Robotic Systems Blog

Live Operators! Instead of dumb machines, that rule our lives, under direction of dumb people, that use them, for reduceing humanity, to its lowest common denominater.

My pet peeve is that things that interface with the operator (keyboards, controllers, gauges) are too small and too badly placed. If you want to bring people into the equation, you HAVE to accomodate fat fingers, distracted eyes, with more attention paid to the eventual purpose of the technology. A good example might be automobiles or aircraft gauge sets on the dashboard where more attention is paid to how cool the gauges look rather than the fact that you need them to drive. Almost every gauge can be replaced with a "thermometer" style gauge, the nature of which is this...the gauge is a vertical strip, with a moveable indicator inside....like a thermometer. Such gauges would work best in groups, because a quick glance across the set would see all the indicators sitting halfway up. A deviation would be instantly obvious at a single glance, then the operator's eyes can get back to the road or the landing strip, or whatever.

Keyboards which are too small to accomodate fingers rank along with pressure gauges whose faces are turned towards the wall....

I have almost come to terms with light switches which turn off by selecting them UP in the UK, and red indicator lights on electronic equipment that indicate when the system is OFF. But not quite.

A users/operators manual that is translated correctly from the COO to the country its being used.

A control cabinet that has a fold-out table for a laptop so that PLC maintenance & programming wouldn't be so awkward.

As a journeyman machinist I must say that never have I seen machine tools appropriately ventilated except where I personally did the modifications. This problem is rampant as is the negligence of owners who subject workers to copious toxic fumes and particulates. What is most infuriating is the fact that it is ridiculously simple and cheap to evacuate this pollution from work areas, and the terrible injury these cheapskate employers expect workers to accept as just a routine matter. No, it doesn't pay enough, as lawsuits may teach.