Elon Musk unveils “Tesla-Bot”; Are we under threat?
After dominating the automobile sector with the revolutionary Tesla Cars, Elon Musk unveils “Tesla-Bot,”; a humanoid robot that works on Tesla’s AI; his inventions, for some reason, have always remained a hot topic in the tech market. Despite all the controversies, Musk is never off the mark in surprising the audience. However, just like his recent inventions, this too faced criticism and suspicion from certain techie-experts. A few experts forecasted that the Tesla Bot could take over the market and impose a severe threat to the jobs.
Tesla AI’ day
Last Thursday, Tesla AI’s day, Musk announced the Tesla Bot to work on the same technology as Tesla’s vehicles. Even though the new robot did not appear in the presentation, a dance performer impersonated Tesla Bot. To capture the audience’s sight and spotlight, the Bot seemed similar to Slenderman. The 5′ 8″ tall robot is designed to carry out manual tasks that are either tedious or dangerous. It is worth mentioning that Tesla’s Bot can even perform the tasks it is not programmed for. Musk, in the interview, stated that the purpose of creating this Bot is to make people’s life easy and better with the use of automation. The Bot can have a walking speed of up to 5 miles per hour.
QNA sessions
Like the recent session, Elon maintained a bold tone for answering the questions of the audience. Even though Musk addressed the questions related to Tesla Bot’s price and material very well, he also refrained from disclosing the material used in making Bot. The material was said to be a “Special lightweight material.” Musk’s take on the confidentiality of this robot piqued the interest of many journalists and critics. As far as Tesla Bot’s release date is concerned, Musk stated that the prototype is expected to be on the market by the year 2022.
Highlights
A highlight of the session was the question about the safety of this Bot. In the QnA sessions, the curious tech-savvies asked about safety concerns of operating the robot that performs the unprogrammed tasks. However, there were no appealing answers given by Musk for the same. He assured that the Bot created by Tesla would be extremely useful in transforming people’s living standards. Musk mentioned automating the tasks such as getting out to get groceries from the market, even though this is not a dangerous task but a boring one. The neural network for Tesla’s Bot is designed so that it caters to the user’s needs and ensures maximum productivity.
He stated that the Bot could perform all the tasks faster and more efficiently than a human. The tasks such as getting the groceries from the nearby supermarkets, the upper part of Bot will be kitted with the advanced autopilot cameras used in Tesla’s automobiles. The high-level ultrasonic sensors can detect the objects and nearby vehicles for ensuring the safety of the Bot. The input from the sensors will be reflected upon on the system, and the aptest step will be taken as per the scripting of the robot. The robot will operate on the Dojo, the advanced supercomputer of Tesla that helps the automated cars to navigate in the traffic.
“Tesla-Bot” threat to human civilization?
On the other hand, Musk’s view seemed to be contradicting his statements in 2017 as he addressed the issues of Artificial Intelligence posing a severe threat to future generations. Reminiscing Musk’s statements in the year 2017, he concluded Artificial Intelligence and robotics to be highly dangerous for human civilization. However, now he comes up with a statement calling Tesla Bot easy to overpower and slower machine. He stressed the argument that Tesla Bot is safe and poses no harm to human civilization. He argued that the bots are much slower and too simple to lead to any destruction and chaos. However, it may perform the tasks that may make humans beings a little inert and confined to the technology.
Presentation
In his presentation, Musk presented the design of the Tesla Bot in three different slides. The views comprised a high-level suite that shows its appearance. However, this design was also shown by the impersonated who added humor to the session. The other views comprised of its specifications in deep as it enlisted the technologies used in developing it. The third designed embarked on its functioning at the low level, such as the neural network and architecture of the Tesla’s Bot. Despite having a prototype for the symposium, Tesla had a performer who dressed like Tesla Bot and performed biz dance steps to entertain the audience. This could be one of the tactics to gain attention for the Bot. In the 90 minute session with the audience on the Tesla AI day, Musk interacted to address their doubts and concerns on the subject.
Specifications
| Height | 5’8’ |
| Weight | 125 lbs |
| Display | A screen for displaying useful information |
| Materials | Lightweight materials |
| Electromechanical Actuators | 40 (Total) |
| Feet | 2 axis feet for balance Force feedback sensing |
| Neck | 2 |
| Arms | 12 |
| Hands | 12 (Human-level hands) |
| Torso | 2 |
| Legs | 12 |
Conclusion
It can be observed that Tesla’s inventions have empowered the tech world in a good manner. The incorporation of the latest technologies in making human life easier is something Tesla has always promised about and is successful in achieving it up to some extent. Tesla’s Bot does not seem to cause any harm as of now. However, the ability to perform the unprogrammed task may pose a degree of threat and insecurity to the tech savvies. As promised, the prototype of Tesla Bot would be launched in the year 2022; it would be worth watching that how Tesla keeps up the same spirit with the critics and questions of sustainability.