Elon Musk unveils Tesla Bot, a humanoid robot that uses vehicle AI

Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Thursday unveiled a humanoid robot known as the Tesla Bot that runs at the identical AI used by Tesla's fleet of self-sufficient cars. A functioning version of the robot did not take a look at some stage in Musk's display, even though a barely weird dance via a performer dressed like a Tesla Bot did. 

The sudden reveal got here at the give up of Tesla's AI Day presentation, with Musk providing few details about the marginally creepy, Slenderman-like robot past a few PowerPoint slides. The 5-foot-8-inch robot is expected to weigh in at 125 pounds and be constructed from "lightweight materials," he stated. 

Its head can be kitted out with the autopilot cameras utilized by Tesla's vehicles to feel the surroundings and will incorporate a display screen to show information. Internally, it will be operating through Tesla's Full Self-Driving computer. 

"It's supposed to be friendly," Musk joked, "and navigate through a global built for human beings."

The robot's look came after a ninety-minute presentation detailing a number of the artificial intelligence improvements driving Tesla's electric-powered vehicles, along with the Dojo supercomputer, which facilitates train cars to navigate metropolis streets without human assistance. "It makes sense to put that onto the humanoid form," Musk said.

Three slides detailed the robot's proposed specifications, and Musk made sure he pointed out that you could both outrun the Tesla Bot and "overpower" it. He has, in the past, railed against the use of robots as weapons and warned of the risks AI might pose -- once calling it the "biggest risk we face as a civilization." I guess if they're your incredibly slow, easy-to-overpower robots, the dangers are reduced.

"We should be worried about AI," Musk reiterated during a question and answer session after the presentation. "What we're trying to do here at Tesla is make useful AI that people love and is ... unequivocally good."

It's tough to mention how a ways off any such future might be, however, there may be a massive hole between showing off some PowerPoint slides and delivering a real, operating humanoid robotic. It's probably going to be an extended at the same time as earlier than you get your bread and milk thru the Tesla Bot, but, Musk said, a prototype will probably be ready next yr.