Ha I was thinking of this thread ..good to see it still exists. Thought you might like to see this radio guided slope mower I"m waiting for,  it's on the boat from China to here.
It's on tracks, has a snow blade and is piloted with a remote (no automation). About $3000 including shipping.



https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/1005004682111923.html

Fun to watch, well made video.
500+ views in the first day.. good start!

> onboard AI learns the steps?
Probably. Interesting question. I found these articles with a link to the code used:

Making a robot learn how to move — Intro
https://towardsdatascience.com/making-a-robot-learn-of-to-move-intro-2bcf3c3330df

QuoteThe dynamical model of a robot, i.e. the mathematical model describing how inputs affect the movement of each joints, can be very complex, especially when dealing with robots with many Degrees of Freedom (DOFs). Links are often dynamically coupled: the movement, velocity and acceleration of a link affects the other in complex ways. There are inertia effects, centrifugal, Coriolis and gravitational effects, non-linear frictions and so on. All of these can be hard to model mathematically. So, the question is: can the robot learn how to move? In the next series of posts, I will show different approaches, techniques and algorithms that I've developed along with a colleague of mine. You can find all the code developed for this project in this GitHub repository.

Making a robot learn how to move, part 1 — Evolutionary algorithms
https://towardsdatascience.com/making-a-robot-learn-how-to-move-part-1-evolutionary-algorithms-340f239c9cd2

Used today to justify my prices 

QuoteA great lathe operator commands several times the wages of an average lathe operator, but a great writer of software code is worth 10,000 times the price of an average software writer

Bill Gates

Fresh input

Amazing
Too bad the full article is subscribers only.

English version the French article but full version also for subscribers only;
https://thecanadian.news/2020/12/07/when-googles-quantum-computer-gets-pawned-by-a-classic-pc/

Good and some technical info that goes over my head but interesting nonetheless
https://physics.aps.org/articles/v13/183

QuoteHow do these results relate to the quantum advantage claims by Google? As they stand, they do not weaken or refute claims—with just a few more qubits, and an increase in D or f∞, the next generation of NISQ devices will certainly be much harder to simulate. The results also indicate that the team's algorithm only works if the quantum computer is sufficiently imperfect—if it is almost perfect, their algorithm provides no speed up advantage.

hey Oilman

COVID Reopening Phases Explained by Monty Python
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-eFRcTpWls

opinions

Yes thanks for that post Ergophobe .. very interesting.

GitHub buried a data archive at the North Pole in case post-apocalyptic society needs help

QuoteDear people of the future: we're sorry for whatever horrible thing we did that caused the apocalypse (was it nukes? climate change? killer robots? idiots who wouldn't wear masks during a pandemic?). But the good news is, if you're reading this you must have found GitHub's buried data archive containing everything you need to reboot society

https://thenextweb.com/neural/2020/07/20/github-buried-a-data-archive-at-the-north-pole-in-case-post-apocalyptic-society-needs-help/

for the children

Bill Gates fan here.. sorry
In my humble opinion that video sucks on many levels.

There is no such thing as a Global Health monopoly.  And if there were thank god it's not with the US or any other governments.
I think The Gates Foundation is doing critical work that governments are failing to get done alone.

for some positive energy

Newen Afrobeat feat. Seun Kuti & Cheick Tidiane Seck - Opposite People (Fela Kuti)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFSRCG4DrmI

sacrifices