Monday, May 29, 2017

IBM Watson++

You know about Jeopardy - Watson wasn't given information - it taught itself by reading Wikipedia.

So, why not go further? Get Watson to take every Coursera, Udacity, EDx and Udemy course and see what you come up with? Maybe the cure for c is only a month away.

Robot-based Slapstick

This one came to me after watching a video James Conrad of UNCC showed to his class - a hex-pod with flippers instead of rigid actuator limbs - it could move on land and water and upside-down as well - the students loved it.

Considering the injury question (aside from cost) is out, you might see some neat slapstick in the years to come.

Shame on IIT Chennai

I don't get it - why not convert a problem into an opportunity?

If mosquitoes are such a massive issue, why not offer a B. Tech in Dragonfly Cultivation.

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

TV Remote Incorporating Drone Mobility (Quadrotor)

What more could a couch-potato ask for - your wife put the remote on the other end table and you want to get it without moving. How about a voice-command that it can respond to and fly to you?

Come on Makers. I think this one's easy.

Here's how to go about it :


  1. Create an Alexa skill (ok, maybe Raspberry Pi is good enough) so Alexa can tell the remote (over WiFi or Bluetooth, etc - maybe WiFi using the Particle Photon is the way to go)
  2. Then, hack the remote - needs rechargeable battery, and the drone board with the quadrotor.
  3. This requires a few mechanical hacks - you needs the buttons of the remote control on one side, with some extensible standoffs that telescope out so the buttons aren't on the table - unless you think that's okay. 
  4. You also need to be able to flip the thing over using these actuators in case the thing has been put on the surface with the rotor-side down.
  5. You need the rotors to be deployed only when needed - else it's non aesthetic..
  6. You need a charging station that the drone can go to - autonomously would be nice :)

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Infographic for Capturing Project Success

Probably exists already, but I've never seen it.. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to refer to past projects in your company (including the commercially successful ones) like this?

The circle is the planned or forecast value.