Elon Musk has announced that the electric car and solar energy company Tesla is working on a prototype humanoid robot that he hopes will one day replace human workers.
Musk explained that Tesla is essentially becoming a robotics company thanks to all its work with artificial intelligence and fully autonomous vehicles. Now, the next step will be the Tesla Bot, designed to "navigate through a world built for humans and eliminate dangerous, repetitive and boring tasks."
What will this android be like?
The Tesla Bot will be around 173cm tall, weigh around 57kg, and will have a one-sided display, allowing it to display useful information. Its maximum speed will be 8 km / h and it will be able to carry loads of up to 20 kg, lift about 70 kg or support about 5 kg of weight with arms outstretched.
It will have 40 electromechanical sensors to move in spaces not designed for robots but for humans. According to Musk, the Tesla Bot would simply focus on automating boring, dangerous and repetitive tasks such as work on assembly lines.
"Basically, in the future, physical work will be a choice. If you want to do it, you can do it. But you don't have to. It has profound implications for the economy, because since the economy, at its fundamental level, is work and capital is simply distilled labor , is there any real limit to the economy? Maybe not, "Musk explained.
When will the first prototype be ready? In about a year.
