Category Archives: robotics

Passing the Torch

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My Grandfather was an excellent carpenter. I inherited his Audels handbooks on how to create various wooden structures. It is fascinating reading how to build a barn without using nails. I doubt I will ever need to accomplish that task in my lifetime. My dad was an engineer before me. I also inherited

his engineering reference books and his slide rule. He did his best to pass the torch on to me, I do not foresee ever designing another oil refinery. Each generation has new challenges to undertake. Now that I have the torch, I must determine the best way to pass it on to the next generation. Fortunately I am not alone in wanting to transfer skill to the new generation.

Woody Flowers an MIT mechanical engineering professor also saw the need to pass the torch. He put together First Robotics as a tool for teaching high school students how to accomplish the engineering tasks associated with designing and building robots. His brilliance shows in that he made the journey fun for the participants, First Robotics has grown into a world wide competition that attracts aspiring engineers.

I volunteer mentoring a local team. Pictured is the robot that the students designed for this years competition. The alumni of our team have impressed a few of our industry sponsors who are equally concerned about passing the torch. The support of sponsors only improves the training we can impart

Die Casting has shrinking number of North American Companies that use the process. This is in spite of the rising amount of aluminum used in vehicle manufacturing. Some of my skills such as creating the 3D models for the new larger size torch heated funnels (launders) that are a part of the new Mega Casting cells are being taught to the students that invent the First Robotics competition robots. Otherwise the education system is reverting to saddling the graduating students with massive debt without the skills needed to repay it.

The Fugauwee

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Many a boy scout campfire was spent telling the tales of the long lost indian tribe. And you may wonder how the Fugauwee got their name. It seems that they met everyone with the same greeting “We’re the Fugauwee”

Satellites used for glodal positioning circle the globe.


In this modern era of GPS satellite positioning, it is hard to imagine wandering around not knowing where you are. This is true if you happen to be a drone flying with a clear line of sight to the GPS satellites overhead. It also works for a robot lawnmower that is tracking the programmed path for cutting the grass. Also works in agriculture where farm machinery follows preprogrammed paths through the field.

Enter the modern steel skin building. Perfect reflector of GPS signal. For those who doubt, try playing Pokemon Go inside Walmart or Kroger. This game is based on using the GPS in your cell phone to establish where you are. The GPS signal gets confused as you move away from the store entrance. Turns out that GPS is unreliable inside most steel skin buildings. This is especially true in a warehouse which is filled with steel racking that also scatters GPS signals.

Millions are spent creating move sets


I am not saying that it is impossible to use GPS inside a metal building. If you have the budgets that accompany movie production, a constellation of GPS repeaters can be installed to precision position the move cameras. A GPS repeater implementation also works for guiding other autonomous vehicles in a metal building. Unfortunately the cost of adding enough GPS repeaters to support an autonomous vehicle system in a warehouse is unattractive to the warehouse users.

Amazon uses driverless warehouse vehicles


We are experiencing the new solutions to the challenge of knowing precision location invented by disruptors. Kiva who was bought out by Amazon for $865 million painted a map on the floor of the warehouse. Adept, Bought out by Omron for $265 million uses the historic AGV wire in the floor for precision positioning at the stops with dead reckoning for the route in between. Other players are trying low cost reflectors instead of GPS repeaters and Vision based mapping.
Having spent some time in the hospital recently, I was watching an autonomous medicine delivery vehicle. It reminded me of the long lost Indian tribe. Whenever it got lost and encountered an obstacle in its path, it phoned home and surrendered control to the remote drivers in Pittsburg, “WHERE THE FUG AM I”

