So we know I want to create robots that use AIs as part of the control system in non-constrained environments. Rather than creating machines that only work in a controlled environment, I think we can create machines that work in much less predictable environments by using image recognition and generative AI. From where I’m sitting right now, that seems like an impossible dream, but I’m also an overly confident guy, so let’s do it.
I’ve got two ‘prototype projects’ that I’ve been dreaming about.
One is a robotic harvester – something that can pick fruit, vegetables, or berries right off the branch. That’s labour intensive work, and it’s something we all need in order to eat. My bedroom is full of cherry tomato plants right now, and I’ve recently finished building some lovely raised planters in my backyard so I can transplant the plants once the weather warms just a tiny bit more. In other words, we’ve got targets to test the automation against.
My other idea is a robotic gutter cleaner. A machine that drives around on the roof of a house and clears the gutters of debris. Again, this is one of those things that’s needed by millions of houses across the country, but the unconstrained environment means we still do it with human hands. I’d like to fix that.
(The long term dream is building houses with robots, but I don’t think we get there by trying to build a house building robot. I think we build a team of robots that can work together to accomplish every single step needed to build a house. I might be insane, but hey, so’s building a house.)
I want to build these things using as many ‘micro components’ as I can. For example, both the harvester and the gutter cleaning robot need to be able to raise and lower something, so I want to build a single scissor lift component that can be re-used for both of them. Both robots are going to need to navigate an outdoor environment, so I want to build a single moveable platform that can be used for both of them.
Which is to say… I’ve purchased a Meccano kit. It’s time to build a small scissor lift.