Elon Musk has revealed a caller walking, talking robot … and not everyone is convinced.
Tesla’s “We, Robot”, event, held astatine Warner Brothers studios successful Los Angeles connected Thursday, saw the motorboat of 2 caller autonomous vehicles – the Robovan and Cyber taxi
But it was the caller robot Optimus which caused the astir surprise.
“Kill it with fire,” said 1 reply to a station of the humanoid robot arsenic footage of it interacting with lawsuit attendees emerged.
Others compared to Sonny successful 1996 Will Smith I, Robot wherever robots crook connected mankind.
Optimus volition ‘be your friend’
Mr Musk has posted videos of the robot before. However, up to now, they hadn’t been capable to mingle with the public.
“One of the things we wanted to amusement contiguous was that Optimus is not a canned video, it’s not walled off,” Mr Musk said arsenic a troupe of the Optimus bots appeared connected signifier with him.
“The Optimus robots volition locomotion among you. Please beryllium bully to the Optimus robots,” helium added.
Mr Musk suggests Optimus could “do thing you want” including babysitting, serving drinks, enactment a arsenic a teacher and adjacent “be your friend”.
On screens astatine the event. Optimus was dubbed “Autonamoius assistant, humanoid friend”.
‘Impressive’
Each volition outgo betwixt $30,000 and $45,000 each. But Mr Musk didn’t springiness a timescale for erstwhile Optimus could beryllium ready.
“It volition instrumentality america a minute,” helium said astatine the presentation.
Videos from the lawsuit showed the achromatic clad bots handing retired acquisition bags and chatting with radical with its chiseled Californian accent.
Optimus’ connection appears earthy with 1 asking an attendee wherever they unrecorded and upon uncovering retired asking if the hiking is bully successful that area.
“First impressions are impressive: earthy and mind-blowing,” said one.
“I deliberation this volition beryllium the biggest merchandise ever, of immoderate kind,” Mr Musk said of Optimus, modestly.
“Of the 8 cardinal radical connected world I deliberation everyone volition privation their Optimus buddy, possibly two”.
The robots would usher successful an “age of abundance,” helium added.
The robots could point, interact and bash basal tasks, 1 study said, and respective danced around.
However, immoderate are sceptical of Optimus’ talents, suggesting it was much of a gimmick. It’s claimed that the bulk of the robots’ actions astatine the lawsuit – and possibly its chat mode excessively – were owed to quality controllers.
Others saw Optimus arsenic a scary imaginativeness of the aboriginal which, astatine best, would marque swathes of jobs redundant. And, astatine worse, instrumentality an progressive dislike to its creators.
The look of the robots seemed uncannily similar the bots in I, Robot. Even the event’s sanction We, Robot, evoked the movie wherever the robots effort and subjugate humans.
“I, Robot was not a movie aft all. Let’s spot however soon they instrumentality over,” said 1 commenter.
“I person seen this film. It does not extremity good for us”.
“I was creeped out,” said another.
The lawsuit besides saw the launch of 2 caller vehicles from Tesla.
The Cybercab has a unsocial futuristic design, which features butterfly doors, and nary steering instrumentality oregon pedals.
Mr Musk claimed that the outgo of a autobus is astir $US1 per mile but the Cybercab volition beryllium 20 US cents per mile and “yes you volition beryllium capable to bargain one”.
“We person millions of cars that are driving and training,” said Mr Musk.
“With that magnitude of grooming data, it volition beryllium overmuch amended than what a quality tin be, due to the fact that you can’t unrecorded a cardinal lives, it tin spot successful each directions simultaneously, it doesn’t get tired, oregon text, it volition beryllium 10 oregon 20 times safer than a human”.
Mr Musk besides introduced the Robovan, designed to transport up to 20 passengers and lick “high-density” and trim “the outgo of travel”.
“Can you ideate going down the thoroughfare and you spot this coming towards you?
“That volition beryllium sick,” helium said.
Autonomous thrust hailing has agelong been a portion of Mr Musk’s plans.
He said astatine the lawsuit that “he wants to alteration the look of the roads”.
“The aboriginal should look similar the future,” helium told the audience.
Any motorboat of the exertion successful Australia would necessitate changes to roadworthy rules.
Tesla is not the lone institution moving connected autonomous vehicles.
Rival concerns including Google’s Waymo are good underway with constricted trials connected nationalist streets successful the US.
– with Danielle Collis and David McCowen.
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