Comments on: Robot interface lets fingers do the walking

By: rasz

rasz — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:35:32 +0000

The deal is they used ipod only to make buzz, there is ZERO functionality added, in fact there was removed functionality, namely reliability got decreased. Now you got software layer trying to determine if your finger smudges mean forward or turn.

NO, you wont be able to make it jump, thats my point. This is as usefull as using your Wacom tabled for typing.

By: aztek

aztek — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:27:15 +0000

@gdogg and @rasz yes rasz you get mentioned to because you had such an insightful reply. I think this interface is very intuitive. Once you get that it’s your fingers that are doing it you’ll be able to make it jump, kick and turn. I’ll bet you that if you give this to kids and don’t tell them anything they would figure it out pretty quick.

@Gdogg (more then rasz) Back to your issue which I think is a separate one. Yes it’s an illusion, but so what? They even mention it in the title it’s an -interface-. An interface between you and the robot. Sure you make motions which it translates into a “walk forward” command, but you could argue the same with a remote control. Pressing one of the sticks forward can make it walk as well. So whats the big deal.

And @Ipod/Iphone haters

Please direct me to the nearest wireless multi-touch display store. I mean come on as soon as somebody finds another device that’s also wireless, has a multitouch display, and is that dirt cheap I would like to know. Do you really want people to put disclaimers on everything.

“Hi, guys just made something cool please read my disclaimer first. I used an Iphone in my project, but I don’t like it nor do I think it’s cool. But nobody sells such cheap multi-touch wireless displays. Yeah I don’t want to be cool guys, just want to make something that works. Again not loving Steve Jobs really don’t like him at all etc etc etc”

I have an Android myself not an Iphone. Yeay for disclaimers…not.

By: rasz

rasz — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:20:27 +0000

BobSmith are you mentally challenged? This is as intuitive as controlling car speed by spinning little tire mounted on a dashboard.

By: BobSmith

BobSmith — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 14:18:41 +0000

As far as the comments of gdogg and the like go, the point, which you obviously missed, is to make the robot easy to control, which this seems to do quite well. It doesn’t matter one damned bit if it interprets each gesture as an individual step or not, and to gripe about that is to miss the point utterly. What’s garbage is your utterly useless commentary, not this system of control, which is simple and intuitive, something that anyone could use to control the robot.

By: Justin Lilly

Justin Lilly — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 07:06:31 +0000

And here I thought “Let your fingers do the walking” was for the yellowpages. Marketing culture at its best, eh?

By: Hitek146

Hitek146 — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:44:02 +0000

^Once Rick-Rolled, the robot starts dancing very badly. Wait – it was already doing that….

By: dan

dan — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:21:19 +0000

What happens when the iPhone gets rick-rolled?

By: JMD

JMD — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:50:27 +0000

Better audio than that live one..!

By: JMD

JMD — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:48:46 +0000

Sort Sol – Let your fingers do the walking

By: neimado

neimado — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:47:29 +0000

@rasz, couldn’t agree with you more. Watching this video almost made me puke in my mouth a bit.

Just because something is attached to an iPhone doesn’t make it instantly any cooler, and in this case it actually distracts.

By: rasz

rasz — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 04:08:30 +0000

Gdogg is right, this is a gimmick. Glue Iphone to something and hope it gets picked up by retarded sites to make your project more popular.

By: Ben

Ben — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 04:07:43 +0000

The table they used was a bad choice for the robot’s feet. It slid around too much.

By: Alex Grant

Alex Grant — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:51:38 +0000

So easy, a caveman can do it!

@jAMES: It wasn’t THAT long ago.

By: jAMES

jAMES — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:10:11 +0000

I wonder how many HaD readers are old enough to remember were the ‘let your fingers do the walking’ phrase comes from

By: Gdogg

Gdogg — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:47:47 +0000

This is actually garbage. It doesn’t interpret individual steps, otherwise turning wouldn’t be done as illustrated. They basically teach it to walk, then add a layer on top that converts walking motion back into the main command.