EZ-AI development is on hold right now, well kind of...
We are in the process of working with some services that will allow the capabilities of EZ-AI to be far better than what they currently are. These include Wolfram|Alpha and IBM BlueMix/Watson. Speech Recognition will be performed through Nuance Cloud services. Advanced vision features will be available through OpenCV. A quick search of these services will allow you to see the end goal of what we are doing. These will be in the Rafiki project which is the primary focus at this time for CochranRobotics. We will release a limited use version for free which will replace EZ-AI. All of the current features of the EZ-AI database will be available through the new version. All of the services provided by EZ-AI will be available through REST queries and exposed services. This will allow plugins to ARC to be able to use these services.
There has been a huge amount of changes to what is possible since I first started working on EZ-AI. This huge shift of improved technologies has made it necessary to rework EZ-AI so that it can continue to grow and mature.
We are also toying with the idea of allowing programmers to write their own business logic layer within Rafiki. This would allow a programmer to be able to use the core services of Rafiki/EZ-AI and write their own applications with the data that is returned. It will probably be a while before this is implemented, but it is something that we are trying to make happen.
I have probably said too much, but wanted to give you all a picture of what is happening and why EZ-AI isn't being worked on directly. We hope to have our new AI available around the end of the year. There are multiple developers working on this while I find come up with solutions to other problems that arise.
As far as Rafiki goes, the pods are functioning great and additional code/abilities are being added almost daily. The models for the pods are being tweaked to expose the HDMI and usb ports and network port to the outside of the case. This will allow someone to connect a mouse, keyboard and monitor to the pod and use it as a computer if they would like. The Rafiki Bot is about 1/3 of the way printed. I am making modifications to the models as needed and reprinting some of the parts as needed. There will be 6 subsystems on this robot. 3 of these subsystems have been written and are ready to use. The other 3 subsystems cant be worked on until more of the Rafiki Bot has been printed. The 3 that are not complete are all very similar for motor control. I hope to have these ready in a couple of weeks. I should be able to show a demo of the Rafiki Bot in about a month, and then all of the robot programming starts. I will work on the charger base shortly after the robot has been completed and the pods are all working with all of their functionality.
One more thing on EZ-AI... As a part of this rewrite, you will just need to have Java installed on your computer to install and use EZ-AI. The days of the huge install will be behind us so it should make it far better in the long run. The other thing that this allows is robot platform independence. I will be working on modules in ARC to allow the features of EZ-AI to be accessible far more easily. This will probably not be worked on until December at the earliest.
Okay, going back to my robot cave. Have a great day all.
Yea, those are the thoughts swimming in my head.
There are a couple of other benefits to this like having a group of people put the robot through its paces before coming up with a manufactured product and all.
Actually, you were one of the people I was first thinking about when I the thought popped into my head. This would be a perfect fit for you.
Well, I am all for it... I kinda' feel like a Guinea pig here but I would be willing to buy a kit from you and take the plunge.... You also know you can trust the stls with me...
When you can (If this is the direction you want to go) can you get an approx price for the kit and of course when it might be available... I have to budget now... LOL... Long gone are the days where I made good money when I had my own business...
You have my email (it's also in my profile) if you need anything off the forum... And there is no rush... I have to save my money anyway.... especially since the CAD is in the toilet right now (so be kind)... $1 US = 1.44 CAN (approx)...
I understand about finances for sure. Let me do some thinking about it. The STL's will take some sanding and fitting right now and there are a lot of them. I used the Flashforge that you have for printing them out so that would be fine. I did do quite a bit of bondo/sanding to get the prototype looking good.
Almost all of the other parts are consumer products. It would be possible to buy them over time from different distributes. Also, I think you already have the motors that are used for the shoulders.
Let me sleep on it and I will make up my mind as to the direction that I want to go.
Thanks Richard
@David... I have built 2 inMoovs so I am an artist with sanding and filing to get parts to fit LOL... I work pretty much exclusively with ABS which makes gluing parts together with acetone a breeze... I am more than willing to do lots of work with the 3d parts...
No worries.... I would love to help you get Rafiki to the market...
David,
I feel your pain. Where are those cloning machines ? The physical stuff takes a lot of time. As for kits you are definitely going to limit your market, but you do gain some beta testers as you stated. How does this work out with your investors? Are they willing to let the product they were going to mass produce out onto the market? Your software will really be the most valuable assets and the sooner you get to that the better positioned you'll be. I still think EZ-AI should be a paid product and that additional income could help you move forward as well. A lot of folks like myself don't mind paying for something that we know the money goes back into its development.
I have a meeting with the investor on Wednesday. I will discuss this idea with him and get his input on it. I agree about limiting the marketplace. It is an possibly strategic move though...
A good idea is going to be copied. If I assume that this is going to happen, and just provide the ability to do so, and then keep the code locked up that makes the real magic happen, then it could be a win.
I am going to have to step away from this for a bit, but it won't be too long hopefully. I have something non-robot based that I need to deal with and focus on for a bit.
I like the idea of you tucking that key away deeply somewhere
it is the fuel that makes the machine go!
Hopefully everything is ok ... As far as stepping away is concerned ....
@David,
Kit Idea:
how you managed the printed parts ?
electronics, motors, hardware ?
firmware, software
I think builders and consumers have different mindsets and different goals
for example a builder will be more likely interested in hacking or changing the initial idea, add or remove different parts, ask questions and will force you to share more about how the solution works, and eventually will lead to open architecture, or modular building.
consumers on the other side will be less patience for changes adaptations, delays or issues, less savvy and they want a working solution.
for me it's a business decision.