# What's new, Atlas? (AI, Robotics and tech thread) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 18, 2017, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952 "2017-11-18T02:39:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/141 "2019-07-11T02:53:42Z")
[Robot umpires!](https://apnews.com/93f7e8be7f404ff2a6eadf2e9295c9d3) > [@](#): > > The independent Atlantic League became the first American professional baseball league to let a computer call balls and strikes Wednesday night at its All-Star Game. Plate umpire Brian deBrauwere wore an earpiece connected to an iPhone in his pocket and relayed the call upon receiving it from a TrackMan computer system that uses Doppler radar. > > He crouched in his normal position behind the catcher and signaled balls and strikes. > > “Until we can trust this system 100 percent, I still have to go back there with the intention of getting a pitch correct because if the system fails, it doesn’t pick a pitch up or if it registers a pitch that’s a foot-and-a-half off the plate as a strike, I have to be prepared to correct that,” deBrauwere said before the game. > > It didn’t appear deBrauwere had any delay receiving the calls at first but players noticed a big difference. > > “One time I already had caught the ball back from the catcher and he signaled strike,” said pitcher Daryl Thompson, who didn’t realize the technology was being used until after he disagreed with a call. > > Infielder L.J. Mazzilli said a few times hitters who struck out lingered an extra second or so in the batter’s box waiting on a called third strike. > > “The future is crazy but it’s cool to see the direction of baseball,” Mazzilli said. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/142 "2019-07-11T03:25:41Z")
Finally, the first move towards Blernsball. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/143 "2019-07-11T11:49:10Z")
[Here comes the porto-molecule!](https://apnews.com/9dbd1a0ac2ad4ac2992472e44929597f) > [@](#): > > The Hayabusa2 spacecraft had created a landing crater on the rocky asteroid in April by dropping a copper impactor. It landed inside that crater on Thursday and collected samples that scientists believe contain valuable data unaffected by space radiation and other environmental factors. > > Hayabusa2 is the first spacecraft to successfully collect underground samples from an asteroid. A similar mission is planned by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration on another asteroid, Bennu. > > The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, said data show Hayabusa2 touched down and rose safely after collecting the samples. The moment the success was announced in the command center, everyone stood up, cheered and applauded. > > “It was a success, a big success,” said Takashi Kubota, a Hayabusa2 project member. “We achieved success in all scheduled procedures.” > > JAXA said the samples have been safely placed in a container, which will be moved to a capsule for secure storage. > > “We obtained pieces of the history of the solar system. We took a historic step,” said Yuichi Tsuda, the Hayabusa2 project manager. “Nobody has collected and brought home underground materials from anywhere further than the moon.” > [@](#): > > The asteroid, named Ryugu after an undersea dragon palace in a Japanese folktale, is about 300 million kilometers (180 million miles) from Earth. Hayabusa2 is expected to leave the asteroid later this year and return home at the end of next year. > > The asteroid, about 900 meters (yards) in diameter, is extremely rocky on its surface and has signs organic compounds, scientists say. > > Hayabusa2 made a similar landing at another location on the asteroid in February and collected topsoil samples. According to Wikipedia, Hayabusa2 will complete its survey of the asteroid in December and the return trip to Terra will take about a year. IMO this is pretty fucking cool. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/144 "2019-07-11T12:42:31Z")
As an aside, the title sometimes makes me think “atlatl” instead of “Atlas”, and now I’m imagining a much, much, much earlier version of this thread. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/145 "2019-07-11T14:08:47Z")
^ Hey, what’s new, Atlas? Whoa-ooooh, whoa, whoa-oooh. You’re welcome. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/146 "2019-07-11T17:55:57Z")
We can now edit both the audio and video of a person speaking just by entering new text. [Text-based Editing of Talking-head Video](https://www.ohadf.com/projects/text-based-editing/) - 9 minute video from the researchers. [Rewrite Videos By Editing Text - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xWnOL5bts8) - 4 minute summer video at Two Minute Papers. The AI matches the speakers voice and produces video that matches how a person’s face would move/change when speaking the new words. This is still very new tech but there are several examples that I cannot tell are faked. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/147 "2019-07-22T02:19:39Z")
In all of the science fiction of earlier decades, not once did anyone predict the problem of the accidental [cat](https://gizmodo.com/accidental-kitty-cat-filter-undermines-pakistani-minist-1835580941) [filter](https://gizmodo.com/rcmp-apologizes-after-streaming-press-conference-on-dou-1836581515). ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/148 "2019-07-30T19:41:59Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > This sounds like really, really cool tech. If it works simply and works well, it’s prolly game changing. Video gaming would change overnight. A good portion of the machines in Las Vegas would be changed within a year; no more slapping buttons or pulling levers. TV sets, computers, clocks, doors, elevators, etc., etc. [It is confirmed](https://9to5google.com/2019/07/29/pixel-4-bezel-tech-opinion/) that the Pixel 4 has radar. Just _look_ at the cluster of sensors and projectors on the front of that thing. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2019, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/149 "2019-08-07T21:36:08Z")
