211837
s5eeo
@s5eeo #211837
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566 Follower 250 Following
I've seen a lot of people argue that humanoid robots are a form of skeuomorphism because there are much better form factors, even for homes (e.g. wheel base with arms, robot dog with an arm as the head).
I watched an interview where the roboticist Eric Jang shared his take on this. He believes that the humanoid form factor for an environment like a home is not just sufficient but actually necessary. And he went into concrete reasons why he thinks so, which was super interesting.
If anyone wants to watch it, the discussion about this starts at 21:55 in the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHsWJ_XNEz0&t=1395s
I'd add some quotes from the interview here but I'll cast hem in the comments. Reaching the character limit.
I watched an interview where the roboticist Eric Jang shared his take on this. He believes that the humanoid form factor for an environment like a home is not just sufficient but actually necessary. And he went into concrete reasons why he thinks so, which was super interesting.
If anyone wants to watch it, the discussion about this starts at 21:55 in the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHsWJ_XNEz0&t=1395s
I'd add some quotes from the interview here but I'll cast hem in the comments. Reaching the character limit.
They have a demo of this now on Huggingface:
https://huggingface.co/spaces/zama-fhe/encrypted_dna
Concept is:
1. Data (e.g. DNA) is encrypted on the client side and sent to a server / service
2. Encrypted data is processed (e.g. DNA analysis, generation of health risk reports etc.) on the server and sent back to the client
3. Results are decrypted on the client side
Would love to see this applied on a commercial scale. The data leak at 23andMe underscores that this is important.
When using services on your sensitive data no longer requires direct access, it should also lower the barrier of entry for new companies in this space, since the trust barriers are lowered if you never hand over your unencrypted data anyway. So another benefit of this tech is that it could ultimately also lead to a more vibrant ecosystem of services that rely on processing personal data.
https://warpcast.com/s5eeo/0xcb591e74
https://huggingface.co/spaces/zama-fhe/encrypted_dna
Concept is:
1. Data (e.g. DNA) is encrypted on the client side and sent to a server / service
2. Encrypted data is processed (e.g. DNA analysis, generation of health risk reports etc.) on the server and sent back to the client
3. Results are decrypted on the client side
Would love to see this applied on a commercial scale. The data leak at 23andMe underscores that this is important.
When using services on your sensitive data no longer requires direct access, it should also lower the barrier of entry for new companies in this space, since the trust barriers are lowered if you never hand over your unencrypted data anyway. So another benefit of this tech is that it could ultimately also lead to a more vibrant ecosystem of services that rely on processing personal data.
https://warpcast.com/s5eeo/0xcb591e74
I love watching automated assembly lines do their work. It's so mesmerizing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCgnWqoP4MM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCgnWqoP4MM
Interesting thread on treating age-related diseases vs. preventing aging:
https://x.com/lnuzhna/status/1840422812491923482?s=46
The author (Lada Nuzhna) is suggesting that trying to treat a complex age-related diseases by targeting a single mechanism is the wrong approach. But the problem is that combo treatments are more expensive and complicated and it’s harder to figure out which potential combos should be given a try.
But at the same time, the author still thinks that "single mechanisms in aging prevention (NOT treating age-related diseases) can and will work".
https://x.com/lnuzhna/status/1840422812491923482?s=46
The author (Lada Nuzhna) is suggesting that trying to treat a complex age-related diseases by targeting a single mechanism is the wrong approach. But the problem is that combo treatments are more expensive and complicated and it’s harder to figure out which potential combos should be given a try.
But at the same time, the author still thinks that "single mechanisms in aging prevention (NOT treating age-related diseases) can and will work".
I somehow expected the fastest bipedal robots to be faster at running than humans already. But I was surprised to learn that this is not just wrong but that it's not even close!
The latest world record for the running speed of a bipedal robot is 24.73 seconds for 100 meters (~14.6 kmh or 9 mph).
The world record for humans is 9.58 seconds (~37.6 kmh or 23.4 mph).
Even for quadruped robots, the current world record is 19.87 seconds (~18.1 kmh or 11.3 mph), also surprisingly far behind.
Speeds on treadmills can be much faster but they're not directly comparable with overground walking / running.
The video shows footage of the fasted bipedal robot I could find for overground running and running on a treadmill, respectively.
Happy to be corrected, if I missed anything!
The latest world record for the running speed of a bipedal robot is 24.73 seconds for 100 meters (~14.6 kmh or 9 mph).
The world record for humans is 9.58 seconds (~37.6 kmh or 23.4 mph).
Even for quadruped robots, the current world record is 19.87 seconds (~18.1 kmh or 11.3 mph), also surprisingly far behind.
Speeds on treadmills can be much faster but they're not directly comparable with overground walking / running.
The video shows footage of the fasted bipedal robot I could find for overground running and running on a treadmill, respectively.
Happy to be corrected, if I missed anything!
