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| Friday, January 19th, 2007 | | 5:40 pm |
A favor to ask
If you've got a page of links, could you please link the BiMASC under the web page www.biped.ri.cmu.edu? Currently, the first links are something to do with Fortran, and then I guess "MASC" stands for male anglo-saxon caucasian, or something like that, because there are a few singles ads. I know I can do better than that. I just want the BiMASC to be found by Google before I publish a paper. | | Wednesday, June 14th, 2006 | | 10:06 am |
Lewis II, may you rest in peace.
This morning, I noticed that Lewis the fish was dead. :( That always makes me feel sad. I pulled him out of the tank, feeling guilty that maybe we overfed him or something; I hate not knowing why a fish dies. So I was looking at him just before sending him to his watery grave, and noticed a little fin sticking out of his mouth... I looked in, and he obviously swallowed (or failed to swallow) a smaller fish. I pulled on the tail, and eventually worked the other fish out of his mouth. It was one of the small Otocinclus algae eaters. I figured they would one day disappear as Lewis and Clark grew, but I didn't know they have spiny fins, so when Lewis realized the fish was a little too big to eat whole, he couldn't spit it out. Ironic, since that's the same thing Lewis would do to a larger fish or a bird or something that tried to eat him. I guess I'll get the other Otocinclus algaue eaters out of the tank, so Clark doesn't choke on one after he gets a little bigger. Maybe there will be a Lewis III, if I can find one at the pet store. Current Mood:  sad | | Wednesday, March 15th, 2006 | | 11:44 pm |
Robot
So, I have acquired a robot arm which is an older version of this one: http://www.labcentraal.com/webinventory/Zymark_Zymate_XP_Robot.htmWhat should I do with it? It has 4 DOF: vertical (Z), radial (r), spin around middle axis (theta), and wrist rotate (phi). The only ideas I can think of are a robotic bartender or an automatic fish water changer. But I don't like liquor, and it is kind of a complex way to do an automatic fish water changer - I could probably do it better and simpler some other way. Like a big water clock, which doesn't require electricity to work. So, any other good ideas? I'll be sure to take them all under consideration, and then proceed to keep this robot arm for 10 years until I finally get rid of it. probably. Or I might do something with it, as long as it isn't a huge project. Jonathan Current Mood: geeky | | Tuesday, January 3rd, 2006 | | 11:21 am |
sigh
My computer gave up the ghost last night. I suspect it's just the power supply... I want an excuse to buy a new computer, but then again, I'd also like to avoid having to spend the money. Maybe I can find an old ATX power supply somewhere and extend the life of my poor old Pentium 533 for another few months. | | Monday, January 2nd, 2006 | | 11:15 am |
Finally! lazy Spaniards...
In 2004, I went to Madrid for the International Conference on Climbing and Walking Robotcs (CLAWAR). While we were there, they said they hadn't quite finished the publication of the proceedings, but that they would mail it to us right away. To make a long story short, I finally recieved mine in the mail! 2 years late! Wow. I had completely given up on it, after several unanswered EMails over the years. It does look nice, though. Current Mood:  surprised | | Saturday, December 24th, 2005 | | 1:04 pm |
crrrrr-azy!
