Slashdot Mirror
Robot Catches High Speed Objects
shpoffo writes "Engineers at the University of Tokyo in Japan have created a robot that can catch a ball moving faster than 186 miles per hour (300 kph) - more than 270 feet per second. It uses an array of photodetectors to directly control the three finger actuators - which can rotate 180 degrees in 0.1 seconds. It's only catching softballs at the moment, but operators are optimistic for it to soon catch other objects and grasp moving things. A video with odd sci-fi TV-series (coral cache) accents is available."
It's been suggested that the cotton gin failed to catch on until slavery was abolished in the United States. Slavery/serfdom/etc. has also been blamed for why nobody took Hiro's idea of a steam engine and ran with it until millenia later.
On the one hand, we have recent event whittling away at the rights of both white- and blue-collar workers, from "no compete" contracts to laws allowing employers to prevent employees from fraternizing after working hours (at least accordin to Slashdot). On the other hand, we have overly zealous unions that can work to prevent employers from adopting technologies that would replace human workers (I've heard anecdotes of labor unions in the Port of Los Angeles fighting automation). Mix in a government giving US companies all the immigrant and offshoring opportunities they want, is it any surprise that the US is sliding behind in robotics in particular and technology in general?
Technology only succeeds when it is cheaper to use than human labor, and human labor is pretty damned cheap in the US.