I constantly amaze myself by the vast quantities of useless nuggets of knowledge and tidbits of trivia that are rattling around in my poor old noggin. These typically resurface when I least expect them. For example, I could be discussing AI systems with someone, and—as improbable as it may sound—one of the examples they give might trigger thoughts of a man bending over tapping a railway wheel … Read More → "The Curious Case of the Waning Wheeltapper"
I’m feeling more than a little existential at the moment. Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s a cream for that. I was going to say, “Don’t worry, it’s not catching.” However, the more I think about what I’m about to tell you, the more I fear we might discover that it is.
The idea that bumblebees shouldn’t be able to fly … Read More → "Bumblebees Can’t Fly, and Humans Can’t Exist (I Have Proof)"
I recall seeing the very first Mad Max movie in 1979. In this torrid tale, a dystopian near-future Australia is facing a breakdown of civil order. Max (no relation) is a police officer who turns into a vigilante, which isn’t surprising when you see what he sees and experiences. All I can say is that the … Read More → "Mad Max Meets Furiosa AI"
Are you ready for some robots?! We’re not talking about just any robots; this week we’re focusing on the quiet revolution of grippers, sensors, and collaborative automation taking place on our factory floors. My guest is Jennifer Kwiatkowski from Robotiq! Jen and I dive deep into the world of collaborative robotics. We explore the future of human-robot interaction in manufacturing, how Robotiq is solving … Read More → "From High‑Mix Production to Humanoids: Robotiq’s Push for Accessible Automation"
There are many difficult-to-answer questions. For example: At what point does ‘a few’ become ‘several’ When does ‘soon’ become ‘never’? How long will this take? (How long have you got?) When will it be done? (Define ‘done’?) Is it backward compatible? (With what, exactly?) How many devices around the world are running code no one fully understands? How many engineers are currently Googling the same error message? Why are … Read More → "Well, Fork Me with a Dining Philosophers Problem (or The Best Way to Debug Embedded Systems)"