Android Optimus
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has shown a prototype of his humanoid robot Optimus, expecting the electric car maker to be able to produce millions of it and bring it to market within years.
Optimus appeared on stage at an event in Silicon Valley, where he waved to the audience and raised his knees.
Musk expected the robot to sell for less than $20,000 apiece, less than a third of the price of an earlier model called the Y.
Musk said, during Tesla’s Artificial Intelligence Day activities on Friday, that work is underway to develop the robot, expecting the company to be ready to receive purchase orders within three to five years, and described an attempt to develop the product over a decade or more, in a vision he presented that is the most detailed to date. Now regarding a business he said might generate more revenue than Tesla for electric cars.
The company’s engineers say Tesla’s robots that will be sold in mass markets will be tested by performing jobs in car factories.
The company showed attendees a video of Optimus performing simple tasks, such as watering plants, carrying boxes and lifting metal rods at a production station at the company’s factory in California.
Tesla’s move to design and build mass-market robots will distinguish the company from other manufacturers that have tested human-like robots.
The eagerly anticipated unveiling of robotic prototypes at Tesla’s Palo Alto, California office was also part of what Musk described as an effort to make Tesla a leader in areas such as artificial intelligence, rather than just a company that makes “cool cars,” as he put it.
But the robot can’t walk yet, so it had to be rolled onto the platform and Musk said it would be able to walk in a few weeks.
“There is still a lot of work to do to improve and test Optimus,” he said, adding later, “I think Optimus will be incredible in five or 10 years, mind-blowing.”
“It really is a fundamental transformation of civilization as we know it,” he continued.
The Tesla CEO said that the robots that currently exist “lack the brain” and the ability to solve problems themselves, in contrast, Optimus will be a “very capable robot” in this regard and Tesla aspires to produce millions of it.
Other automakers, including Toyota Motor and Honda Motor, have developed humanoid robot prototypes capable of doing complex things like shooting a basketball, and production robots from Switzerland’s ABB and others are a mainstay in auto manufacturing.
But only Tesla is driving opportunity toward a mass-market robot, which can also be used in factory work.
The next generation of Tesla’s robot will use components designed by the same company, including a 2.3 kWh battery pack installed in its torso, and a system of chips and actuators to drive its limbs. The robot was designed to weigh 73 kilograms.
photo released, Getty Images
Tesla is moving towards a mass market robot, which can also be used in factory work
Musk said the widespread use of robots has the potential to create “a future of plenty, a future without poverty.” But he said he believed it was important for Tesla shareholders to have a role in scrutinizing the company’s efforts.
“If I go crazy, you can fire me,” he said. “This is important.”
‘destroying humanity’
Investors and financial analysts have expressed skepticism regarding Tesla’s approach to robotics, and advised it to focus instead on projects closer to its core business in electric cars.
But Musk said he wants to solve one of AI’s toughest problems: how to make a machine that can replace a human.
The businessman, who once warned that AI posed a threat to humanity, said Tesla wanted to ensure it was safe to move to a society where robots do the work and people reap the benefits.
“We always want to be vigilant and ensure we don’t go the Terminator route,” he warned, referring to a sci-fi movie in which robots try to wipe out humanity. He added that Tesla is adopting protective measures in the robot, including a stop button that cannot be tampered with.
Tesla’s AI Day aims to market and showcase the latest products.
