• ALostInquirer@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    27
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    8 months ago

    […] I just want to point out that automating things that exist purely in the digital domain is far easier than automating things like ship breaking.

    Not that you’re saying otherwise, however isn’t that even more of a reason more developers and resources should be allocated toward automating complex and risky physical processes?

    • IrateAnteater@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      25
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      8 months ago

      Honestly, I don’t see how you would do it without general AI, which is something that will be solved in the digital domain first anyway.

      • MotoAsh@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        6
        arrow-down
        5
        ·
        8 months ago

        Eh, it could be done with non-general AI. There are a finite number of different types of things to handle, so as long as it’s not thrown off by some bent steel or some missing consoles, I’d be amazed if they couldn’t automate at least specific ship designs.

        • epyon22@programming.dev
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          15
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          8 months ago

          They still manually build ships right now what makes you think they could automate taking one apart

          • Riskable@programming.dev
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            2
            arrow-down
            2
            ·
            8 months ago

            Firstly, much of shipbuilding is automated. They use robots to paint them and apply anti-fouling coatings. They also use loads and loads of automated machinery to create the steel parts that make up most of the ship. Do you think some dudes are forging rivets, beams, and pipes by hand? No, those are made by machines that make zillions of them.

            Secondly, nearly every ship–even ships that seem generic like big container ships–is a custom, one-off thing. They’re all bespoke (for the most part), being engineered for specific purposes, routes, and they even have “upgrades” for companies that pay extra (e.g. nicer quarters, extra antenna masts, more and special equipment mounting options, etc).

            • QuaternionsRock@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              3
              ·
              edit-2
              8 months ago

              They use robots to paint them and apply anti-fouling coatings. They also use loads and loads of automated machinery to create the steel parts that make up most of the ship. Do you think some dudes are forging rivets, beams, and pipes by hand? No, those are made by machines that make zillions of them.

              The missing piece here is assembly, and disassembly is like 95% of what goes into recycling from what I understand.

        • IrateAnteater@sh.itjust.works
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          8
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          8 months ago

          Automation requires very high precision/consistency in the parts you want to work on. I seriously doubt that after many years of wear, tear, and impromptu repairs, those ships would be anywhere near consistent enough.

          • Riskable@programming.dev
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            8 months ago

            Automation does not require very high precision though it does require a modicum of consistency. Millions of vibratory bowl feeders with huge tolerances on their alignment mechanisms demonstrate this fact (“Damnit! A part got caught again… Gerry! Loosen that tolerance screw much farther out so that won’t happen again” LOL).

          • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            8 months ago

            In fact they cannot automate the disassembly of cars even though their construction is highly automated. We just grind them up in a big grinder and separate the materials. So basically the same thing as with ships just on a smaller scale.

          • MotoAsh@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            4
            arrow-down
            6
            ·
            edit-2
            8 months ago

            That’s why I said, “eventually with non-general AI”.

            Even a well written algorithm could work with something that’s mostly in expected shape. How in the flying fuck is everyone so brainless that they cannot understand non-general AI can still adapt to things? Fucking hell.

            I’m not talking about current industry practices. I’m talking about combining existing technology with unlimited bidget to create a factory that could kinda’ do the task.

            “Possible” and “practical” are two extremely different things, and you goons pointing out that most obvious basic fact are adding nothing.

        • SchmidtGenetics@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          4
          arrow-down
          3
          ·
          8 months ago

          A single repair or modification would ruin the entire automation process. One single screw off by a single mm type thing.

          • Riskable@programming.dev
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            8 months ago

            This depends on the system. Mechatronics engineers spend a lot of time learning and figuring out how to make systems that can withstand edge cases like an incorrect screw size. There’s whole engineering/mechatronics disciplines around automation reliability (though much of it involves lots and lots of sensors and cameras, haha).

            The way they test these things is by intentionally throwing bad parts into the mix at various stages of their automation. Something like a screw being too big/small is a trivial matter that won’t make it through a system or facility designed by professionals.

            The real problem that really throws a wrench into every mechatronics engineer’s carefully-planned automated masterworks is people doing things like throwing wrenches into their carefully-planned automated masterworks 😁

          • MotoAsh@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            4
            arrow-down
            6
            ·
            edit-2
            8 months ago

            Why the flying fuck do you think I said, “non-general AI”? Even a well written algorithm could handle things coming in not in perfect shape, yet everyone pretends “non-general AI” means, “execute instructions repeatedly without any input what so ever.”

            Use your brain. Even basic dumb algorithms that can run on an Arduino can respond to input. Machine learning can easily respond to dynamic input, so stop failing to imagine the most basic of basic things I say.

                • SchmidtGenetics@lemmy.world
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  arrow-up
                  3
                  ·
                  edit-2
                  8 months ago

                  But nothing would ever be identical to a blueprint because of repairs and modifications man…… add in wear and tear, yeah it ain’t happening.

                  That’s the part you can’t understand. We don’t have anything that can perform this yet, if you want to claim it exists, let’s see it then.

    • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      16
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      8 months ago

      Not that you’re saying otherwise, however isn’t that even more of a reason more developers and resources should be allocated toward automating complex and risky physical processes?

      You’re solving for the wrong problem from the perspective of people with money investing money to solve these problems.

      • Shipbreaking, while dangerous for the workers, isn’t expensive because it is done in far flung countries with workers that have low wages, few protections for safety, and long term health consequences.

      • Art and writing (for western consumption) requires educated and talented people which are expensive to employ.

      People with money, looking for a return, want that return their spending, not reduce human suffering.

    • Aux@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      10
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      8 months ago

      Processing the digital world is just the first step. You can’t just build a safe autonomous ship disassembly robot without making sure your algorithms are actually sound. Look at self driving cars, they’re far from being safe and acceptable. Jumping straight into this problem without testing the shit out of your code in a virtual world is a mistake.