A while ago I had mentioned that I would be starting a video podcast that functions as technical classes for homeschool students. I had also mentioned that I would go all in if I did it. Well, I went all in. My office has been converted to a video podcaster's paradise. Last weekend I was able to get the mixer, compressor, gate, Audio interface, green screen, dynamic mics, cameras, lighting and sound dispersion panels installed in my studio. My hosts (Tanner and Stori) both have a JD now and are learning about them by going through the LMS curriculum that was developed. We will start some "test" shows on Thursday evenings which will help the hosts to be more comfortable in front of the camera and allow them to get really comfortable with the robots and the technology behind the video podcast. The podcasts will be live so you will get to see all of the fun if you want to
On another project, I have been working with a group in the middle of nowhere Texas that is setting up a ranch for people who have aged out of the foster care system in Texas. Next week I will be setting up their firewall, NAS, domain server, some workstations, network and such. They will be using the class mentioned above for their students to teach them about robotics on the EZ-Robot platform. I want to do a show from the ranch but the logistics could make that difficult.
I will post the links to the video podcast streams later. We will be streaming on Youtube and Twitch. We also will have the RTMP feed available to be viewed directly. We have a mumble room and IRC channel that I will publish also. These allow participation in the discussion that is happening and in the show. Along with that, 662-4ROBOT1 is a direct phone number into the show, and Skype is also available. If you want to check out our early tests, I will post the links later. The official start is on May 6th 2017. We will be broadcasting from our booth at a Homeschool show in Oklahoma City.
I want to also do a show on Saturdays on more generic topics but all relating to technology. Nicholas (my son) will be teaching an Intro to Programming class. The next semester we will move up to intermediate programming and robotics classes.
SM@RT Club is the Patreon support page for the classes. I still have some work to do on it, but it is there at least.
I guess I still need to clean up some cables...
Well, I kinda like the background. It's bright, clean and interesting. Your greenscreen skills are very cool and realistic. Sadly when I first saw your show I thought that was your home and was a little Jealous. "How dare him have a nicer home then me!"
LOL. Just kidding, however there are a lot of petty people that first see something like that and these thoughts sit in their gut and eats away at them. I say let it eat them. You really don't want to associate with people like that anyway. Just to be clear I'm not saying NEWAGETOMY is one of these. He has a valid point he tries to share even though I don't agree. It's your show, make it look like you want.
It is a studio that I make the show in. The green screen helps to prevent people from having to see a closet behind me. It also allows different backgrounds to be used for different shows. This is important when students are enrolled in multiple shows.
I am sure that the background image will change at some point. It is just a bit more fun to be able to show something attractive than a closet that is full of wires and robot parts. I could make it any image but kind of like the one that I have right now.
I might show my workshop area in the garage at some point in a show. Right now it needs to be cleaned up some before I do this. I put up temp walls of sorts to prevent others from stacking things in front of my workbench. I put in padded flooring to help reduce sound and to also help with pains as I get older.
I do plan to do a show on my studio and how it is setup in the near future. My current interest is in getting my InMoov setup so near future shows may be more about that. I have to fit in my hobby of building robots along with the show at some point, so it might become more about robotics. Right now it isn't too hard to do the show simply because I have about 5 more days of 3D printing before I have all of the parts printed that I will need. After that, the show may become more about building a robot than about other technologies. IDK, it kind of changes as time goes along and is more about what I am currently dealing with.
I will say that Microsoft is working toward allowing its Windows 10 platform to run on ARM based processors like the snap dragon. This is a very interesting topic for me. Also, I had some conversations with some people a few weeks back that are also trying to figure out how to educate students on robotics and we all agree that the current model is broken. I will discuss these conversations probably in the next show.
Anyway, robotics is one of my favorite subjects so it is very prevalent in the show. Computers have been a part of my life for the past 35ish years so that too has a pretty predominate portion of the show. I worked for a cell phone company when cell phones were first coming out and have participated in this trend like everyone else over the past 25 years so it too is a pretty predominate part of the show. I have spent a few years researching and digging into AI so it too is a part of the show.
If you think about the convergence of technology and about the principle of ephemeralization, all of this deals with robotics. All of it will affect our future societies. All of it will affect our future, our children's futures and our grandchildren's futures.
Stop and think about how different the world was to your grandparents vs what you grew up in. Now, stop and think about the future for your grandchildren vs you. Technology is moving at such an amazing rate that from your world to your grandchildren's world will be 100 time more changed vs your world vs your grandparent’s world. We are at a time of huge changes due to technology and it will affect each of our lives.
Also, think about the spread of technology. There are areas of the world where people are vaccinated against disease and still die from that disease because the vaccines didn't stay cold enough before the child was vaccinated. This problem is being addressed and these hundreds of thousands of children per year that would have died will now live. These hundreds of thousands of children will have children making the population boom in the world increase at an even faster rate. The internet is taken for granted by many cultures, but there are many parts of the world that don't have access to the internet. This is being addressed. Now, these same children who would have died will have access to the same information that you and I have. if 1 in 100,000 of these children (number is very low) is prone to robotic visionary knowledge and research, that means that we now have more people pushing robot technology forward. From what I have seen, children are fascinated by robotics and I would say that probably 5000 or so of these children would have a tenancy or desire to become robot engineers. If my number is correct, this affects how many people will be pushing for the replacement of jobs in order to benefit their societies, which then affects other societies.
Anyway, technology is changing things at a pace that will only get faster each year. I only hope that I can pass along something that helps someone and each week, whatever it is that is affecting me is what I discuss.
@CochranRobotics,
Ah thank you, will go to 47:40 and watch the interview.
Looking forward to hearing about AI, im greatly interested in that.
;)
@DaveSchulpius,
I know no one agrees with what i said, i apologize for offending anyone, its just that when i struggle to find an interview and cant hear the speaker, then it becomes a little frustrating, i merely added constructive criticism and thats all.
Its a show i want to watch and am very interested in, thank you.
Hey @NEWAGETOMY, no need to apologize. you have a right to your opinion. I totally respect that. Nothing wrong with constructive criticism when it's offered in good faith like your appeared to be. I do agree that struggling to hear a speaker is very frustrating.
I am confused as to when it was difficult to hear something? Can someone let me know where this happened so that I can make adjustments? I am a bit confused as I watch these back and can't seem to find where in the video that this happened.
Thanks David
I would also like to mention that constructive criticism is a good thing, it is a way to keep things on track and to evolve!
The show is great, but also it is in it's early stages as @CochranRobotics mentioned there will be a lot of changes in style and subject!
I would also agree on that a calmer background image would add to the show visually and that the sound still needs to be tweaked...I am also having trouble with the volume, at least during the last shows!
It's is such a great show to have...we all agree on that right?
When it comes to spreading free information on the internet, this documentation on Aaron Swartz is an eyeopener...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpvcc9C8SbM
@CochranRobotics I made some progress with api.ai if you would like to take a look it would be highly appreciated since you seem to be an expert on this field!
@DJSures provided a great plugin but I was struggling to use the api.ai fulfillment to access data stored on an external server or in a database with api.ai! He says all this can be done using the ControlCommand() function but I could not figure out how to do it yet...
The bot can be asked about the height of different Star Wars characters and extracts the answer out of a Star Wars data base...eg how tall is Yoda, or how big is Han Solo. It is a bit buggy, but I works good enough to get the point I guess!
There is a live version of the bot here https://www.downtown-tattoo.de/robotics/StarsWars.html
and this is the scene.... StarWarsTest.EZB