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Robot Throws First Pitch At Phillies Game
RedEaredSlider writes "The first ball at the Phillies-Brewers game will get thrown by a robot — but Roy Halladay's job is still safe. As part of an outreach program and the Phillies' 'Science Day At The Ballpark,' the University of Pennsylvania's School of Engineering and Applied Science is showcasing a robot made from a Segway and featuring an arm that acts more like a human throwing than an ordinary pitching machine. A pitching machine functions more like a gun, firing a baseball in what amounts to a straight line. But the robot has an armature connected to a hand that was specifically designed for throwing. Another thing the robot can do is identify the strike zone."
baseball
robot
not Japan
Interesting...
Sent from my PDP-11
So traditional pitching machines that have thrown balls just fine and are more efficient at doing so don't count? The funny thing is this is still just a purpose built arm that throws a ball sort of like a human, it can't do anything useful or anything else at all for that matter. Call me when a robot can walk out on the field and throw a ball after it finished driving itself to the ball park.
That way, we might get to see a few NFL games this fall. (and not one that looks like that dorky Fox NFL robot)
First thing that came to mind: Base Wars
(I thought it was a horrible game, but I had a friend that played it far too much)
Set in a 24th century wherein baseball team owners have grown tired of paying outrageous player salaries, they decide to replace their rosters with robots.
Not a bad idea, really...
And the crowd rightfully booed. News for Nerds? Not... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/20/robot-throw-first-pitch-phillies_n_851732.html
Besides the mall cops and urban postal workers, that is.
Weren't they supposed to change the world? I guess they did...now.
It had a good day
33 blerns/0.03 blerns per blern/0.345 xBlerns in 8.3 blerns pitched
Here's a video http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/blogs/philthy-stuff/PhillieBot_Throws_First_Pitch_Philadelphia-120319864.html
Now we're replacing politicians with soulless automatons?
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
Skynet's taking over already!
This does not attempt to throw like a human. Watch the video.
Science day yields a trebuchet with a remote control.
So traditional pitching machines that have thrown balls just fine and are more efficient at doing so don't count?
No, they don't. This is closer to a human pitcher if you understand the concept of sport beyond efficiency. I.e., what can the player discern about the the coming pitch by observing the pitcher's form? How can the pitcher alter his form to mask the nature of his pitch? Etc.
Next I hope they replace the players with robots. And then they could replace the umpires as well. And then they could replace the sportscasters. I am pretty sure all of those jobs could be performed by autonomous machines.
Then replace the audience with robots.
And then nuke the whole ensemble from orbit, and our baseball problem will be solved!
Oh..whats that you say...it wasn't a problem...?...I just really despise this sport. I am pretty sure you could write baseball AI in a couple lines.
while(FansNotBored)
{
If (IHaveBall)
ThrowBall();
else
StandStill();
}
'We are trying to prove ourselves wrong as quickly as possible, because only in that way can we find progress.' RPF
video was unavailable. This worked though:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShId-vZ-ZEY
Boring? Baseball wasn't... hmm, so they finally jazzed it up? Multiball! http://theinfosphere.org/Blernsball
"What kind of music do pirates listen to?" -Paul Maud'dib
"Yeeeaaarrrrr n' Bee!!" -Stilgar, Leader of Sietch Tabr
I like how they used a Segway, then added a 3rd wheel to it.
That makes him better than all the Mets human pitchers. They should sign him!
- sad Mets fan
Seriously, though...Roy Halladay is a machine!
"Cannon throws first pitch at game; Catcher still in critical condition."
He put his boots up on the table and made a face. "The sig," he smirked. "You can waste your life in search of the sig."
Way back in 1959 I worked as a teen in a batting cage. The machines actually did throw much as a human does with an elbow and forearm type of mechanism. It was very realistic as no two balls would ever leave the gutter shaped hand the same way due to starting with the balls laces in different positions. So you could get dusted off or even hit by a ball and curves and balls slightly high or low were also thrown. We had three machines. One was little league speed. One for minor league and the final machine was set up to act like a pro pitcher in the world series. Actually I believe that machine was throwing just a bit faster than any pro pitcher could throw although it was supposedly identical to a hot, fast ball. That machine was actually a bit frightening. A mistake in that cage just might get you hurt. The New York Yankees team members used to drop by and smack balls around. They really do hit balls further than normal people can. I know as I was the kid that had to pick up the balls and we had a full size ball field to cover. At night it took some skill not to be slaughtered by a line drive while gathering balls. Keep in mind that there were three batters firing at me. Those days were pre OSHA and I suppose I was taking on a serious risk. Life was different back then.
Oh, and I suppose pitch-o-mat 5000 was just a modified howitzer.
It's great that the Phillies sponsored a Science Day at the ballpark.
And the robot is a pretty cool part of that -- but given that the pitch didn't get even close to being over the plate, I wonder if the students working on the project ran out of time to get things working well for the demo?
Put my fist through my alarm clock with its ding-dong death inside my ear. - The Blackjacks.
Baseball is losing its fan base for many reasons. One being that the strike zone is not called according to the rule book, but according to the whims of the umpires.
Baseball also needs a pitch clock and instant replay. Too many calls at first and second base(player off the bag turning a double play) are wrong.
Now we allow them to throw projectiles?!?! Looks like I'll be purchasing my EMP weapon earlier than I thought.
1st they learn to toss a ball, next thing you know they are tossing nukes. This can not end well.
Rape him
throws like a girl robot
Table-ized A.I.
Sure, but can it love?
Modern copyright is theft of culture from everyone and it retards the progress of the useful arts and sciences.
The throw motion of this robot is ridiculously disappointing. At the very least, it should at least move the base at a higher speed like this japanese robot:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sP4ZUCt5WvA
Balls!
insecurity asks the wrong question irritation gives the wrong answer
Periods are technology?
the only one who only thought of the "modified howitzer" line in the one futurama episode?
"UNIX is very simple, it just needs a genius to understand its simplicity." -Dennis Ritchie
The local cricket club has a machine for pitching cricket balls. You drop a ball in a hole at the back and it flies out a hole on the other side. I assume it gets squished between two rotating wheels. Don't they use these in base ball?
http://michaelsmith.id.au
I have been playing to much portal 2 as when I first read the summery I read "Applied Science" as "Aperture Science"
but the idea of using a robot was interesting...how soon till we have a robot baseball league?
Now, if the title was "Robot Throws First PUNCH At Phillies Game", we'd have a real story on our hands.
I was sleepy when I saw this on TV news this morning and for a minute it looked like a Dalek throwing the ball to the Philly Phanatic.
Cool