The Farcaster community seems to be very pro-tech and I love that!
Batteries are a nice example of things that become cheaper *and* better over time.
I suspect the yellow part in the bar chart and the growth it's been having is still flying under most people's radar.
Charts are from here:
https://rmi.org/the-rise-of-batteries-in-six-charts-and-not-too-many-numbers/
I suspect the yellow part in the bar chart and the growth it's been having is still flying under most people's radar.
Charts are from here:
https://rmi.org/the-rise-of-batteries-in-six-charts-and-not-too-many-numbers/
Nice glimpse at a humanoid robot performing outside of a pure demo environment.
Would have loved to see some failures and more unscripted everyday interactions to see where the limits are but this was still super interesting.
https://youtu.be/Sb6LMPXRdVc?si=sPKkxzvIG3IZySMG
Would have loved to see some failures and more unscripted everyday interactions to see where the limits are but this was still super interesting.
https://youtu.be/Sb6LMPXRdVc?si=sPKkxzvIG3IZySMG
Never would have thought that a single, niche cast would make me a top caster at any point.
Roboforming is so cool. It's a manufacturing process that uses synchronized robotic arms with special end-effectors to incrementally shape metal sheets into more complex parts. One robot pushes and deforms the sheet while the other robot provides support.
This enables high customization and quick production of small batches of products, which makes it great for rapid prototyping and design iteration. The level of synchronization required for this to work precisely and reliably is way harder to achieve than it may seem.
This enables high customization and quick production of small batches of products, which makes it great for rapid prototyping and design iteration. The level of synchronization required for this to work precisely and reliably is way harder to achieve than it may seem.
Found a fascinating project that simulates the evolution of artificial organisms:
https://alien-project.org/
You can even just install it on your computer and run it.
It also makes for a mesmerizing screensaver that eats your GPU memory for breakfast.
https://alien-project.org/
You can even just install it on your computer and run it.
It also makes for a mesmerizing screensaver that eats your GPU memory for breakfast.
I learned about the twilight phenomenon today. It can occur during rocket launches 30-60 mins before sunrise or after sunset and is caused by the dispersion of sunlight by the exhaust particles as they condense, freeze and expand in the atmosphere. Beautiful.
Nice tour through the manufacturing facility at Blue Origin.
The part about production starts at 09:45.
https://warpcast.com/matallo.eth/0xe049b703
The part about production starts at 09:45.
https://warpcast.com/matallo.eth/0xe049b703
Interesting case study of what can be done with cheap energy, especially in places with lots of sun and access to seawater.
The author basically proposes to:
1. Build a solar-powered desalination plant
2. Desalinate seawater at scale
3. Use the resulting brine for extraction of valuable minerals
This could be an important economic enabler for dry regions like the Western US and increase climate resilience.
Interesting quote from the article:
"It seems hard to believe that such a tiny corner of such a huge desert [the Salton Sea], so far from any roads that its existence would be unknown to all but a handful of airline passengers, could be capable of producing 5 MAF of fresh water per year — California’s entire Colorado River allocation! This is the power of solar energy."
https://asteriskmag.com/issues/06/its-2024-and-drought-is-optional
The author basically proposes to:
1. Build a solar-powered desalination plant
2. Desalinate seawater at scale
3. Use the resulting brine for extraction of valuable minerals
This could be an important economic enabler for dry regions like the Western US and increase climate resilience.
Interesting quote from the article:
"It seems hard to believe that such a tiny corner of such a huge desert [the Salton Sea], so far from any roads that its existence would be unknown to all but a handful of airline passengers, could be capable of producing 5 MAF of fresh water per year — California’s entire Colorado River allocation! This is the power of solar energy."
https://asteriskmag.com/issues/06/its-2024-and-drought-is-optional
Fascinating story of how long and confusing the journey to find the cause and cure for scurvy was, despite the fact that it simply is a deficiency disease due to a lack of vitamin C.
It makes you wonder how many seemingly complicated phenomena or problems have simple solutions. And how hard it must be to figure out causes & solutions that are actually a lot more complex than the one for scurvy.
https://slimemoldtimemold.com/2022/01/11/reality-is-very-weird-and-you-need-to-be-prepared-for-that/
It makes you wonder how many seemingly complicated phenomena or problems have simple solutions. And how hard it must be to figure out causes & solutions that are actually a lot more complex than the one for scurvy.
https://slimemoldtimemold.com/2022/01/11/reality-is-very-weird-and-you-need-to-be-prepared-for-that/
There’s a prediction market for a recession happening this year (apparently no market for next year, unfortunately).
It’s not exactly developing in a positive direction but I found it useful among all the noise and fear mongering about an impending economic downturn.
https://kalshi.com/markets/recssnber/recession
It’s not exactly developing in a positive direction but I found it useful among all the noise and fear mongering about an impending economic downturn.
https://kalshi.com/markets/recssnber/recession