The new budget from the White House supports manufacturing in a variety of ways. In addition to initiatives in defense, infrastructure, and clean energy that will probably require some manufacturing and provide some manufacturing jobs, the new budget includes the following elements. Strengthens the U.S. Supply Chain and Industrial Base “The Budget invests in key… Read more »
There has been a lot of abstract discussion of AI in warfare recently. With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, however, the conversation has gotten less abstract and more immediate. Wired has written about Russia’s drones, which use AI to identify their targets. “Advances in AI have made it easier to incorporate autonomy into weapons systems,… Read more »
Rexroth error messages are not random strings of letters and numbers. They come in various classes. This is the current run-down: F2xxx Error messages beginning with F2xx are non-fatal error messages. That means your machinery won’t automatically shut down. If you ignore these warnings, though, they’ll escalate. F3xxx F3xxx shows non-fatal safety technology errors. These… Read more »
Rexroth makes the best motion control on the planet, we’re convinced. They are now stepping up with the acquisition of the majority stake in Kassow Robots, a Danish maker of collaborative robots, or cobots. Kassow Robots currently makes five cobots, and the acquisition will expand Rexroth’s position in this lucrative market. Rexroth, and its parent company,… Read more »
Many people are worrying about automation taking away jobs, but Donald Norman has a different question to ask. Why, he wonders, is there so much emphasis on human error in industrial settings? “Over 90% of industrial… accidents are blamed on human error with distraction listed as a major cause. Can this be true?” he asks. … Read more »
Ernest Shackleton, a bold explorer, set out for Antarctica on the Endurance in 1914. They intended to visit the south pole, but their ship got stuck in the ice. They lived on board for months, hopign the ice would melt and free their ship. Instead, the treacherous ice crushed the Endurance. The Endurance sank in 1915,… Read more »
Our feelings about automation are quite positive. We believe that robots free human beings from work that is dull, dirty, and dangerous. Automation increases productivity and makes it possible for ordinary people to own items that improve their lives. And yet we still have to click through to read an article called “Inside the terrifying… Read more »
The Center for Resuscitation Science, Karolinska Institute in Solna, Sweden, sent a defibrillator to a heart attack patient by drone. They began with a pilot study in which they responded to 12 actual alerts. Ambulances were sent in the usual way, but the drones beat the ambulances to the patients in seven cases. In Sweden,… Read more »
Alexa or Google Home can play games with you. One game, Human or Machine, by KQED, asks players to decide whether voices are human or machine. Just ask Alexa, “Open Human or Machine.” Full disclosure: we got it right just about half the time. The fact is, machine voices are getting very good at sounding… Read more »
A recent comment in a forum caught our attention. The writer had trouble with an MKD040 servo. “The electrician on hand wasn’t much help and started in about losing the parameters if I took it apart,” he complained. “I don’t understand the mentality of people sometimes; the motor is junk as it stands. The only… Read more »
