AI for Hobbyists Podcast: DIYers Use Deep Learning to Shoo Cats, Harass Ants

Autonomous machines shining lasers at ants -- and spraying water at bewildered cats -- for the amusement of cackling grandchildren. Hobbyists are just getting started with deep-learning technologies that give them cheap, off-the-shelf capabilities that put Ronald Reagan's Star Wars program to shame. In the latest edition of the AI Podcast, NVIDIA engineer Bob Bond and Make: Magazine Executive Editor Mike Senese explain to host Michael Copeland how they've taken the once esoteric technology of deep learning and put it to work on offbeat projects that can be tackled on budgets of a few hundred bucks. "One of the big things that's happening -- and it's happening in real time right now -- is the technology is finally hitting a point where we, as consumers, have access to this type of capability," Senese says.