Boston Dynamics has “Atlas”, and Elon Musk had taken the concept personally. The Tesla Motors, Boring, and SpaceX visionary has now teased “Tesla Bot”.
Imagine Boston Dynamics’ Atlas, but a lot more human-like, and that is Elon Musk’s Tesla Bot. Before offering a fully autonomous driving mode in Tesla Motors, Musk has hinted at the biped robot.
Elon Musk puts a man in Tesla Bot suit and says such a humanoid robot is under active development:
At the company’s AI Day, Tesla CEO Elon Musk teased Tesla Bot. Surprisingly, Musk claimed the company is planning to demonstrate the biped, self-balancing robot next year, presumably at AI Day 2022.
Musk envisioned that the Tesla Bot will be able to hold or even fetch groceries and perform other menial tasks. Although the AI Day was meant for multiple announcements about the self-driving systems, Musk had his special “one more thing” moment.
BREAKING: Elon Musk has just unveiled the "Tesla Bot" pic.twitter.com/CpPxDovWTF
— SAINT (@saint) August 20, 2021
Elon Musk claimed Tesla Motors is already the biggest robotic company in the world. He was obviously referring to the self-driving cars, the Tesla Model S, 3, X, and Y.
All the specs we know so far about Elon Musk's Tesla Bot, which remains to be seen ahead of a prototype planned for next year. https://t.co/nXO8cqoe0Q pic.twitter.com/ItaYk53nZ9
— CNET (@CNET) August 20, 2021
There’s ample knowledge and expertise gained from giving cars the ability to steer and drive themselves. During its development, Tesla Motors has made multiple advancements in computer vision and Artificial Intelligence.
These developments for four-wheelers will now power the development of robots that walk on two legs. Incidentally, Musk put a man in a suit and had him dance on the stage, before announcing the new endeavor
What is Telsa Bot, and how will it help mankind?
The Tesla Bot is essentially a robot with a human-like appearance. The slides and videos that Musk showed at the AI Day indicate the biped robot will perform “dangerous, repetitive, and boring tasks.”
Musk claims the Tesla Bot will have “human-level” hands as well as “2-Axis feet for balancing with force feedback sensing”. The biped is about 5 feet 8 inches tall, and 125 pounds, with a screen for a face that displays “useful information”.
Tesla and Elon Musk announced tonight that they are working on a Tesla Bot.
Many fail to realize the car company is really a technology business. pic.twitter.com/z59RWUTYBi
— Pomp 🌪 (@APompliano) August 20, 2021
For motion, vision, decision making, and actions, the Tesla Bot will have an onboard FSD Computer as well as several cameras and sensors. The robot will be able to independently take decisions, carry 45 pounds, and run at 5 MPH speeds, claimed Musk.
Elon Musk announces the Tesla Bot 🤖
It will take over ‘boring’ work and a prototype releases in 2022 pic.twitter.com/xOzBp7OrU8
— Culture Crave 🍿 (@CultureCrave) August 20, 2021
Musk’s primary motivation behind developing Tesla Bot is “Tesla doesn’t do it, someone else will.” It is not immediately clear if Musk collaborated with Boston Dynamics as the latter has made significant strides in self-balancing robots. Musk has reportedly worked with famed roboticist Dennis Hong, who specializes in humanoid robots.