Janelle Shane tries out artificial intelligence experiments that are…unusual. Conversation Hearts For example, in 1980 she inputted 360 expressions from candy conversation hearts and asked the program to generate some new ones. Human beings can easily think of possible candy hearts expressions. Here are a few proposed by my colleagues: Be Mine Love You XOXO… Read more »
In honor of Black History Month, observed each year in February, we’re presenting a few of the many Black inventors who have enriched industry and technology in the United States: Jan Ernst Matzeliger invented a shoe making machine that could make 150 to 700 pairs of shoes in one day, compared to 50 pairs a… Read more »
Shearing sheep is hard work, and there is a shortage of sheep shearers. Australia alone has 73 million sheep and just 2,800 shearers. What’s more, a drop in the price of wool has made the cost of shearing higher than the revenue shepherds get from selling the wool. Cost-cutting is necessary for the modern sheep… Read more »
The Fair Tax Act of 2023 is a lot like previous Fair Tax Acts that have been introduced in every Congress since 1999. It’s not expected to become law this time, either, but it has gotten further than previous bills of its kind. Suppose it does make it through the House and the Senate, and… Read more »
The American Federation for the Blind reports that only 44% of blind Americans are employed, compared to about 77% of sighted people. While discrimination and transportation are both obstacles to employment for people with visual limitations, these figures show that visual impairment is still a big issue in daily life. Can robotics help? Refreshable Braille… Read more »
When your Rexroth Indradrive component throws an Error Code E8028, it is an indication that the motor has exceeded its maximum rated current. The output stage of the power section will be locked until the controller output returns to the allowed range of values. This can be caused by an overload, an electrical short-circuit, or… Read more »
We’ve heard a lot about robots handling food and how difficult they find it. Picking up a strawberry without bruising it, grasping an apple when apples are all different shapes and sizes, frying chips or constructing pizzas with little human assistance, delivering food to restaurant patrons without dripping the food or falling down — robots… Read more »
Not that F643. The F643 error code on an Indramat drive indicates that there is an issue with the travel switch. This could indicate that the switch is not properly installed or connected, or that it is malfunctioning. You will need to consult the drive and control manual for troubleshooting instructions, or to contact a… Read more »
Rexroth acquired Indramat back in the 20th century. If you have an Indramat or a vintage Rexroth drive, you might see the error code “F634.” Now what? Emergency-Stop The official name for this error code is “F634 Emergency-Stop.” This is a fairly simple, straightforward error. Unlike most Rexroth drive and control errors, this has… Read more »
Researchers at Imperial College London were inspired by parasitic wasps that use ovipositors to sense whether a particular caterpillar has already been infested by another wasp. If the caterpillar is not yet spoken for, the wasps use their ovipositors to deposit eggs into the flesh of the caterpillar. The eggs develop into larvae and eat… Read more »