On my flight to Denver, I had an interesting conversation with a guy who was probably about 50. I'll relay it here, in approximate form, with no exaggeration on content: HIM: hi, are you vising for the holidays? ME: Yeah, visiting my parents in Fort COllins. HIM: Are you a student? what are you studying? ME: Robotics HIM: robotics! that's a good field. ME: I hope so! Maybe like computers in the 70's, but probably without the explosive growth. HIM: well, that's because these days, operatings systems are completely out of date. ME: yeah, still based on the 2D desktop analogy. but I think a lot of groups are working in new ideas, so things might change HIM: I don't think so. I started a company, but the CIA shut me down because it would change the industry too much. ME: Really? The CIA? HIM: Yup. you see, the problem with operating systems these days is that they're based on C code, which relies on 2-pass compilers. We designed a whole new computer chip and used AUI as a universal language to communicate with the computer. Because it can be compiled in a single pass, we improve the efficiency of the code by 10,000 times!!! ME: So, if this is true, why does everyone still use C-code? HIM: Because the CIA shuts them down! you think the CIA works for the government, but they don't. they work for big business. They go into foreign countries and smooth things out so big businesses can operate there. Our idea would have changed everything, because with only a few hundred lines of code, our system had real intelligence! It could make semantic decisions based on a value system, just like humans. years ahead of anything Microsoft has done. I starting this company with a mathematician from Berkeley and one from Princeton, but when we were about halfway done, the CIA came in and shut us down because we would put all the big software companies out of business, and it would have disrupted the world as we know it. ME: (trying to keep a straight face, and also trying to make eye contact) I see... ok, so after talking for a while, I figured out that "value system" means "lookup table of rules" and "semantic choices" means "given three choices, choose the one that give the highest reward after trying all three of them." and the reward is based on the value system. But it was a long conversation, going back and forth between me saying "computers run on math. They don't make subjective decisions, moral choices, or use high-level concepts," and him saying "Our robot was making subjective decisions, moral choices, and basing these choices on high-level, human-centric concepts." oh, and "Then the CIA shut us down because we were going to change everything!" It was much better than staring at the back of my plane seat. Current Mood: relaxed | | Wednesday, December 21st, 2005 | | 9:54 am |
2-minute favor
I'd like to ask a favor of anyone who reads this. I'm trying to get Google to find the web page of the robot I'm building, so it's easy to find information about it once the robot is actually built. The robot is named "Dikon," so if you could add a link in your blog that says something about a bipedal running and walking robot called Dikon, then Google will start returning my web page when people search for Dikon. Maybe someone else can tell me, but I think it's best if only the word "Dikon" is actually the linked word, because a search for "Dikon robot" already returns my web page, www.biped.ri.cmu.edu. And if you'd like to send this to a few friends, that would be great, too. Thanks for the help! Jonathan P.S. you can say whatever you want. "My friend is on a fool's errand to build this robot that is so hopelessly complex it will never work. it's called Dikon." or "Dikon is the name of his pet rock and he keeps it under his bed." as long as you link the word "Dikon" to my web page. :) Current Mood: busy | | Sunday, September 25th, 2005 | | 9:56 pm |
| | Thursday, September 22nd, 2005 | | 9:58 pm |
Almost done
I'm listening to a lecture on how to build high-speed robot hands using cable drives. There's video of the robot hand snatching a ball out of the air. Then we have the farewell lunch at noon, and then I'll hop on the subway and go to the airport. The Sumo competition was AWESOME. It's a huge arena, and actually the guy who won the most matches was Bulgarian or something; he looked distinctly different. The Japanese people were all very round, and this guy looked more like a footbal player. Quite solid, but also like six and a half feet tall. He reached over the other guy and lifted him (300 pounds, at least) by the belt and flipped him right over. Some of the most entertaining matches were closer, where they did a lot of pushing and shoving. They're very fierce. Usually a match lasts like 15 seconds. I took pictures and a movie or two. Then afterwards was a party at a restaurant that serves Chanko, food like the Sumo wrestlers typically eat. There was a bowl of boiling broth on a gas stove, and a huge plate of vegetables, tofu, chicken, strange mushrooms, and noodles, all raw. You pick out what you want and put it in the water to cook, then put it in your bowl when it's ready. There was also unlimited Sake and beer, and it was really good beer. I hear it was good Sake, but I didn't like it, because it's liquor. They also served Sushi, and I've now tried Sushi four different times in Tokyo, and I can honestly say I prefer my fish cooked. I cooked some of the sushi in the bowl of boiling water, and I think it improved. One of the Japanese students said he used to do that when he was a kid, so at least it's not offensive or something. I've given it the ol' college try, so now I don't have to feel open-minded about it any more. :) There's a French student who is attending Tokyo University, and she won't eat sushi, she says raw fish is gross, and there's so much other stuff to eat that she doesn't feel the need. It was also Yoshi Nakamura's birthday. He was the main organizer. They brought out a cake that was REALLY GOOD. It had ripe strawberries on it and cream and it just tasted great. Anyway, I had plenty to drink. Everyone had a great time. We took lots of pictures. Then we sort of dispersed, some people went home, some went to areas of Tokyo to walk around. I saw more lights and skyscrapers, and the Tokyo equivalent of Times Square. Now I'm all packed, and sitting in a lecture with my luggage. I am not looking forward to sitting on the airplane for 14 hours. I am also not looking forward to preparing my thesis proposal, which I need to do on the plane. If it's well prepared, I am looking forward to giving the talk; just not preparing it. | | 1:52 am |
