We’ve done a lot of shows over the years about all the different ways robots might be able to help us out.
We’ve also done a lot of shows about the wonder that is pizza.
Today, we’re talking about a project that’s trying to teach a robot to make a pizza.
This is an effort out of Virginia Tech, and the goal here is not to replace the humans in our pizzerias (especially the ones who can throw the dough up in the air and catch it).
The researchers are trying to find ways to make robotics more useful to people with disabilities, to help with daily tasks so individuals can be more independent.
So they tried to teach robotic units some skills that might come in handy in the kitchen.
And this is where we start to see just how complicated it is to teach robots to do processes.
If you’ve ever made a pizza from scratch, you know how many different individual tasks are involved.
We knead the dough, we open a can of pizza sauce, we shred the cheese, we open a glass jar of toppings.
All of these you can do with your hands, but try to open a jar with the same strength that you use to knead dough and you might end up with a broken glass and a big mess.
Robotics teams first have to figure out what materials to use for a robotic set of “hands”: should the gripper be soft and flexible, or strong and solid?
Or should there be more than one gripper?
And, then, how do robots recognize which ingredients go with which task, and how to manipulate them?
The Virginia Tech team has been developing what are known as switchable adhesives, where the grippers are good at holding onto stuff, but they can also let them go.
It took some time, but humans successfully guided a bot through the process of making a pizza, from pan to crust to sauce to toppings.
Hopefully they’ll also teach the robots to wash up and how to answer the phones, because I am ready with my order for pickup.
Today in 1729, the establishment of a charter for what was then called Baltimore Town.
The city is a little bigger now than it was in those days – it’s also home to an unusual building.
Baltimore’s World Trade Center is the world’s tallest five-sided building in which the sides are all equal length.
I’m Brady, not to be confused with a five-sided building in Houston where the sides AREN’T all the same. Thanks etc
But first, pizza: Team creates assistive robotics that can make you a meal (Virginia Tech)
The World’s Tallest Regular Pentagonal Building Is In Baltimore And You’ll Want To Visit (Only In Your State)
Keep these human-powered podcasts coming as a backer on Patreon