Tesla has unveiled its latest project aimed at captivating potential customers: The Tesla Bot. Initially introduced by Elon Musk in 2021, this bipedal robot has recently been showcased in a 65-second video, providing an update on its development progress.
While the bar for bipedal robots has been set high by Boston Dynamics’ Atlas, renowned for its acrobatic maneuvers, Musk has made it clear that Tesla’s objective is not to entertain with flashy tricks. Instead, the Tesla Bot is designed to undertake mundane and repetitive tasks that are typically performed by humans but are often monotonous, hazardous, or tiresome.
The video starts with a Tesla Bot demonstrating its bipedal walking pattern, followed by a group of these robots moving purposefully. The subsequent scene, reminiscent of a zombie film, portrays the bots marching through a Tesla factory.
One might interpret this as an expression of their frustration with Musk’s delayed Cybertruck launch, and their determination to take matters into their own hands.
Tesla promptly shifts the focus to a notable feature of the robot: “motor torque control.” The video showcases the bot’s ability to swiftly adjust its movement speed in response to a human holding an egg and moving it closer, skillfully avoiding smashing it.
Furthermore, the clip highlights how the Tesla Bot utilizes its integrated cameras and sensors to survey and memorize its surroundings. This capability would prove invaluable when the robot is deployed in new environments, eliminating the need for pre-loaded maps or extensive data to familiarize itself with the surroundings before commencing its assigned tasks.
The video also demonstrates the robot’s proficiency in complex tasks, as it learns and improves its capabilities through human inputs. The dexterity exhibited by the Tesla Bot’s hands and fingers indicates its progress in acquiring the skill set required for general-purpose robots before they can be deployed effectively.
Despite the comprehensive update, Tesla has refrained from providing a specific timeline for the availability of these robots for home or office use. It is evident that their development is still far from completion, even by Musk’s famously ambitious standards.
Weirdly, the video ends with the bipedal robots abandoning the Cybertruck and walking directly toward the camera, creating an unsettling effect as if they are approaching the viewer.
Hopefully, future updates will showcase an improved gait or minimize such unsettling moments. After all, it is evident that the Tesla Bot is indeed a bipedal robot, and the message has been effectively conveyed.
