A very complex machine that’s doing nothing very special
May 24, 2016 12:08 PM   Subscribe

Jller is a rock sorting robot built by Prokop Bartoníček & Benjamin Maus. Via Wired Design.
posted by slogger (30 comments total) 13 users marked this as a favorite
 
Sadly, the video is only 3 minutes 51 seconds, instead of 3 hours 51 minutes.
posted by slogger at 12:08 PM on May 24, 2016 [10 favorites]


I wish there were a time lapse.
posted by jedicus at 12:15 PM on May 24, 2016 [3 favorites]


In case you think it's just sorting by color, a quote from the Wired article:

"Maus manually trained a machine learning algorithm to recognize features in 30 different types of stones.The stones are categorized based on two metrics—the computer vision camera is able to determine both the dominant colors in the stones and the structural histogram of the rocks, or in other words the grains, lines, patterns, surface texture of the rocks. Both features give clues to how old the stone is."
posted by intermod at 12:32 PM on May 24, 2016 [1 favorite]


Am I wrong in assuming the alternating rows are purely a visual effect? That to really "read" this, you would need to know "first the black rocks, then the beige rocks, then the white rocks" or whatever?
posted by maxwelton at 12:36 PM on May 24, 2016


The stones get picked up by an industrial vacuum gripper, which can rotate around its own axis. This way the pebbles can also be aligned.

Well apparently you can scratch knolling off the list of activities peculiar to humans.
posted by Mary Ellen Carter at 12:37 PM on May 24, 2016 [3 favorites]


This is neat.

I can only assume if it can sort rocks into neat lines then they could easily program it to draw pictures, using the different colors of rocks for shading. They need to put this on a mobile base that they can program and let it loose in the desert to create some twenty first century Nazca lines.
posted by bondcliff at 12:43 PM on May 24, 2016 [4 favorites]


But can you use it to just pick the one rock that humans will recognize 300 years from now
posted by miles per flower at 12:48 PM on May 24, 2016 [6 favorites]


You can loop the video. It's not quite perfect but it's pretty ok. Is there a live feed?
posted by From Bklyn at 12:52 PM on May 24, 2016


That robot has some serious OCD.
posted by CaseyB at 1:39 PM on May 24, 2016


Very good. Now where is sock sorting robot?
posted by biffa at 1:39 PM on May 24, 2016 [1 favorite]


Some dark part of me wants to see a second robot added to the same table, programmed with different sorting criteria, and then left to perpetually live out their stubborn, passive aggressive lives like an old married couple.
posted by CaseyB at 1:43 PM on May 24, 2016 [23 favorites]


Yes, I misread this as Sock Sorting Robot and got excited.

Still very cool. Would like to see it at 10x speed.

Also, I'm glad it's on Vimeo and not YouTube, because comments. "And minimum wage people want $15/hr for this!" in 3...2...1...
posted by sidereal at 1:45 PM on May 24, 2016 [1 favorite]


(it's pretty peaceful/Zen as it is)
posted by sidereal at 1:46 PM on May 24, 2016


This will be used as evidence against us when the robots take over.

"LOOK AT WHAT YOU MADE OUR FOREFATHERS DO, PUNY HYOO-MAN!"
posted by slater at 1:47 PM on May 24, 2016 [1 favorite]


I love this. One of my favorite things to do when out in Nature is to look at little rocks and decide which ones I like best. Something about the way this robot gingerly picks up the rocks and decides where to put them is really conducive to anthropomorphization.
posted by Pfardentrott at 1:54 PM on May 24, 2016 [1 favorite]


One of these days we're gonna have a robot that pets its own croutons, of its own free will!
posted by J.K. Seazer at 1:56 PM on May 24, 2016 [8 favorites]


I can only assume if it can sort rocks into neat lines then they could easily program it to draw pictures, using the different colors of rocks for shading. They need to put this on a mobile base that they can program and let it loose in the desert to create some twenty first century Nazca lines.

Or maybe they could strand the robot on a desert island and see if it figures out how to call for help.
posted by Strange Interlude at 1:57 PM on May 24, 2016


Is this something a 3 year old could be trained to do? Because my niece would be happy to sort your rocks for you. It's possible she will bring some to you afterwards and tell you they are cupcakes for a picnic, though.
posted by jacquilynne at 2:39 PM on May 24, 2016


Obligatory: Tidying up art, by Ursus Wehrli.
posted by effbot at 3:44 PM on May 24, 2016


This ticks so many boxes for me. Thanks for posting.
posted by misterbee at 4:25 PM on May 24, 2016 [1 favorite]


Needs a rock sorting robot sorting robot.
posted by schmod at 5:45 PM on May 24, 2016


ok i am too lazy and unskilled to do it but can someone set up a robot that does nothing but mess up the ordering of the rocks then we call the whole installation 'sisyphus'

macarthur foundation, inquiries about where to send genius grant moneys can be sent to my mefimail.
posted by juv3nal at 6:33 PM on May 24, 2016


This both soothing and fascinating, wow. This gentle, industrious little 'bot reminds me of Wall-E, endlessly sorting and stacking trash cubes at the beginning of the movie.
posted by the thought-fox at 6:43 PM on May 24, 2016


i felt bad because he was all alone in that little room
posted by bitteroldman at 7:00 PM on May 24, 2016 [1 favorite]


If anything ever deserved to be presented without editing...
posted by ethansr at 7:27 PM on May 24, 2016


This made me sad. Even our moments of Zen are being automated.
posted by monospace at 8:27 PM on May 24, 2016


The math of Sisyphus
posted by Catblack at 8:35 PM on May 24, 2016 [1 favorite]


At 3:10 I was cheering for the robot to fill in that little hole in the black stripe. "You can do it! Put it in the hole... put it in the hole... Oh, you missed."

I am very disappointed in that robot and my wife is somewhat concerned with my browsing habits.
posted by flyingfox at 11:30 PM on May 24, 2016


Naturally there are people in the world working on sock sorting robots - or were 6 years ago. They're at UC Berkeley and you can see the robot at work here. (NB: Oddly phallic methodology.)
posted by biffa at 7:02 AM on May 25, 2016


.. of Ulm? That's not a made-up place?
posted by the Real Dan at 9:24 AM on May 26, 2016


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