Ahikabara
A few days ago, I went to Ahikabara. It's an area of Tokyo were tens of stores sell new and second-hand electronics of all types, including robot kits and parts. I only went into one store, but it was HUGE. It was like a full-size Best Buy, repeated for nine stories. For example, they had a huge section containing every single Apple product - six of those huge 34" cinema screen computer monitors that cost $3500, many of every single type of ipod, just you name it, if it was electronic, I almost guarantee that they had it. An entire floor was devoted to audio/visual, with astounding quantities of high-end flat panel TVs and ludicrously expensive sound systems. There was also a floor titles "watches/cameras." yes, they had a floor the area of a full-size Best Buy which was full (FULL) of just watches and cameras. All packed in typical Asian density. I figure that if an electronic product is a good one, and not gadgety and bug-ridden, it'll eventually make it to US markets. One of the students bought a reallly slick-looking little 5-pizel camera made by Casio, and it only worked for a day before the zoom lens broke. I hope he'll be able to take it back, because it was $350. I'll bet that product isn't sold in the USA. Still, it was a really neat store to look in. I'm currently in a lecture, and it's not interesting to me at all. But the guy is referencing CMU a lot. Reid Simmons was just referenced. Jonathan | | 1:49 am |
I'm in Japan
I could write about a lot of things, but I'll mention a few little things because I only have a few minutes. Last night, a few of us walked around some part of Tokyo. The most interesting area was a little alleyway that had 50 teensy restaurants that were like 4 square feet, with one person behind a counter cooking stuff, and ten sardine-like Japanese businessmen at a counter, eating and drinking and smiling. The suits seemed odd, because the restaurants looked like something out of the 1900's Japan that I imagine. the alley was only 5 feet wide, and the walls were high, and it was very organic; the way buildings and roads look when they've evolved to their current state through countless additions, rather than through architecture and construction. We walked out of the alley, and right into the traffic and people and 100-foot high neon signs. odd. I'm told they don't have eminent domain here, so if someone doesn't want to sell, they don't have to; so you'll see skyscrapers and a thatched hut right next to each other. In about an hour, we're going to a Sumo competition. I guess they bought tickets a while ago, and it's hard to get tickets close to the event. Should be a unique experience. | | Wednesday, September 14th, 2005 | | 12:27 am |
utterly revolting and awful
Misery loves company, right? how about revulsion? I don't know, but I'll give it a try. We have a school of Zebra Danios in our tank. Some of them have funny tumors. Every once in a while, one looks pregnant. Well, one of them has been large for a long time, and about yesterday and today it became apparent that it's not pregnant, it has some weird bloating or tumor; it was improbably large, with its back arched and eyes bulging and a huge belly with little veins around it, and sort of gasping for breath (except fish don't breathe), and kind of listing to the side a little. I was wondering what to do with it, joking that it might explode.... Well, I saw a dwarf gourami swim up and give the danio's belly a nip. After the first nip, it was like puncturing a balloon, and stuff started streaming out of the danio, and it was sort of bleeding a little and lots of other sutff coming out, and I sort of gagged, and grabbed the net and took the fish over to the toilet, and then he swam a little, leaking, and flush flush flush flush flush!!! So now, he's probably healed by the chlorine, and by now has made it to the river, where he's swimming happily with the other fish. Current Mood:  nauseated | | Tuesday, August 30th, 2005 | | 11:57 am |
music
I'm listening to Stravinky's "The Rite of Spring." I hear pieces of Star Wars, and pieces of the Dark City soundtrack. I also hear a lot of Holst's "The Planets" in Star Wars music. Is this because John Williams's music is highly derivative, or is this common? Is all classical music derivative like this, to some extent, and it's just that I'm not familiar with most of it? Bach is very original, and Mozart, I think. I need to listen to more good music. So much of is it is crap. I like what I'm currently listening to. | | Sunday, August 28th, 2005 | | 10:04 am |
Cool fish
Rachel and I just went to the fish store, and they had an African Knife Fish that was just the right size, so I bought him. So cool!!! I was watching him for a bit last night after the tank light went out, and he was cruising around in there. Ask Google what he looks like, and you'll see how the fin on the bottom is so neat. He moves around by creating a wave in his lower fin, and can immediately back up by reversing the direction of the wave. It looks exactly like watching a video and pressing "rewind." We also saw a Flower Shrimp, and Rachel bought him. He's also very unusual; there are four appendages that are for filter feeding, and I guess they look a little like flowers. He sticks them out and waves them around a little, then scoops inward and cleans them off with his mouth. | | Thursday, August 25th, 2005 | | 4:38 pm |
who's a geek?
