Please, please, oh pretty please, give me 1 (one) useful, practical and meaningful application in which this type of device would be the best (heck, let's just say a viable alternative) choice.
Sorta...also from the article (again, emphasis added):
Epson brought its many years of micromechatronics experience to bear in realizing the development of a linear actuator with faster response time and a high-precision attitude control mechanism, and a flight path control
and independent flight system (primarily for hovering).
So, they appear to be saying that they programmed the computer to tell the "robot" to, you know, hover...
Actually, no, the fact that it can hover does NOT make it a robot (that just makes it a FLYING robot). RTFA, indeed! Next dumb answer, please...
Now that we've addressed that, why not try to answer the *entire* question: What makes it *more* of a robot than an RC airplane or helicopter? Nothing; particularly since its only apparent actual capability is, in fact, to *hover*, as in not move around.
The whole point was that it is the SMALLEST one. My intended original point was SO WHAT? Why not build micro dirigibles?
Do helicopters (robotic or otherwise) *need* to be smaller (if so, whatever for)? I mean, sure, there are exciting issues to continue to pursue: payload, speed, duration and range of flight, etc.
I provided a link to a functional flying robotic "hovering" machine and (implicitly) asked for any useful application example for this Epson device...
Particularly telling to me was the toss-off buried in the footnote to the Epson press release itself (emphasis added):
*3: "EMRoS" stands for "Epson MicroRobot System." This series included four main models: Monsieur (listed in the Guinness book of Records as the world's smallest--only 1cm3 in volume, 1993), followed by Nino (a 0.5-cm3 model introduced in 1994), Ricordo (1cm3, equipped with a recording and playback function, 1995), and Rubie (1 cm3, equipped with a capricious wandering function, 1995.) All of these models are independent traveling robots that chase a light source.
Sales of the EMRoS series have been discontinued.
Exactly *what* makes this a "robot"? Compared to any typical RC aircraft/helicopter?
I mean, sure, if you make them small enough, they will be completely useless...unless of course, you need to do "remote" aerial surveillance of the room you are standing in...
Really, a Splinter Cell-like "sticky cam" would be better.
SanDisk's 256MB + Wi-Fi SD card combines flash memory and wireless communications into a single card giving SDIO-enabled PDA the freedom to quickly transmit and receive data, images and music from thousands of 802.11b hotspots worldwide.
From Brighthand (older link):
Unfortunately, SanDisk doesn't expect the necessary driver to allow Palm OS models to use this card to be available for many months.
SanDisk's Wi-Fi SDIO card with 256 MB of memory will have a suggested retail price of about $150
Hashcash is a denial-of-service counter measure tool. Its main current use is to help hashcash users avoid losing email due to content based and blacklist based anti-spam systems.
A hashcash stamp constitutes a proof-of-work which takes a parameterizable amount of work to compute for the sender. The recipient can verify received hashcash stamps efficiently.
You should know your way around a command line or terminal. For UNIX users, this is a given. For Windows users, using the command line (referred to as "DOS prompt" sometimes) may be a challenge.
Ouch!
Great fodder for the execs to discuss...
on
Vive La Loafing!
·
· Score: 1
...after their round of golf, sitting in the 19th hole, waiting for their expense account meal to be served.
They can bemoan the "new laziness" of their overpaid, overbenefitted employees.
I have found that I can actually access PCs...
on
No Noise PC Reviewed
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
...that are located in other rooms in my house!
With a good video/audio distribution plan (hopefully one that incorporates 2-way remote IR), it doesn't actually matter how loud my PC is...it's in another room (along with all my other AV equipment; which also distribute their signals to multiple TVs.
I mean, making a silent PC is kinda like making a silent Central HVAC unit...(nobody steal my idea now...)
I recently bought 3 (!?!?!?!) TiVos for a total of $150 (off their summer refurb special @ $50 each). I have the HMO/MRV option for a total of $27 a month.
So the first year cost of 3 24-hour-a-day (Internet accessible) PVRs with guide/etc. is $474.
A little hacking time (and no additional hardware) will get me video extraction to my PC network (unless I don't bother and just wait for TiVoTOgo).
They setup out of the box and on my home network in 30 minutes...
I had been struggling with the hold build-your-own PVR (looking at freevo/mythtv/etc.) for months, but poof!
I can now wait a YEAR to see how things progress.
I could NOT have built ONE really good multi-tuner PVR for $474 worth of hardware!
The TiVo just works! (And my wife was addicted in 24 hours, so there was no "toyz blowback" this time--priceless!)
Get a competing publishing company to sell their books at the site. Thus the more successful Penquin is at driving "their" traffic to the site, the more money a competitor makes!
Heck, the books could still all be "appropriate", as in topical self-help, etc., targeting young girls.
Then tack on a fashion/clothing/makeup storefront too!
Wow,
You must get much better pricing! I built the following a month ago:
329 -- SuperMicro X5DPA-GG motherboard
957 -- SuperMicro SC933T-R60 Case
1,045 -- 2 x 3ware 8506 SATA Raid Controllers
1,901 -- 12 x 200 GB SATA-150 drives
1,299 -- 4 x 1 GB Memory
1,501 -- 2x Xeon 3.2 GHz (533 MHz) 1 MB Cache
So, just over $7,000 for 2.34 Terabytes (raw, that is). But that for everything, from the 1 MB cache on the processors to it's dual gig ethernet, dual hot swap redundant power supplies, and all hot swap drives (heck, all the fans are hot swap too, it that matters...)
