Tom Elwood -best of the internet.

Sunday, April 26, 2026

Self driving fails

https://youtube.com/shorts/nOfU04nB9-Q?si=YStgmIV7--_g-2sc

I think they deployed this self-driving tech before it was fully tested! These are some pretty embarrassing fails.

Sunday, April 19, 2026

Robots working in close proximity to humans safely.

The End of the Cage: How Robots and Humans are Finally Working Side-by-Side

For decades, the "safety protocol" for industrial robots was simple: a giant steel cage. If a human stepped inside, the power was cut. It was safe, but it was also slow, rigid, and physically demanding.

As we move through 2026, we’ve entered the era of Human-Robot Collaboration, where multi-ton machines and human workers share the same floor, often working on the exact same part at the exact same time.

Here is how we’ve moved from "reactive stopping" to "intelligent collaboration."

1. Meet the Cobot

The foundation of this shift is the Cobot (collaborative robot). Unlike traditional industrial robots, cobots are designed with rounded edges, hidden pinch points, and specialized internal sensors.

However, being "collaborative" isn't just about the hardware—it’s about the mode of operation. A robot is only truly collaborative if it is governed by one of the following safety pillars.

2. The Four Pillars of Collaborative Safety

To keep humans safe without cages, engineers rely on four distinct, verifiable methods:

Safety-Rated Monitored Stop: The most basic level. The robot operates at full speed but halts the instant a human enters its "yellow zone."

Hand-Guiding: Think of this as the "power steering" of robotics. A human can grab the robot arm and physically lead it to teach it a new path.

Speed and Separation Monitoring (SSM): The robot uses 3D vision, LiDAR, or radar to calculate the distance to a human. The closer you get, the slower it moves.

Power and Force Limiting (PFL): This is the "gold standard." The robot’s joints contain torque sensors that detect even a light touch. If it bumps into you, it instantly dissipates its energy so the impact is no more painful than a gentle tap.

Watch: Combining SSM and PFL for Safe Collaboration – A biting lecture and deep dive into how robots use math to decide when to slow down vs. when to limit force.

3. The Future: E-Skin and Predictive Engines

The newest developments in 2026 have moved beyond just "sensing" a human to "understanding" them.

Electronic Skin (E-Skin)

Modern robots are now being outfitted with tactile "skins” — thin, flexible sensor arrays that give the robot a sense of touch over its entire body, not just its "fingers." This allows a more nuanced response to accidental contact.

Predictive Safety Engines

The most exciting breakthrough is the shift from reactive to predictive safety. Using Edge AI and 3D depth cameras, robots no longer wait for you to move before they react — they analyze your body language and walking path to predict where you are about to move, adjusting their own path to stay productive while keeping you safe.

Watch: How E-Skin Makes Robots Intuitive – See how touch sensors allow robots to feel pressure and adjust their strength in real-time.

4. Safety is Software, Not Steel

In today's factories, safety is no longer a physical barrier; it’s a living, breathing software protocol. As robots become more mobile and more humanoid, these standards—like ISO 10218—ensure that technology adapts to us, rather than forcing us to stay behind a fence.

Watch: You Think Robots Are Safe? Think Again – A field guide on how modern factories manage "uncaged" robots and the risks of mobile machinery.

Saturday, April 18, 2026

Wow - lifeboat freefall

Skip ahead to 3:29 and watch it catch air for about 3 seconds!

https://youtu.be/96S-JYnV1eo?si=Jb7mbPH3BoXKeikP

Friday, April 17, 2026

Jails charge inmates money

https://youtu.be/gwwuV0X7rdE?si=0CEKU0kA2yNwdIBp

We didn't know where eels come from

https://youtu.be/y0UIJekwyPY?si=o9wzVxBPzkMb4XfY

This guy is incredibly good at long-take monologues filled with facts.

Solugen harnesses bioenzymes to achieve 96% yield

The Eureka Moment (02:23-03:30): The founders discovered a specialized enzyme found in pancreatic cancer cells—which produces hydrogen peroxide—and realized they could harness it for industrial chemical synthesis.

Scaling Up (10:32-11:57): The company evolved from small-scale experiments to their state-of-the-art Bioforge plant. This facility uses industrial-scale bubble columns to transform corn syrup into massive quantities of chemical products with high efficiency (96% yield).

https://youtu.be/PCypBUVhff8?si=t3lWjxJjYA4CaP-S

Monday, April 13, 2026

Mongolia flooded with dead Prius batteries

https://youtu.be/KyEVDmoh5lo?si=JyYWKWelLsblLX_8

Sunday, April 12, 2026

Autological words

I love words like sesquipedalian and obfuscatory because they are perfect examples of themselves. Apparently they're called "autological" words.

Erudite

Polysyllabic

proparoxytone (pro-par-OX-y-tone) - a word stressed on the antepenultimate, or third-to-last syllable

https://theweek.com/articles/459441/17-words-that-describe-themselves

Saturday, April 11, 2026

1.5 MW EV charging

Fully charge EV in 9 min @ 1.5 megawatts charging from 10% -> 90%, from BYD

https://insideevs.com/news/789118/byd-new-megawatt-flash-charging-stations/

https://youtu.be/FhaKPDF4BHQ?si=iY7Vp4IvtY8-TsVP

Wednesday, April 8, 2026

Cascadia megaquake is inevitable

We're overdue for the next "big one" earthquake in WA, OR, CA and it will likely last longer than 3 minutes at over 9 on the Richter scale.

9:15 things to have on hand - shelf-stable food, water 1 gallon per person per day for 3 days, fire extinguishers, 2-bucket toilet, toilet paper, sawdust for #2, and a 4-in-one gas shutoff tool.

https://youtu.be/bZwB7kRhLIc?si=YiThUXjsolQtBlOS

Avoid chronic Omeprazole PPI

https://youtu.be/m4dDMYNLMUU?si=LI2GD2Maum6ylryp

(Nexium), Pantoprazole (Protonix) (1:33-1:47).

Risks: Chronic use can lead to kidney damage, and deficiencies in magnesium and Vitamin B12, which are crucial for heart and nerve health (3:05-4:34).