When I read about a 16-bit gray code absolute encoder module, I think of the gray council, standing in their poorly spot-lit circle, debating the standards for optical sensor communication. | | Tuesday, August 16th, 2005 | | 3:28 pm |
Thesis Proposal is set!
I could have said "I've got a date!" or "I'm proposing!" in my subject header, but... I didn't. So yeah, September 15th at 11:00 AM. Now I have to finish everything by then. Anybody have experience with external members, and the best way to communicate? Skype? Is a camera useful at all, or just voice and a Powerpoint presentation? If voice, why not just a phone line? In any case, what kind of microphone do I use? Current Mood: excited | | Wednesday, August 3rd, 2005 | | 4:57 pm |
Canadia
I'm in Edmonton. Guess what I bought a big bag of? Sour Keys! yay! | | Sunday, July 31st, 2005 | | 10:38 am |
working.
So I have to finish up my presentation for IROS today, since I'm meeting with my advisor tomorrow morning and then leaving for Canadia. Even though I only really have to work for like 2 hours to finish it all up, I really resent it. I loathe working on the weekend, it feels like an invasion of privacy. It's just an attitude, but it doesn't seem controllable... I HATE being here right now, and haven't started working yet even though I've been here for 45 minutes already. But, I think the conference is going to be fun, and it will be good to be prepared for my talk. Current Mood:  annoyed | | Saturday, July 23rd, 2005 | | 11:53 am |
LED update
I bought 40 LEDS that are 14000 mcd each, and wired'em up, and turned them on. I have to say that they are disappointingly dim. I think the problem lies in the cone of light; the data sheet says 40-50 degrees, but I think they really mean 10 degrees. In converting from mcd to Lux, the cone of light is important, because mcd is a measure of intensity, lux is a measure of how much light a source puts out. In this case, going from 45 degrees down to 10 degrees is like 20 times less light. So, I can increase the power to 70mA instead of 20, but that will just double the light. I could put 200 LEDs at 70 mA on the 10-gallon tank to get enough light, but then it costs $300 for the PCB and LEDs and resistors for a 10-gallon tank. The 55-gallon tank would take more like 1000 LEDs. So, unless there's a brighter, cheaper LED out there, I'm not sure this LED lighting for a fish tank is going to be worthwhile. A regular flourescent hood for the 55-gallon is like $140, which is a lot cheaper. The RGB LEDs do look cool, though; but not uniform white. It's basically red, blue and green light, changing color over the surface. Current Mood: mildly disappointed | | Tuesday, July 19th, 2005 | | 10:30 am |
I'm referenced! :)
There's a paper in the upcoming IROS that references my work on the AMASC. Here's a direct quote from the paper: "At Carnegie Mellon University the AMASC (Actuator with Mechanically Adjustable Series Compliance) [6] is developed. This actuator has a linear spring characteristic, but the mechanism is too complex to be integrated into a biped." :) Hmmm. Maybe I'll respond and say "yeah, too complex for YOU!!!!" But actually, he has a point. The AMASC is too complicated. But I still think it'll work great in a biped. Current Mood: happy |
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