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Hi! Co-founder here...

KATIA plugs into a normal wall jack (120/240v single-phase), so you don't need to be wired for 360v three-phase power like you would with other industrial robots.

We also don't use any steppers or hobby servos like you would find on a toy arm. When we say the performance of an industrial arm, we mean it. We've built highly integrated, custom permanent magnet synchronous motors with 14-bit absolute rotary position sensors built into each joint.

Furthermore, the arm has been designed from the ground up for zero-backlash operation, and the rigidity is insane -- we're gettting less than one hundreth of a millimeter of transient deflection during our worst-case stress testing.

And it is made out of carbon fiber, because that's just how we roll.


Well, I am very impressed.

14 bit = 2^14 = 16384. Optical or some kind of hall-effect? I am going to guess hall-effect.

When I read "permanent magnet synchronous motor" I think stepper-ish motor. Is that what the joints are? No gearbox, custom stepper-ish motor, with the 14-bit encoder giving feedback not just on the position, but also the load?

What voltage do these custom motors run on? I will guess .... 48V.

It is a very sleek-looking arm.


  the 14-bit encoder giving feedback not just on the 
  position, but also the load?
Rotary encoder probably wouldn't give you that. Usually you just measure how much current the motor's drawing.


I’m the creator of Acceleread, which is a reading trainer app for iOS. http://www.acceleread.com

Your point about comprehension is super important and often gets overlooked, so I wanted to add my 2 cents.

While the RSVP method seems to being used as a proxy for all things speed reading, it’s really only one part of the picture. RSVP is definitely faster (because eye movements take time) and particularly good for people with learning disabilities like dyslexia (because the tool isolate words), but there are trade-offs.

For one, saccades (the normal eye movements you make while reading) give your mind time to process the information. You need that. Secondly, RSVP tends to lead to repetition blindness, so you can miss repeated words, which changes your understanding. Also, people tend to zone out after a while of staring at one point. All of these aspects underpin overall comprehension and show where RSVP falls short. Where RSVP shines is for short bursts of text (as the article states) and also for learning to read words in groups rather than individually, which is really really useful.

But back to my original point, speed reading isn’t just RSVP. It’s a collection of techniques that together help you read more effectively. Honestly, it probably shouldn’t be called “speed reading” at all - it’s what naturally strong readers already do. You solve for speed, comprehension and retention.

You start with the mechanics (learning to read words in groups, strengthening eye muscles, improving concentration etc) so that you aren’t getting hung up on bad habits, and then assess how well you understand and remember content. In fact, when you learn to read in this way, you don’t even need the tools like RSVP and moving highlighters. Yes, they are useful training wheels, but you’ll already read that way anyway. You also won’t be tied to one service or medium.

Believe me, I find the hyped-up, late-night infomercial, eat-cake-get-thin approach really off-putting too, in fact it’s one of the reasons I made Acceleread in the first place, but don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.


I've used the goLITE BLU device for just over a year now and have found it to be really effective for giving me more energy. Use cases: full blast soon after waking up to reset my circadian rhythms and then on a lower setting later in the day. (You obviously need to be careful not to use it too late in the day as it will inhibit the synthesis of serotonin into melatonin.) I would describe the energy boost as subtle, but effective and long-lasting.

That said, it's way overpriced. You could make your own device for MUCH less. Basically, any blue leds operating around 470 nm, which are pennies apiece on digi-key, would work. Wire up a whole bunch in parallel, put them behind a diffuser and you're good to go!


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