Sightech Eyebot 1.00 Rev E.
Tested, and works 100%.
Includes
* EyeBot Recognizer
* Power Supply
* Printout of manual
* Printout of Sightech patent on Neuro-RAM
Detailed Description
Initial Evaluation of Product
In their report, technicians at Riced Out Industries struggled to describe this device, calling it "one of the strangest audiovisual widgets ever" and refusing to elaborate any further, even when threatened with mites. Doubts started to clear up when an intern found a page on the manufacturer's site called Neural-Based Self-Learning Intelligence opens NEW FRONTIER for Vision. Here's a quote:
Sightech's devices
are special because they are
self-learning; in other words,
there is no programming required! A
manufacturer simply has to show our
devices good parts, thereby teaching
it what is acceptable. After a couple
of minutes (or seconds) of training,
our devices will then be able to
detect if a part is good or not. In
short, Sightech's products are
embodied with artificial intelligence
called Neuro-RAM
tm;.
Sightech's devices
will learn whatever you show it. Size
does not matter: Sightech's devices
can learn atoms or galaxies; they've
learned fruit and even human faces.
Ultimately, Sightech believes its
technology could be used in robotic
navigation, picking fruit from trees,
or identifying a face in a crowd.
Sightech believes it will deliver the
enabling technology for widespread
use of robots in the 21st
century.
Management had no further doubt after that, because management understands vision.
What Does It Actually Do?
Pretty much, you can train the Eyebot to recognize patterns + objects off a camera's video feed. When it spots the pattern or object you trained it to spot, it performs an action you designated, i.e. send a 5v pulse out the TTL outputs 'round back, which fires off a servo, etc etc....
Example application: A Eyebot-targeted, servo-driven, squirrel-squirting auto super-soaker. One would simply train the Eyebot to recognize squirrels entering the target zone, then connect the Eyebot's output to the trigger servo, and.... SQUIRREL RECOGNIZED! ACTIVATE SERVO! SQUIRT! High-speed camera captures the results. After three weeks, the amount of accumulated footage should be sufficient for a viral youtube video centered around squirrel aquatics.
Does It Work?
When our auction terms say this box works, we merely mean that it functions within specifications as laid out by the manufacturer.
As for the deeper, more philosophical interpretation of "Does it work?" That is, "Does it do the job it claims it can do?" Well... sorta. To study this question, Riced Out Industries requisitioned four argumentative grad students, and let them free-run. Upon halting, their conclusion was 0.62.
Management complained that this was not a proper answer, and demanded an explanation. The students explained that you can't issue a pass/fail to a system built on fuzzy logic.
So... does it work?
Not particularly well, no. It can work if you control the lighting and never ever alter the camera position, but it doesn't always... and, more to the point, most people can't do either of those things (fixed lighting and a camera that doesn't move around, even a little). Additionally, machine vision is, like, an immensely hard subject that's difficult to scotchguard for the plebs. If we clarify that IT will be using the Eyebot, and not grandma, then you're at least in the ballpark.
Also, to its defense, this is late 90's tech, and it's pretty darn good for late 90's tech. It's a heck of a lot of fun to play around with, even if it can't recognize much of anything reliably. It has some neat video filters, and a general sort of RoboCop aesthetic we find delightful. We will try to get a video demo up, schedule permitting.
To Riced Out Industries, the ideal customer for this item would be a bored engineer with a burning desire to automate something involving squirrels. If you are such a customer, please inquire about a discount.
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Why not visit the fascinating blog of Riced Out Industries??