Dueling Digital Streams

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Even though the telephone was the first device that was widely used to employ digital (pulse width modulation) electronics, most of us cut our digital teeth on the personal computer. The digital nature of the phone system was invisible to us until the advent of cellular smart phones. The digital portion of the telephone (and co resident internet) system started at the telephone company office. Digital made sense to the electrical engineers. It was a lot easier to create a circuit that was either on or off. We all grew up with the light switch. Our lack of exposure to digital devices was a portion of the trepidation that we experienced every time we added a new digital device or card to the data streams within our computers. Usually this trepidation was well founded in that frequent system crashes occurred as we tried to activate yet one more device. Most of our computers were regularly sent to the computer repair shop to sort out the dueling digital streams.
It is not surprising that we think personal computer when the discussion topic of digital is brought up. Yes, the personal computer is still digital. What has crept up on us is that virtually every electrical device that we use is now digital. Even the humble electric light
that was the impedes for deploying our electric grids has evolved into a digitally driven LED (Light Emitting Diode) array. Most people are unaware that digital circuits pulse the LED’s to achieve the brightness without burning them out. The pulse circuits are powered by digital converters that create the proper voltage. Each digital step creates its own digital stream.
Most of the digital devices that we buy have been tested. Like the medications that we employ, this testing is done in isolation. We all hope that we will only need one medication at a time because next to no testing has been done to determine whether medications will work in combination. Vehicles have many electric devices. Each device runs on its own set of digital streams. All of these devises share a common wiring system which opens the door for dueling digital streams. Unlike the medical community, most vehicles devices are tested to confirm that they can work properly together. This does not totally prevent unauthorized engineering changes from creating dueling digital streams. I am currently recovering from an event where the digital stream from the headlights shut down the vehicle control.

Hands Free

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Most of us have learned how to ride a bicycle. It is pretty safe to say that riding hands free is unlikely initially. This is an unrealistic expectation. The balance and poise that it takes to ride hands free is developed with practice and experience. The hands free rider in the lead picture has many miles of experience under her belt. She is riding hands free without being on a smooth paved road.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA


We would all like the automation that we install to operate like “hand free” bicycle riding. Like “hands free” bike riding, it is unrealistic to expect this level of results the day the equipment is turned on. Insanity also applies. Doing everything exactly the same and expecting the results to improve is the easiest way to prove that you are insane. Achieving “hands free” automation requires some degree of active improvement from the initial installation. I am currently commissioning a robot that delivers molten aluminum. The last time I achieved “hand free” simplicity on a molten metal transport robot, I had invested a couple of years of planning and implementing small improvements. It was necessary to add all of the intelligence of a human operator to the program such that the robot knows what to do for the majority of non standard events. Silly little changes such as improving the synchronization signals make all the difference.

Lights Out Manufactuing

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It is hard to imagine a life before we used electric lights

It is hard to imagine a life before we used electric lights


The introduction of bright plant lights made 3 shift operations possible. Sufficiently bright lighting is interpreted by the workers internal clocks as sunlight. In most 24 hour settings it is important that the off shift workers are alert and attentive. This is only possible if their internal systems think that it is time to be awake. You would not want everyone to be asleep if you arrive at the hospital emergency room at 3:00 am.
Times when we are without lights turn into events in our lives. I can still remember one evening when we were having a boxed murder mystery party with friends. In the middle of the game our house lights went out. This looked suspicious because of a lack of bad weather and the neighbors houses with lights on that were visible through our windows. ” OK, How did you do it?” My friends know that I am an engineer. lightMAN Even though I was the murderer in our game, the loss of lights was the local utility company transformer giving up the ghost.
Lights out manufacturing is one of those “overnight” revolutions that have been in the works for more than 20 years. In the 90’s there were very few pieces of manufacturing equipment that you could trust to run overnight unattended. Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) was one of the first manufacturing processes to be used in a lights out fashion. Yes, we did need to add automatic halon fire extinguishers just in case.
The highest precision manufacturing processes like EDM occur at slow speeds

