Palo Alto Robots, Gardens, Downtown

I went with J1 and Kona to J1's office today. He's still not going full time, but we got there in time for lunch. Sitting out in the garden patio area was a bit like having lunch in Thailand. There, I knew what the topic was but was never sure of the details. Today I understood the details, but wasn't completely sure of the topic. Lots of jargon.

Essentially, they are making robots. Fortunately for them and for me, the New York Times scooped me on this story by one day, so I can use them to explain what the company's doing.

. . . a Silicon Valley robotics research group, said that its experimental PR2 robot, which has wheels and can travel at speeds up to a mile and a quarter per hour, was able to open and pass through 10 doors and plug itself into 10 standard wall sockets in less than an hour.

When J1 told me the robot could open doors and plug itself in, I was less than impressed. I've seen enough robots on television and movies to 'know' that ain't no big deal. But, apparently it is:

But roboticists said that the Willow Garage robot was the first to integrate the ability to do a number of operations in a real-world environment.
“There are other groups that have opened doors before,” said Andrew Ng, a Stanford roboticist with several students who have gone to work for the company. But, Mr. Ng said, this seemed to be the first robot able to repeatedly and reliably open doors and plug itself in.
William L. Whittaker, a Carnegie Mellon University roboticist and the winner of a Defense Department urban challenge robot driving contest last year, said it was “unprecedented” for a robot to navigate in a building reliably and repeatedly recharge itself. “These guys are the real deal,” he said.

I did some writing after lunch and then walked round Palo Alto while J1 had a meeting.

A lot of the homes in the area do not
have lawns. But most look like they have pretty pricey gardeners to keep these alternative landscapes looking good.