psychomugs (u/psychomugs)

psychomugs commented on Ask HN: Best way to learn robotics with a 10 year old? · Posted by u/hersko

GordonS · 2 years ago

Wow, really impressed with this! I'm sure my kids would absolutely love to build something like this, just as I would :)

Is there some kind of guide available? I've never built something like this before, but have some XP with Rpi and breadboarding. Oh, and I don't have a 3D printer.

psychomugs · 2 years ago

Thanks!

There is a guide available in the repo's wiki: https://github.com/hrc2/blossom-public/wiki

Our contributors' forks and extensions may also be useful:

https://github.com/interaction-lab/blossom-public

https://github.com/interaction-lab/BlossomNav

Regarding sourcing the parts, there are online services available to order 3D-printed parts as you would a PCB. The *.stl files are available in the wiki. Though with how accessible 3D printers have become — the well-supported Ender 3 is available for under $100 at Micro Center — you may want to consider taking up printing as a family activity.

psychomugs commented on Ask HN: Best way to learn robotics with a 10 year old? · Posted by u/hersko

psychomugs · 2 years ago

Plugging my own robot: Blossom is an open-source social robot made from 3D-printed or lasercut parts and a crocheted / knit cover.

https://github.com/hrc2/blossom-public

It's basically a floating head that others have customized with more functionality (e.g. cameras, microphones, screens, control with a phone) for research applications in human-robot interaction (education, telepresence, an assistant for ADHD task-focusing and CBT). We ran ~90 minute bot-building workshops for middle schoolers; they all successfully completed their robots and seemed to enjoy the hands-on experience.

psychomugs commented on Ask HN: Tell us about your project that's not done yet but you want feedback on · Posted by u/abj

psychomugs · 3 years ago

I've been working on a redesign of a small robot platform I designed in grad school ( https://github.com/psychomugs/r0b0 ). We designed the robot as a small robot construction kit for other researchers and roboticists, and is basically a floating head under a fabric exterior. My last research project used the robot as a tabletop motion-controlled telepresence device accessible through a no-downloads mobile browser.

I never had the time to polish the platform so I did a ground-up hardware and software refactor. The hardware was redesigned as an homage to popular snap-fit robot model kits, with runner layouts and instructions ( https://github.com/psychomugs/r0b0/blob/main/docs/assets/bls... ).

I've tried to generalize the software as an `aconnect` for non-robot-specific hardware devices. The software powers this digital back I designed for my >50-year old Leica M2 ( https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/leica-mpi-a-pi-zero-retrofi... ) and enables quick prototyping of physical IO, e.g. using a MIDI keyboard to control motors or a gaming joystick to control a mouse.

It's mostly a passion project to refine the platform into something more usable than how it was left, but I'm open to suggestions or beta testers!

psychomugs commented on Ask HN: Any hardware startups here? · Posted by u/guzik

psychomugs · 3 years ago

Not an official startup, but I developed an open-source laser cut and crocheted social robot platform during grad school. We ran a few workshops for ~middle schoolers to build it and there are a few built by other researchers and roboticists out in the wild.

https://github.com/hrc2/blossom-public

psychomugs commented on Rick Rubin’s creative genius latimes.com/entertainment... · Posted by u/andsoitis

skyyler · 3 years ago

I remember an interview where people that worked with him (I think Jay-Z?) described him as a "reducer" more than a "producer" which makes sense to me.

I've heard stories of artists with projects deep into scope creep calling Rick Rubin in to help cut through all the chaff.

It would make sense that he doesn't have a particular sound if his goal is to help the artist make the best possible art they can.

psychomugs · 3 years ago

“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”

psychomugs commented on Gamification, life, and the pursuit of a gold badge (2021) austinhenley.com/blog/gam... · Posted by u/azhenley

number6 · 3 years ago

You don't even need a bookmark. Just open a book. It is a progress bar in itself.

psychomugs · 3 years ago

I've been making origami bookmarks since elementary school [1]. Recently I've been making them out of ephemera, e.g. old coupons, the receipt for the book itself.

[1] https://www.wikihow.com/Make-an-Origami-Bookmark

psychomugs commented on What is Social Status? robkhenderson.com/p/what-... · Posted by u/jseliger

graeme · 3 years ago

That it's a false belief. One of two things happens in those cases:

1. That person is in some way sad regardless of what they profess, or

2. They have their own subgroup where they rate status according to the status rankings of the subgroup. This can include rejecting the status hierarchy of the mainstream, but this itself is a status play

With the internet this sub group can now be entirely online. But there does not exist such a thing as someone entirely insensitive to social status.

If you posit there is, can you name an example of such a person?

psychomugs · 3 years ago

Sounds project-y.