At Tesla’s AI Day event, Elon Musk revealed that the company is working on its own AI-driven humanoid robot able to move with agility in the world built for humans to “perform dangerous, repetitive, and boring tasks.”
The humanoid robot, called “Tesla Bot,” will be around 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) tall and weigh around 125 lb (56 kg). The feeling is that the reassuring dimensions have been chosen to avoid the disturbing Terminator effect that would have aroused a giant and mighty robot, preferring a more graceful shape instead.
But despite the gentle appearance, Musk stated that Tesla Robot would be able to carry loads up to 45 lb (20 kg), deadlift as much as 150 lb (68 kg), or hold a 10 lb (4.5 kg) weight with its arms extended. The robot will have a maximum walking speed of around five mph (8 km/h).
Obviously, the Tesla Bot will be prepared with multiple internal systems, both hardware and software, to be efficient on a day-to-day basis. For example, their hands can behave like human hands to hold objects. In addition, it has 40 electromechanical actuators, which function as a kind of joint to get around in spaces that aren’t designed for robots.
It’s going to share a lot of the technology found in Tesla vehicles today. The robot will perceive the world through eight cameras and a Full Self-Driving (FSD) Computer that will receive data from a very similar suite of sensors. It will have a screen for a face, allowing it to display useful information. Using a similar suite of AI hardware will enable Tesla to leverage the development that it is already doing in the process of delivering a fully self-driving car.
Like cars with an advanced driver assistance system, the Tesla Bot relies on neural networks to identify the objects around it and react to them in the most natural way possible. It even has a simulation system and a set of tools for constant learning. All that remains is to wait for a working prototype of Tesla Bot to be able to compare it to the automaton already shown in recent years, such as the multifaceted and agile model of Boston Dynamics.
Elon Musk pointed out that Tesla is becoming a robotics company thanks to all of its work with artificial intelligence and fully self-driving cars that can move independently and interact with humans. He said they are making the robot because they are already making almost all the technology to create it.
Musk didn’t go into many details about the overall capabilities of the Tesla Bot. Tesla‘s goal is to have the first prototype of the Tesla Bot ready by 2022.
