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If you had a (small) army of robots, what would you make them do? (Patreon)

Published:
2022-12-23 16:37:09
Imported:
2026-06
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I recently bought these, and I'm working on getting them working.  They have a ton of hand and arm dexterity, force sensors in the fingertips, and some good onboard cameras.  But no control software.

So what should I have them do for a first video?  I have a few ideas, but I'd love to hear yours!

Keep in mind that control loops are HARD, so I'm preferably looking for things that are either simple tasks that don't rely on knowledge of the world around it (like dancing), or things that it can fail spectacularly and hilariously at (like trying to make a drink).

And shhh - this is a secret still, so don't go spilling the beans outside of Patreon!

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Comments

nezu

I just want to remind you that telling people not to do something usually has the exact opposite effect than expected. I'm sure most people here are cool, but there will always be exceptions and saying you don't want it just gave them a reason to do it. As for the robots, I don't know. I find humanoid robots a bit pointless outside of maybe the entertainment sector. I can only quote the internet rule 86: "If it exists, you can play Bad Apple on it."

Nicholas H.

Rock'em Sock'em Robots. Use simple control scheme with a RC controller and use force sensors to measure a hit and have the head spin around or something when it lands a good blow.

Scotty Allen
>>98125106

Ooh, this could be fun. Particularly with the recent craze of creator boxing. Lord knows _I'm_ not getting in the ring any time soon...

Kyle

When people think of robots, they often first think of automating repetitive, manual tasks, but truth is those things usually require a surprising amount of operator intervention. I think it would be fascinating to make a video with some hilarious fails that also highlights exactly how it's not as easy to put a robot to work as we sometimes believe. All the little adjustments we make to our grip or following a line with a certain degree of variability in it, or cutting this far from the end of something. It's harder than it looks to replicate! Hilarious fail tasks are fun: Washing dishes or cars come to mind, or little maker tasks like hot glueing. Maybe even turning clay pots so that they turn out "the same"? Maybe it'll actually do a good job, who knows??

Winston R. Milling

First thing that came to mind is attempting to juggle, starting out with one object and hopefully adding more until failure. In the same vein, moving onto trying to toss a ball between two robots when it is time to add visual feedback into the loop.

Warren

This is a bit off the wall but I recently watched that Pee-wee Herman "breakfast machine" scene where a Rube Goldberg-like machine makes breakfast. Maybe there's something that can be done where the robots coordinate with eachother in some sequential way (i.e. each robot does something then passes it on to the next) in order to produce some kind of result. These robots are kinda funny looking, so I think it'd be good if they try to do something funny.

Scotty Allen
>>98132654

I like this - would be pretty funny to have them lined up next to each other in the kitchen... And yeah, I definitely want to play up the humor on this, because I'm definitely not going to succeed in getting them to do something impressive 😂 Not in an initial video anyway...

Scotty Allen
>>98129787

Yeah, that's an interesting idea. Getting it to actually work sounds HARD though. I'm pretty sure you'd have to use visual feedback, even when juggling with just one robot. But having it try and fail spectacularly on the other hand - totally doable :)

Scotty Allen
>>98128036

I love all these ideas Kyle! Hot glue sounds fun, as does washing/dropping dishes. I like the idea of turning clay pots, but man is that messy. I'd be worried about getting clay in places the sun don't shine. Places in the robots the sun doesn't shine, that is :)

Tyghe Sean

Larry, Moe and Curly skit.

Scotty Allen

I just wanna say - your ideas are far better than mine were. Please keep them coming!

Darth Mole

Hand to hand combat skits. No actual contact or damage but techniques with Kung Fu impact sounds? Or maybe a lightsaber duel skit? Or the see, hear, speak no evil gestures?

Warren
>>98132654

Three robots lined up, almost Kraftwerk style.... hmmm.... Add in a conveyor belt and do a sushi prep line? That sort of approach might be easier on the programming side since each robot needs to do one distinct thing, but every step needs to line up perfectly.

snils

Fruit Ninja, give them a Katana, get some fruits, like an Ananas 🍍 or Watermelon 🍉, chop chop. Could be fun, not sure how easily damageable they are. Or give them a phone and they'll plug a cable into it to charge it.

Scotty Allen
>>98142062

I like the kung fu sound effects idea! And light sabers could be fun too. I was thinking a sword duel earlier, but light sabers is probably better.

Scotty Allen
>>98178136

I like the Fruit Ninja idea! I don’t really know how easily damageable they are yet either 😁. But I do feel reasonably confident I can solve the likely way they’ll break (snapped cable). So it’s worth a shot. Also, I have three, so… spare parts? Not sure how fast they move yet though.

John Scherer

I use Home Assistant for all my home automation needs, it’s really one of the best platforms for this at sensor-fusion. I think I would try find a way to interface these robots with Home Assistant and maybe even some MQTT for sensor data.

matthew katzenstein

you should reach out to Sam of LookMumNoComputer, and see if you two can make a music video 😂

BartLanz

Do an out to of them doing the Macarena or some repetitive dance like that.

Scotty Allen
>>98342513

Ooh, I like the Macarena idea! They swivel at the waist, too, which would go well with the whole 90 degree jump turn thing...

Scotty Allen
>>98304444

I use Home Assistant too! I use it mostly for interfacing ESP based LED strips and dimmers for various accent lighting around the shop (the leds strips under the stair lips and edison bulbs incorporated into the shelves right now). But I should take a deeper look into it...

John Scherer
>>98304444

On the surface, Home Assistant can be pretty simple. But if you dive under the covers, it can be super complex, well, as complex as you want it to be. The MQTT stuff is fun for adding sensor that would otherwise not be possible. Add a database and some math and you can combine the data from multiple sensors and create virtual sensor that you can then create rule from. It would be fun to have one work as a "camera operator" of sorts. Especially for things like welding, where getting close for a better view is not so great for you personally. Maybe some temp sensors, thermal sensors, etc. The problem you have is figuring out the motion control system would be separate from HA. Any details on the robots yet? I'd love to look their control systems.

Samurai1200

Have them administer COVID tests

Jon Rutlen

Make them play 'Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock"