Robotics Professor • Director, Optimal Robotics Lab • @FAMUFSUCOE • Legged Robots-Optimization-Biomechanics • @TEDx Fellow • Science babbled on National TV.
Mar 21, 2023 • 12 tweets • 7 min read
*Very* impressive robot demo of Agility Robotics' "Digit" humanoids.
Doesn't seem flashy, right? AR's demos are more understated than many robots you've seen on YouTube. Don't let that fool you. Here are the subtle things showing how far they've come toward practical bipeds.
During my PhD, I contributed to the lab research that spun off into Agility Robotics. That was before the company was founded (they've gone *miles* since then). I use their robots in my research lab but I have no financial stake in the company.
First, the team did a good job. They came a long way in about a year(?), going from zero-to-robot from the ground up.
Also, doing a live demo without a tether (safety catch rope) is braver than people know.
Feb 28, 2022 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
Live debates are not effective methods of revealing truth - they're stage performances.
When someone demands a live debate, I see a red flag for ulterior motives.
A thread.
In matters of serious scholarship, debates are settled in prepared and edited publications. There's time to answer points, check facts, often with referees.
Live debates are rhetorical sport, won by commanding an arena. Fun, but if your goal is truth, why would you demand them?
Nov 7, 2020 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
In 1995, a bank robber tried to foil being identified by security cameras by rubbing lemon juice on his face.
His reason: lemon juice is the key ingredient in "invisible ink."
He was promptly captured.
The incident inspired psychologist David Dunning to study why someone would be so bold while being so egregiously wrong.
It turns out, we are all incredibly susceptible to this kind of thinking.
Apr 14, 2019 • 7 tweets • 7 min read
Indeed I have! Theo Jansen's walking sculptures actually have strong parallels to a popular control method for making #robots walk.
Theo Jansen (@StrandBeests) is a Dutch Artist who builds amazing mechanical art pieces called "kinetic sculptures." When the wind spins the crank on the side, the mechanism walks! Jansen carefully arranged and sized the sculpture's connecting sticks to make the walking motion.