The highest precision manufacturing processes like EDM occur at slow speeds

This process is heavily used in mold making. It was a natural for unattended operation because some of the cuts can take days to accomplish. Many mold shops run their expensive EDM machines unattended overnight and over the weekend.
Lights out manufacturing has emerged from the bowels of tool and die manufacturing. A couple factors are responsible because implementing lights out manufacturing is not as simple as running over to the electrical breaker panel and snapping off the lights. ( Usually chaos ensues when the lights fail while people are working.) First our control systems are more reliable. Second, we can include more sensors to handle adjustment or shutdown if we are not present. Third we have adopted more slow speed manufacturing processes like 3D printing which take long periods to accomplish.
I.materialize 3D Printer

Photo courtesy of i.materialize.com

A good modern example of lights out manufacturing is the Amazon (Kiva) robots that happily operate in a dark warehouse because they are part of a system that was initially set up to operate in that fashion. Welding robots are another good example because they have the sophisitcated controls the enable then to run unattended. Welding robots can finish the job they are on after everyone goes home because of proper engineering design. Sophisticated computer controls allow welding robots to run unattended Laser and water jet cutting machines for sheet material can operate in a lights out manufacturing environment. The usually means that the jobs are packaged into full sheet set-ups so that sufficient time is gained by finishing jobs after everyone goes home.
We all remember the fairy tales of our youth where the elves came and did our work while we slept. It is more than a fairy tale. I still find it amazing seeing the progress that occurred while I slept when I arrive at work in the morning. Manufacturing will come back to North America. Some of it will come back as lights off manufacturing. Innovators in the manufacturing space have discovered that it is necessary to implement the latest manufacturing techniques and equipment to make a profit at an attractive selling price.

Digital Key

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Digital security will protect our connected devices from theft

Digital security will protect our connected
devices from theft


There has been much media attention applied to the massive hacking of various web sites to steal data. A lot less attention has been showered on the thieves that use radio receivers to capture and duplicate the electronic codes used for key-less car ignition. As a prudent strategy if you own a car that does not have a physical key, you should always avoid using the remote to lock the vehicle. This is especially true in a parking lot where it is impossible to detect whether a car thief is lurking in a nearby car. The current reality is unfortunate because our smart phones have the potential to increase security. It will take a lot more sophistication than we currently apply. We may need to delay the disabling of the device for a few days to enable a return trip home on a electric bicycle when your cell phone has died.
Electric bikes are less attractive as a theft target if they become disabled

Electric bikes are less attractive as a theft target if they become disabled


Just like insurance has a cost, it may be necessary to subscribe to a cloud security service. Within the cloud it is possible to store unique key codes series for each device. The location capability of the cell phone system, combined with a suitable app, can create a cloud based log that records the cell phone number and when and where the device was unlocked which will enable multiple users. We will hear stories about stupid thieves who use their cell phone to activate stolen devices.
As a teenage at Halloween, we thought it was funny to do a drive-by garage door opener run. This worked because the system was based on only a few codes, and a collection of remotes would result in enough matches to be fun. If the activation codes are ever changing, there is no advantage in thieves listening in. Thieves who use a radio (or blue tooth) to obtain a code will discover that it has been changed. In the transition period, not everyone will want to use a cell phone based key. A chip key should also be included such that the device is active when it is plugged in. Obviously, the advantage of the cloud database is that it becomes possible to sell replacement keys. The cell phone based replacement can happen quickly but a physical chip based key requires delivery. We can all relate to loosing a key sometime or other.

Warm and Fuzzy

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Automation has replaced armies of clerical workers (the new pink collar workers)

Automation has replaced armies of clerical workers
(the new pink collar workers)


