Tuesday, February 12, 2019

Robotics: pitcher would be easiest. Hey, it's not like they're baseball players.

Robotics have transformed factories, eliminating mundane repetitive jobs. Self driving cars are being developed.

By far the most mundane and repetitive task is that of pitching. It's basically bowling. Do the same thing over and over. And bore the heck out of us with histrionics in between.

We don't even need to develop computer algorithms and hardware to reproduce the task of pitching. Just roll out an Iron Mike pitching machine.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitching_machine

pitching machine is a machine that automatically pitches a baseball to a batterat different speeds and styles...

In 1897, mathematics instructor Charles Hinton designed a gunpowder-powered baseball pitching machine for the Princeton University baseball team's batting practice... Hinton successfully introduced the machine to the University of Minnesotawhere he worked as an assistant professor until 1900.
The arm-type pitching machine was designed by Paul Giovagnoli in 1952, for use on his driving range.  Using a metal arm mounted to a large gear, this type of machine simulates the motion of an actual pitcher, throwing balls with consistent speed and direction. One- and two-wheel style machines were originally patented by Bartley N. Marty in 1916...
The arm action machine simulates the delivery of a pitcher and carries a ball at the end of a bracket, much like a hand would. The arm action machine then delivers the ball in an overhand motion.
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Try doing that for a shortstop.

The next most likely task that could be computerized is oddly the batter. We now have precision cameras that can track pitches. The batter's swing could easily be simulated and without a leg kick.

Fielding and base running would be most difficult. Unfortunately, current trends emphasize power pitching and power hitting. In 2018 there were more strike outs than hits.  Fielding and base running are being devalued.

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