Ouch. Maybe I should put up a picture of an injury so that people stay away.
To answer the first question: image recognition is a crucial feature in the Glowforge. Starts with recognizing a code for materials and ability to outline, as I understand. Capabilities will evolve and there are some exciting possibilities to automagically register or recognize materials and objects. I could see the possibility of placing an iPhone in it and the Glowforge finds it, recognizes the model, orients to correct position and engraves the design with only having to push one button. But I think that, as above discussion has indicated, there are easier safety features than having to program image recognition for body parts. An interesting proposal for AI and the power of cloud computing but simply too Rube Goldberg to be effective.
I’m naming my next cat Ol’ Three Paws, no matter how many legs he has.
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Holy cow–that’s bananas. That particular scenario never occurred to me, and don’t think I ever want to witness it. Yikes.
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That tech is amazing!
A table saw at full RPM, and a hot dog is brought to the blade. On contact the blade stops before the skin on the hot dog is broken!
The saw is trash, but you are paying out for a new saw instead of the emergency room.
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We’ve got one in the shop. Make sure not to cut wet wood, or you’re out a cartridge and a new blade. 
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Here’s a cool video with the inventor of Saw Stop sticking his own finger into one under a high speed camera:
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I never thought about moisture in the wood.
I presume the trigger mechanism is ground fault. I know a GFI circuit is extremely sensitive.
My neighbor put a fridge in his garage and it kept tripping the GFI, when it had worked fine in the house.
I put a piece of plywood underneath it and solved the problem.
There was enough moisture in the concrete slab for the circuit to sense an anomaly.
I thought it destroyed the armature as well, absorbing that much energy. Whatever the replacement cost, a small price to pay. Seems like your insurance carrier should lower the risk assessment just by virtue of that equipment.
@terence, thanks for the link!
The one I saw didn’t feature a finger, just the hot dog. It also didn’t show the aluminum crumple mechanism absorbing the energy.
Even as the inventor with the understanding and experience of seeing repeated success, I’m not sure I could push my finger into that whizzing blade… I sport a few scars, but the finger inventory is still complete - and it’s job one to keep it that way.
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I would say he still had his reservations. He put in his pinky, slowly. Confidence would have been just going in full ham and trying to grab the blade with all fingers.
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Hahaha! Not going to happen! A finely tuned sense of self preservation would forbid it. I mean, “everything, nothing, always and never”. Careful with those, this is life on Earth…
"Go ahead - slap that saw blade!
I’ve set off a couple of GFI outlets when using my handheld ham radio…they make one heck of a loud BUZZZZZZZZZZZZ that is sure to make you jump!
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Little piece of trivia for you - blade scorched MDF is slightly conductive - wanna guess how I know that?
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Yes, nothing quite like that electrical BZZZT to get your undivided attention!
Hahaha! I use that for emphasis when I direct against a course of action…
"Guess how I know that?!
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I’m curious as to why he took the road to manufacture his own saw brand rather than license it.
He had trouble licensing it to other saw manufacturers; he also couldn’t indemnify the saw manufacturers when he wasn’t the one handling the manufacturing himself.
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That’s an expensive learning session. Ouch! I hear Bosch now makes a saw to compete with saw stop. Apparently it uses tiny explosive charges to move the blade away without the aluminum chuck and without ruining a blade.
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Thanks. I have since followed up and read. What a tortuous story of trade associations, safety groups, patent law, economics of manufacturing and dogged determination. Makes me realize what a tremendous undertaking Glowforge is doing in updating an existing technology and rethinking the model.
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You’re kinder than me. I usually end my similar warnings with the less obvious “or you know, do what you want. How could I possibly know what might happen?”
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