We all know the drill ” Thank you for calling Modern Company. If you know your party’s extension please dial it now. For sales dial 101, for service dial 102, for HR dial 103, for accounts receivable dial 104, for shipping dial 105, for scheduling dial 106 —- if you wish to hear the options again press 1″ Usually none of the listed extensions match our needs, so we pick one in desperation only to hear a recorded message “Your call is important to us, please call back when our operators are not busy.”
In today’s lean world, nobody has time to sit at their desk waiting for the phone to ring. If you look at the sea of desks they are mostly unoccupied. Many of the players are simultaneously sitting in teleconferences while answering the daily bombardment of 2 to 300 internal e-mails. This overload is unsustainable and the pendulum will swing back to add new controls. Back in era of large companies, the chain of command was expected to correctly filter the information flow. Sending communication to higher than your boss’s boss was not permitted.
It would be nice to think that an instruction manual would be sufficient to accomplish a simple installation like a computer display screen. In the industrial automation arena, equipment is expected to live 7 years with first rebuild giving another 7 years. When you are matching a new display screen to equipment and controls that are more than 10 years old, a generation miss match occurs. Usually a live local technician with many years experience is needed to resolve the problems, especially if the set-up is complicated by having a defective replacement display screen to start with. This is why we pay a premium to buy industrial display screens because warm and fuzzy help is usually needed to get the repair done. Even good live help, last week we lost three days of production sorting out the replacement of a dead computer display screen.
This is an opportunity that start-up companies can use to grow. Most customers want a warm and fussy feeling and react favorably when they are serviced by knowledgeable people who are not remotely located in a call center. The UX (User Experience) movement is all about having your development staff interact with a representative group of users. As we performed the www.mileagetrakker.com beta test we personally got to know all of the beta testers. Since most people learn by interacting with other people, it was natural for the www.mileagetrakker.com beta testers to acquire the knowledge that they needed. As we scale beyond the beta phase, we continue to test which of the introductory activities can be automated on the website and which training and set-up actions require personal involvement by the sales staff. Even though is is possible to accomplish all of the actions needed to acquire a Mileage Trakker device by interacting with the website, the vast majority will join us due to the activity of the sales staff.
Capture your full mileage deduction

Capture your full mileage deduction


The new battle ground in the marketplace will be establishing the correct balance between efficient computerized automation and warm and fuzzy human support. Monopoly power can force customers to fight with faceless computerized non service, but this jeopardizes the continuation of the company. The pendulum will swing back to creating new employment roles for people.

Store High In Transport

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Aerial view of grounded ship Rena 04 by New Zealand Defense force from Wellington

Aerial view of grounded ship Rena 04 by New Zealand Defense force from Wellington

Ocean shipments of “fertilizer” had their containers labeled Store High In Transport so that the moisture that was a part of being stored near the bottom of the hold would not dissolve the contents. In much the same fashion as we honor the contribution of a British Sanitary Engineer, the contraction has become a part of the English language. The concept of storing high In transport is not as attractive these days, because the highest containers in the stack are the first to be jettisoned into the sea when trouble is blowing. Mostly novice shippers get caught by this fact. A good friend of mind told a story of someone he knew who wanted to bring the secret of caramel filled chocolate bars to Jamaica. He bought a surplus candy making line and loaded it into a container for shipment from Canada to Jamaica.
Chocolate encapsulates some delicious fillings

Chocolate encapsulates some delicious fillings

The secret remains safe with Davy Jones. The container with the candy making equipment is at the bottom of the Caribbean Sea. It is easy to see that this container was not shipped using a capable process. As we eliminate waste, it becomes evident that we need a container ship that is less likely to jettison containers. Innovations like that usually come out of the military. The multi-hull littoral combat ships are much more stable in rough weather. It is very likely that a catamaran would make a great container ship and result in a fuel saving as well. From a lean standpoint it is a lot easier to load containers as they are delivered without staging in a yard. Yard staging is a current requirement because the shippers who pay for premium container placement want their containers at the bottom of the stacks. This queuing and staging can easily double the transport time and cause many shippers to choose higher cost air freight. If the majority of containers are directly transferred between boat and truck or train, autonomous vehicles can be implemented to create an automated storage and retrieval system for the rest. We will implement driverless trucks. The first place you will see them in use is in captive applications like docks or yards. It is a whole lot less risky to implement this high level automation when the speeds are a lot slower and people can be excluded from the transport paths. I would not surprise me if the first driverless “trucks” also have a custom shape that matches their task.
Automatic Guided Vehicle in Hamburg port by HeJe