[It just got a lot easier to make animated films.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcnjHmBcLNQ) (2:48 video) For those that don’t want to click: Remember a few years ago when they figured out how to take an artist’s style and use AI to render a photograph in that style? So you could have your vacation photo of Big Ben done as if Van Gogh painted it or something? Well, now they’ve developed a way to do that with video. Quite a few examples of real footage rendered in various art styles; kind of like rotoscoping by computer, eh. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2019, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/150 "2019-08-07T21:59:59Z")
I was playing around with the software (or trying to; it’s kinda difficult because there are no instructions at all) and forgot to link to the example video that they creators made: [Watch EbSynth bring paintings to life](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eghGQtQhY38) is 1:56 long, with no narration, just examples of synthed video. ETA: AHA! I found the instruction video! ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2019, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/151 "2019-08-07T23:07:46Z")
Pretty cool, but similar video filters have been around a long time–this is an incremental advance, not a leap. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/152 "2019-09-25T03:59:57Z")
[Spot is shipping to customers now](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlkCQXHEgjA)! Also, [Atlas can do parkour](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sBBaNYex3E)! ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/153 "2019-09-25T14:39:36Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > \ Also, [Atlas can do parkour](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sBBaNYex3E)! The Russian judge only gave him 5.8! 😃 I’m not as informed as the rest of youse guys: is the “balancing” (waving the arms, bending the knees, etc.) programmed, or is it “natural” (happens because of whatever gyroscope is mounted in his chest(?)? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/154 "2019-09-25T16:35:12Z")
A little of both, I think. My guess would be that the gyroscope indicates in what way the chassis is unbalanced and the AI then manipulates the chassis to get the gyroscope to “zero”. An AI would then remember and try to improve the balancing sequence until it was generally optimal so that that subroutine could be accessed whenever the gyroscope indicated the chassis was unbalanced. At least, that’s how I’d approach the problem. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/155 "2019-09-25T16:45:13Z")
Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2019, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/156 "2019-09-26T21:44:37Z")
[Cirque de Soleil is thinking about incorporation Spot into their shows](https://apnews.com/b328e18f142f4aeb872e9bef3b881813)! ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2019, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/157 "2019-10-10T22:05:20Z")
[We can now print out boats](https://apnews.com/aaaa801f8206487baedcf7d07391888d). Yes: _boats_. 25 foot long, 5000 pound sea-worthy boats. But they aren’t done: > [@](#): > > The 3D printer, which can gobble up 500 pounds of plastic polymer pellets per hour, is already proving useful as demonstrated by the patrol boat. > > But the university hopes to make it better. > > A $20 million research collaboration with the Oak Ridge lab will focus on using bio-based thermoplastics reinforced by cellulose-based materials to create a 3D printable material that’s strong, durable and recyclable, Dagher said. If it works according to plan, the printer will be able to quickly produce items like molds for boats or concrete casks that could be recycled afterward, he said. > > The composites center also received $500,000 from the Maine Technology Institute to help Maine boat builders explore how large-scale 3D printing can provide the industry with a competitive advantage. > > The printer itself cost $2.5 million with additional funding going toward installation, commissioning, and material testing, with most of the funding provided by the U.S. Army. > [@](#): > > In addition to the boat, the university used the printer to create a mold for a bridge girder and a communication shelter for the Army. > > As for the boat, it was the first thing printed by the university, and it was created in one solid piece during a nonstop printing over 72 hours. It cost about $40,000 to produce. Imagine the military bringing a couple of printers and a bunch of pellets and simply making boats, housing, furniture, etc. all to order when it’s needed. Ships could be smaller, because they wouldn’t have to transport as much empty space. Materials could be re-used when something broke or was otherwise no longer needed. Fewer repair personnel needed. And think how fast it would be to occupy someplace if you had a factory or two that could make almost _anything_ almost instantly. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2019, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/158 "2019-10-19T02:08:27Z")
[Drone delivery service has begun!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oh97IDbrb6s) (1:17 video) [AP story here](https://apnews.com/f9fd494757cd499980211f8a34793eb0). > [@](#): > > Susie Sensmeier received a purple winter vest she ordered from Dicks Sporting Goods delivered by a drone to her front yard. The 81-year-old said she never thought she’d see something like it. > “I didn’t think I would live that long or it wouldn’t come in my lifetime, I’m thrilled,” she said. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/159 "2019-12-21T23:57:22Z")
Well, [the revolution has begun](https://www.aol.com/article/news/2019/12/20/amazon-echo-speaker-goes-rogue-tells-scared-mom-to-stab-yourself/23885142/). ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/160 "2019-12-22T00:02:50Z")
I don’t have an Alexa, but I guess it’s only a matter of time before my other devices are infected, huh? I have baseball bats. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952.md?page=9)