Tesla announced on Thursday its plans to build a humanoid robot prototype next year. The so-called Tesla Bot, or Optimus Prime, was revealed as part of the company’s Artificial Intelligence department, aiming towards future autonomous driving capability.
“Tesla is arguably the biggest robotics company because our cars are semi-sentient robots on wheels,” said CEO Elon Musk while introducing the Bot.
The Tesla Bot is intended to be friendly, according to Musk, with the purpose of eliminating dangerous, repetitive, and boring tasks that would otherwise require humans. The robot is humanoid in appearance but features a screen instead of a face. Standing at 5 feet 8 inches with a top speed of 5 mph, it has physical specifications chosen so that “you can run away from it, and most likely overpower it.”
Essentially, it has the Autopilot system, Musk mentioned, with 8 cameras, the Full Self Driving computer, and some of the same tools used in Tesla cars.
The Bot will also leverage Dojo, the company’s neural network training computer, which is not yet complete. It will use pre-set algorithms and pattern recognition to form the basis of its decision-making.
In the presentation and in the past, Musk expressed support for universal basic income as robots take over jobs. “Essentially, in the future, physical work will be a choice,” he predicted.
In a presentation, the Tesla Bot contains 40 electromechanical actuators. It will also require a significant amount of power, which Tesla has not yet addressed. Previous robotic efforts, especially from automakers, have followed a lower and sturdier construction so they can pack enough heavier battery cells to maintain balance.
Tesla is by no means the first automaker to decide to build a robot. Honda’s similar project (Asimo) ran from 2000 to 2018 and resulted in a humanoid robot capable of recognizing gestures and moving objects, performing nuanced actions like holding a tool or bringing a drink, and assisting people with mobility tasks.
The Honda team behind Asimo has stated in the past, in various ways, what Tesla is about to find out: building humanoid robots is incredibly challenging, with aspects of balance and basic mobility particularly difficult, as they require more sensitive sensors and actuators than those used in a car.
Earlier this year, Hyundai also revealed its own humanoid service robot, named DAL-e. With language processing, facial recognition, and automated mobility, DAL-e is initially being tested in service environments and showrooms.
