Wow…. this isn’t just about the bike. It looks like the bus beats the bikes on the space metric. I think the idea is to just use alternatives. I know I am looking forward to warmer weather…. I plan on resuming my commute in March weather permitting.
Space Required to Transport the Same Number of People
If you have been reading this blog… you know if you happen to be my mom or something… you may remember the press I got last March for the Wiimote and Robot thing (check here for a review). In my post regarding the New Scientist article I articulated my disappointment in the failure to mention Foster-Miller (FMI) in the article. The mention of FMI in my blog post was based on the feedback I got regarding how upset they were since they let me use a robot and stuck around in a hotel lobby until 2:00AM while I finished coding the interface to the wiimote. I truly did feel bad.
Flash forward…. Just prior to Christmas the news cycle must have been slow because I was once again contacted regarding the wiimote use with robots. This time it was the Discovery Channel. The Discovery Channel wanted to interview me regarding the technology. I would like to thank the Discovery Channel for publishing the actual interview in its entirety here. I was going to embed the text here but it is kinda long but not too long to quickly read check it out.
The Discovery Channel wanted me to provide names of people who could verify my claims regarding the technology. I pointed them to Foster-Miller knowing that back in March they were left out of the news cycle.
The must have some connection with CNN because just found this video that came out right around the time I gave the Discovery Channel FMI’s information….
Here are the problems:
If you look at the discovery channel interview you will see I said Military Robots were not the inspiration…. infact I went as far to say their is not Robot-and-Wiimote Program that I know of.
Who is Peter Will? I know a very distinguished controls theorist…. not a roboticist… at least not a roboticist focused on human-robot interaction and usability issues.
The Wiimote does not “emit” an IR beam…. that is not how the system works.
Bob Quinn is an ass. He should stick to business and leave technology to the technologists… subtle movements, bluetooth hacking, give me a break. He has never seen his robots operated with the wiimote.
The New Scientist omission was unfortunate however never was it the case that New Scientist Article indicated the Idaho National Lab created something was expressly Foster-Miller’s creation…. you be the judge did you get the impression that FMI created the technology?
Three Years to military acquisition? WTF?
Is it any wonder I like bicycles better than robots…
Here is a true story told to me by James McDonough…
James: “Do you know why we lost the Viet Nam War?”