Episode 206 – Searching for Spiders

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In all the wrong places — the example for this show, as surgical robots!  But before we get to that, let’s start with the latest news in augmented reality.

Michael and Michael explore the newly announced Magic Leap One Creator Edition AR glasses, using a couple of links & videos to discuss the merits and challenges.  The co-hosts struggle to come up with the right word to describe the look — steampunkesque was among those suggested.

Moving to robotics, which is becoming more and more of a trend on the podcast lately, this time surfaces in the form of exoskeletons being used in automobile manufacturing to help people do their jobs more efficiently.

Michael M finds an article about spiders, and even more amazingly, decides to bring it forward for the show.  In this case, it is because nature inspired micro robots with extreme flexibility and nimbleness are envisioned to be suitable for complex and delicate tasks, such as surgery inside a body — and well, spiders provide form & function well suited to the task.  Have a listen and see if you agree!

Selected Links

Magic Leap One Creator Edition — https://www.magicleap.com/magic-leap-one 

Ian Hughes/epredator tweet —

Punky Brewster — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punky_Brewster

Steampunk — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steampunk 

@KPP’s tweet on the Tour De France mixed reality coverage —

ZDNet article: Exoskeletons debut at Ford factories — https://www.zdnet.com/article/ford-to-give-factory-employees-exoskeletons/ 

BMW focus on ergonomics in the manufacturing process — https://www.bmwusfactory.com/manufacturing/production-process/assembly/ 

Games at Work Episode 192 — PVP-Y (with exoskeletons) — https://gamesatwork.biz/2018/01/29/episode-192-pvp-y/ 

Mashable article: This tiny robotic spider might one day perform surgeries inside your body — https://mashable.com/video/tiny-robot-spider-surgery-inside-body/ 

Wyss Institute article: Soft multi-functional robots get really small — https://wyss.harvard.edu/soft-multi-functional-robots-get-really-small/ 

Games the co hosts are (about to be) playing

Michael R — WoW Battle for Azeroth —

Michael M — Pocket City — https://pocketcitygame.com 

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Episode 205 – Fashionable AR

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Michael and Michael start off this episode with a ready to weAR t-shirt from Curiscope, that displays the wearer’s heart rate in addition to a representation of heart & other organs in the torso.  This leads to a conversation on what more could be done in a hospital setting, to allow for a visualization for the medical professionals seeing & absorbing data about their patients in a new way.  Continuing the fashion theme, the team turns to the reward structure that Tommy Hilfiger is building into the Xplore line, with embedded IoT chipset & companion app to reward influencers for wearing the brand, not just buying the clothes.  

After a segue to how a Pi-Hole can be used to block advertisements and improve network performance, Michael and Michael talk about the Segway Drift W1 roller shoe platform, an innovative way to get around.

Extending the discussion on this episode on augmented reality, Michael R’s find on the new Ghostbusters World mobile game play from the San Diego Comic-Con got both of the co-hosts excited about the potential of the game once it is released more broadly.  Get your PKE meter ready to answer the call — hopefully later this year!

The augmen.tv capabilities to connect augmented reality to television broadcasts are amazing — and spell the way that the future of television will be experienced.

We hope that you enjoy listening to this podcast as much as we had fun in producing it!

Selected Links

Digital Trends article: Eww, gross! See your beating heart for real on this amazing AR T-shirt — https://www.digitaltrends.com/wearables/curiscope-virtuali-tee-heart-rate-tracker-news/ 

Curiscope Virtuali-tee — https://www.curiscope.com/products/virtuali-tee 

Engadget article: Tommy Hilfiger tracks, rewards you for wearing its smart clothes — https://www.engadget.com/2018/07/26/tommy-hilfiger-jeans-xplore/ 

Tommy Jeans Xplore — https://usa.tommy.com/en/men-tommy-jeans-capsule 

Haaretz article: The Israeli technology behind Tommy Hilfiger’s eerie smart clothes that track your every move — https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-the-israelis-behind-tommy-hilfiger-s-clothes-that-track-you-1.6337635 

pi-hole.net — https://pi-hole.net 

Jace Norman — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jace_Norman 

TechCrunch article: Segway’s whacky new roller shoes will cost $399 — https://techcrunch.com/2018/07/24/segway-drift-w1-price/ 

Segway Drift W1— http://www.segway.com/products/consumer-lifestyle/segway-drift-w1 

/Film article: ‘Ghostbusters World’ Mobile Game Evolves Beyond Another ‘Pokémon Go’ Copycat — https://www.slashfilm.com/ghostbusters-world-game/ 

augmen.tv — https://augmen.tv 

augment.tv by eyecandylab // the AR Lens for Video — https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=pW1fdXxts7Y 

Games the co-hosts are playing

Michael R — Forensic Detective — https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/forensic-detective/id1382363470?mt=8 

Michael M — Rodeo Stampede — https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rodeo-stampede-sky-zoo-safari/id1047961826?mt=8

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Episode 204 – Hot to Trot Bots

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Michael and Michael make a rare recording appearance at their favorite coffee shop, Bean Traders, in Durham, NC, to talk about coffee, robot dogs, and much more.  