Did I mention the beautiful "beige noise" it layers over the disturbing racket of the rest of our server room...a true bonus.
Be pro-active and load up on the deductions. After all, the CIO's policy is official, so you can't really have work-related home broadband without a work-related home office to terminate it in. Same with the cell phone and other stuff. You can probably load in (and depreciate) most of your home equipment...heck, even your Starbuck's wireless bill! (Always available, right.)
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Please, please, oh pretty please, give me 1 (one) useful, practical and meaningful application in which this type of device would be the best (heck, let's just say a viable alternative) choice.
One.
Now that we've addressed that, why not try to answer the *entire* question: What makes it *more* of a robot than an RC airplane or helicopter? Nothing; particularly since its only apparent actual capability is, in fact, to *hover*, as in not move around.
The whole point was that it is the SMALLEST one. My intended original point was SO WHAT? Why not build micro dirigibles?
Do helicopters (robotic or otherwise) *need* to be smaller (if so, whatever for)? I mean, sure, there are exciting issues to continue to pursue: payload, speed, duration and range of flight, etc.
I provided a link to a functional flying robotic "hovering" machine and (implicitly) asked for any useful application example for this Epson device...
Particularly telling to me was the toss-off buried in the footnote to the Epson press release itself (emphasis added):
I mean, sure, if you make them small enough, they will be completely useless...unless of course, you need to do "remote" aerial surveillance of the room you are standing in...
Really, a Splinter Cell-like "sticky cam" would be better.
*THIS* is a flying robot:
http://www.moller.com/aerobot/
And besides, I might end up with one of these (if you folks would just pass the hat for me):
http://www.moller.com/purchase/purch_info.html
From SanDisk http://www.sandisk.com/retail/256mb-wifi-sd.asp:
From Brighthand (older link):
I still miss my Palm.
purses, pants or shoes? oh my!
And although the process of exchanging "toke'ns" was highly "cryptographic", ultimately not a lot of work got done...
Anyway, I got confused there for a minute, but I am better now. This might help others:
From http://www.hashcash.org/
Rock on!Check out item 4 (emphasis added):
You should know your way around a command line or terminal. For UNIX users, this is a given. For Windows users, using the command line (referred to as "DOS prompt" sometimes) may be a challenge.
Ouch!
...after their round of golf, sitting in the 19th hole, waiting for their expense account meal to be served. They can bemoan the "new laziness" of their overpaid, overbenefitted employees.
With a good video/audio distribution plan (hopefully one that incorporates 2-way remote IR), it doesn't actually matter how loud my PC is...it's in another room (along with all my other AV equipment; which also distribute their signals to multiple TVs.
I mean, making a silent PC is kinda like making a silent Central HVAC unit...(nobody steal my idea now...)
I recently bought 3 (!?!?!?!) TiVos for a total of $150 (off their summer refurb special @ $50 each). I have the HMO/MRV option for a total of $27 a month. So the first year cost of 3 24-hour-a-day (Internet accessible) PVRs with guide/etc. is $474. A little hacking time (and no additional hardware) will get me video extraction to my PC network (unless I don't bother and just wait for TiVoTOgo). They setup out of the box and on my home network in 30 minutes... I had been struggling with the hold build-your-own PVR (looking at freevo/mythtv/etc.) for months, but poof! I can now wait a YEAR to see how things progress. I could NOT have built ONE really good multi-tuner PVR for $474 worth of hardware! The TiVo just works! (And my wife was addicted in 24 hours, so there was no "toyz blowback" this time--priceless!)
Get a competing publishing company to sell their books at the site. Thus the more successful Penquin is at driving "their" traffic to the site, the more money a competitor makes!
Heck, the books could still all be "appropriate", as in topical self-help, etc., targeting young girls.
Then tack on a fashion/clothing/makeup storefront too!
Just imagine the possibilities!
Wow, You must get much better pricing! I built the following a month ago: 329 -- SuperMicro X5DPA-GG motherboard 957 -- SuperMicro SC933T-R60 Case 1,045 -- 2 x 3ware 8506 SATA Raid Controllers 1,901 -- 12 x 200 GB SATA-150 drives 1,299 -- 4 x 1 GB Memory 1,501 -- 2x Xeon 3.2 GHz (533 MHz) 1 MB Cache So, just over $7,000 for 2.34 Terabytes (raw, that is). But that for everything, from the 1 MB cache on the processors to it's dual gig ethernet, dual hot swap redundant power supplies, and all hot swap drives (heck, all the fans are hot swap too, it that matters...) Did I mention the beautiful "beige noise" it layers over the disturbing racket of the rest of our server room...a true bonus.
Be pro-active and load up on the deductions. After all, the CIO's policy is official, so you can't really have work-related home broadband without a work-related home office to terminate it in. Same with the cell phone and other stuff. You can probably load in (and depreciate) most of your home equipment...heck, even your Starbuck's wireless bill! (Always available, right.)