Disregarding the warnings from various works of fiction, Elon Musk revealed Tesla is crafting a humanoid robot called Tesla Bot, Digital Trends reported. The world may be seeing this automaton sometime in 2022.
At a presentation at Tesla’s A.I. Day, Musk showed a video introducing the robot, then shocked everyone when it suddenly appeared on stage and displayed incredible coordination in the form of a dance.
It was so realistic, it seemed unbelievable — and that’s because it wasn’t. The robot was later revealed to be a human in a robot costume.
Musk justified the production explaining that since Tesla’s engineers already made "semi-sentient robots on wheels,” referring to the cars, the technology was already there and could be transferred.
Tesla Bot comes in at 5 foot 8 inches and weighs 125 pounds. Taller than a globally average male, it possesses the ability of natural movement with "human-level hands.”
The hope is the device will eventually "eliminate dangerous, repetitive, boring tasks.” It can deadlift 150 pounds and carry 45 pounds, though Tesla Bot might not be winning any foot races with a speed of five miles per hour.
Tesla’s autonomous navigation system assists the robot in movement through multiple cameras. Musk explained the artificial intelligence allows it to follow instructions such as retrieving groceries and even, possibly one day, working on Tesla production lines.
To ease the minds of those fearing an I, Robot or Terminator-esque catastrophe, Musk said Tesla Bot is designed to be friendly and could likely be physically overpowered.
