PROBoter – Open-source platform for automated PCB analysis

Fascinating to see this kind of work in parallel with open tools to do more at a relatively small scale, e.g. LumenPnP.

Every time I learned about this kind of tool my first reaction is "Damn... wish I had this in my basement" with a kind of mad genius mindset. I could have that, this, a 3D printer, a V-One ... and "just" think a device and have it!

Then I check the price, consider the hours... then I check CrowdSupply or open hardware competition and realize that they are very dedicated engineers already being so creative with precisely all that so it's very unlikely my idea would be genuinely novel.

It's very interesting, even empowering, but it feels the automation part is basically still begging for cooperation with experts relying on it, NOT using it yourself.