This week’s episode is fueled by discussions on artificial intelligence, machine learning, power storage & delivery, as well as the future use cases for bots both big & small.  Kicking things off with Dominic Tan’s Domo Arigato poster with 262 robots, Michael & Michael then move on to the physical robots, starting with a robotic arm with a dodecahedron grasping mechanism, designed to capture delicate undersea creatures, like jellyfish.  Continuing on with the aquatic robotic theme, the tiny DARPA SHRIMP robots, which stands for SHort-Range Independent Microrobotic Platforms, comes into focus.  Michael & Michael harken back to earlier discussions on swarming technology (Episode 150), cloud processing, and power, as well as imagine use cases involving the dodecahedron grasping mechanism for ocean environmental cleanup, among others.

Moving to more terrestrial robotics, Michael R’s find on the Rolls-Royce SWARM robots spurs an interesting conversation on how such small robots could be injected into an engine for maintenance and repair.  The platform provided by Boston Dynamics in the form of their SpotMini has a wide variety of possible use cases, and sufficient battery life.

Rounding out this week’s episode, the co-hosts discuss the Amazon AR Part Finder capability, where using a known reference object like a penny can help determine what size and type of screw, nut or bolt is needed without resorting to creating your own physical sizer.  A video from Mirjana Kika Milosevic demonstrates how amazing visual effects are possible with simple makeup,  

Selected Links

Bean Traders — https://beantraderscoffee.com 

 Gizmodo article: How Many Robots Can You Spot in This Awesome Poster? — https://io9.gizmodo.com/how-many-robots-can-you-spot-in-this-awesome-poster-1827635538 

MIT Technology Review article: How to tell if you’re talking to a bot?  — https://www.technologyreview.com/s/611655/how-to-tell-if-youre-talking-to-a-bot/ 

TechCrunch article: ‘Underwater Pokeball’ snatches up soft-bodied deep dwellers — https://techcrunch.com/2018/07/18/underwater-pokeball-snatches-up-soft-bodied-deep-dwellers/ 

Engadget article:  DARPA’s insect-sized SHRIMP robots could aid disaster relief — https://www.engadget.com/2018/07/19/darpas-insect-sized-shrimp-robots-disaster-relief/ 

Discussion on Swarming robots in Episode 150 — Cyber Dementors — https://gamesatwork.biz/2016/10/23/episode-150-cyber-dementors/  

ZDNet article: Meet the robot snake and bugs that will repair your car’s engine — https://www.zdnet.com/article/meet-the-snake-and-bug-robots-that-will-repair-your-cars-engine/ 

Rolls-Royce’s SWARM robots — https://www.rolls-royce.com/media/our-stories/insights/2018/swarm-robots.aspx 

Saturday Night Live’s Ned’s Roach Away commercial —

CNet article: Boston Dynamics’ SpotMini robot dog goes on sale in 2019 — https://www.cnet.com/news/boston-dynamics-spotmini-robot-dog-goes-on-sale-in-2019/ 

CNet article:  Need a special screw? Amazon’s Part Finder might help you someday (hands on) — https://www.cnet.com/news/need-a-special-screw-amazons-part-finder-might-help-you-someday-hands-on 

DIY Nut And Bolt Sizer — https://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Nut-And-Bolt-Sizer/ 

BBC article: Mirjana Kika Milosevic uses make-up to turn herself invisible — https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-44890864/mirjana-kika-milosevic-uses-make-up-to-turn-herself-invisible 

Gizmodo article: Lego Recreated James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 Complete With Ejector Seat and Hidden Machine Guns — https://io9.gizmodo.com/lego-recreated-james-bonds-aston-martin-db5-complete-wi-1827664653 

Games Michael R is playing

Squashy Bug — https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/squashy-bug/id1276403443?mt=8 

LEGO AR Studio — https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lego-ar-studio/id1296734986?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4 

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Episode 203 – Robotic Monks

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After a quick vacation week Michael R. brings a meditative view back to the show with a Robotic Monk designed to welcome young visitors to temples in China. He then takes us deep on synthetics and their new religious beliefs as shown on the TV Show Humans. We then look at new robots from MIT that can walk, run, and climb stairs that are littered with debris – all with out any visual inputs. And we wrap the show with a bit of a discussion around the addictive behavior of games.

Show Links
Robotic Monk – https://techcrunch.com/2018/07/02/a-buddhist-temple-in-beijing-built-a-robotic-monk-to-spread-the-word/
Fisher Price Little People – http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Fisher-Price_Little_People
Oak Meditation App – Oak Meditation
AMC’s Humans – https://www.amc.com/shows/humans

MIT Cheetah Robot Climbs Stairs = https://techcrunch.com/2018/07/05/mits-cheetah-bot-walks-up-debris-littered-stairs-without-visual-sensors/

Addiction and Video Games – https://kotaku.com/the-truth-about-video-game-addiction-1827374773
Irresistible – Books – http://adamalterauthor.com/irresistible/

Michael M has time to play games – and what is he playing?
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rodeo-stampede-sky-zoo-safari/id1047961826

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