Automatic Guided Vehicle
in Hamburg port by HeJe

Chaos

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We live in a time of chaos

We live in a time of chaos

“There are some times when you can predict weather well for the next 15 days. Other times, you can only really forecast a couple of days. Sometimes you can’t predict the next two hours.”
DJ Patil, 37, an expert in chaos theory

The current business climate, it turns out, is a lot like the weather. In a time of chaos, predicting what will happen next has gotten exponentially harder. Uncertainty is universal in boardrooms and cubicles, as executives and workers (employed and unemployed) struggle to plan what they should do. I have a daughter who is entering the workforce. How can I tell her what to get into when all of my accumulated experience cannot answer that question for myself? And even if my vision is good enough to know what the current options are, I am certain that the season will quickly change and a different normal will emerge. I was discussing this with my wife, a start-up entrepreneur. She pointed out that the majority of people need a pattern to guide their life. Serious strife and unrest occur when a sizable percentage of the population does not know how to acquire a living wage. All of the A/B testing that we accomplish as start-up businesses establish which applied efforts are profitable in the emerging marketplace. As these get built into the standard work instructions that are part of our manufacturing legacy, the world seems a lot less scary to the typical employee. Most employees need a detailed blueprint of the activities that add up to earning a living wage.
Your gyro-copter is perfectly safe in the hanger at the airport. Heading out on the runway exposes you to the unseen wind vortexes lurking in ambush.

Turbulence in the tip vortex NASA Langley Resarch Center

Turbulence in the tip vortex NASA Langley Resarch Center

My best friend would not have ventured out into the chaos of a jet vortex, if he could have predicted the shift of winds that caused it to hover over the runway. As we integrate drones into our lives, they are also buffeted by the same fickle winds. In this time of chaos, it will take time to acquire the experience needed to create the new business patterns to guide us around the pitfalls.
Charles Darwin foreshadowed periods of chaos when he described natural selection: “It is not the strongest of the species that survives; nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.”

Global Positioning

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Satellites used for glodal positioning circle the globe.

Satellites used for glodal positioning circle the globe.


As little children we are taught the story of Hansel and Gretel who are faced with the challenge of finding their way home in an unfamiliar woods. As we all remember they discovered that pebbles as signs along the way create a map to follow. This lesson went to our hearts and the automobile clubs led the charge to install street and route signs at every fork in the road. Navigation using signs is a workable method as long as it is daytime and the weather cooperates. I can remember my mother turning on the porch light as a beacon to guide out of town visitors to our house.
Safe travel has long been based on line of sight position references

Safe travel has long been based on line of sight
position references


Lighthouses have long been used as beacons to guide sailors safely back to port. During the second world war a concerted effort was made to improve on visual position references. The British development of radar branched into the creation of LORAN.(short for LOng RANge navigation) It was not until the introduction of solid state electronics in the 1970s that marine and military use of LORAN became common. This system used a grid of land radio beacons to calculate the position of ships and planes. Most of the positioning systems still in use today are an evolution of the original LORAN. The position of a GPS receiver is calculated by timing the transmission from 3 or more transmitters in known locations. The measured position accuracy improves if the transmitters are closer or there is fewer obstructions. This is why we primarily use satellite or cell phone based GPS today.
I would like to report that our GPS navigation systems are infallible in their calculation of location. Even though they work most of the time, certain types of obstructions such as parking garages and metal buildings block or reflect the signals. Applications that require continuous guidance, such as the autonomous vehicles that I helped design for warehouse delivery, have additional local beacons to provide sufficiently accurate location. This also overcomes the intentional dithering that the US military adds to the satellite GPS signals. Other useful devices that use GPS locations, such as my www.mileagetrakker.com ,have an embedded workaround that makes the temporary loss of location user invisible. Even though this level of coding is complicated, the user experience is greatly enhanced.
Capture your full mileage deduction

Capture your full mileage deduction


Many of the things that we are trying to achieve are related to our current location. It is not surprising that some of the most successful automation effectively utilizes embedded GPS calculations.