and humidity sensing. We're shooting for collecting a labeled data set this coming season t
14.
by MechSkep 12y ago
One of my side projects is building a sensing electronics package to monitor the health and activity of beehives. The idea is to make it easier for someone just starting to maintain their hive. Any one have feedback on the concept? Or featu
15.
by MechSkep 12y ago
Okay... but actual animals do way better: http://www.ted.com/talks/robert_full_the_secrets_of_nature_s... As a rule of thumb, any walking robot that uses servos can't approach the performance of its animal colleag
16.
by MechSkep 13y ago
Neat. Looking forward to it.
17.
by MechSkep 13y ago
This looks great! I'd like to use it to ease up the tech overhead for some mobile robotics applications. Is there anyway that the user's position in the world frame can be accessed? i.e. can this do SLAM over longish distances? Ba
18.
by MechSkep 13y ago
So this has popped up on HN before, and again I would caution that this is snake oil. The sparse technical details they give are misleading, and they still haven't shown that their fiber reinforced parts are anything special.
19.
by MechSkep 13y ago
Kinda disappointed the total emphasis is on him being a "hell of a good pilot" instead of the control engineers who allowed the plane to compensate for losing a wing. There's no way that plane would have stayed in the air wit
20.
by MechSkep 13y ago
Where did you get that yield stress number? Is it from that graph with Aluminum and the plastics? Because that graph shows modulus(stiffness), not strength. Which is pretty hinky when placed next to the statements about strength. Looks to b
21.
by MechSkep 13y ago
I'm skeptical too, but don't count it out because the fibers aren't woven together. The weaving is not where the strength comes from, and it's usually not omnidirectional. If this machine can set the wrap angle, and buil
22.
by MechSkep 13y ago
Does this even work? It's just an IR detector, and you can be pretty sure that the sun is a bigger emitter than security spotlights...
23.
by MechSkep 13y ago
I did my undergrad with Jon Clark! Great guy. It's cool to see a few bio-robotics people on HN
24.
by MechSkep 13y ago
Great! How far does the book go in terms of advanced approaches? Up to the current state of research?
25.
by MechSkep 13y ago
What about convolutional neural nets? They weren't mentioned, but that's really what most of the deep learning approaches use...
26.
by MechSkep 13y ago
This is interesting because they could potentially avoid the thermal expansion problem that would otherwise sink the hyperloop. Carbon fiber has a negative coefficient of thermal expansion in its axial direction, and you can pair it with a
27.
by MechSkep 13y ago
This is the second worst application of the "animal-inspired" moniker that I have seen. Nike calling their sneakers "bio-inspired" because they had leopard spots on them was the worst.
28.
by MechSkep 13y ago
Shall we not forget the MIT cheetah: http://biomimetics.mit.edu:8100/wordpress/ I like the design much better than BD's weighty quadrupeds.
29.
by MechSkep 13y ago
I agree that it's core research, but it isn't published anywhere. Their control algorithms are not public; even plenary talks from Mark Raibert don't go into the details.
30.
by MechSkep 13y ago
(wheels are fine) I disagree with this. Try constraining yourself to a wheelchair for a week or so, and then tell me nothing can be gained from a good set of legs.

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