While Elon Musk has continued to tease the upcoming Optimus humanoid prototype reveal, scheduled for September 30, the billionaire mogul has been met with skepticism from experts and investors that the groundbreaking technology can justify the expense of general purpose, with some people doubting that the robots will be as effective as Musk claims.
Last year, when the 51-year-old first announced plans for Tesla to deploy thousands of humanoid robots within its factories, the idea sounded promising but almost too good to be true. According to Musk, Optimus would initially be used in Tesla-owned units, with the intent to eventually have them situated in people’s homes. The technology built into these robots is said to be so advanced that they can even prepare dinner, mow the lawn, and care for elder people.
Tesla is set to unveil a prototype of its humanoid robot, known as Tesla Bot or Optimus, the production of which could start next year. Initially, it will perform boring or dangerous jobs, including moving parts around its factories, according to Elon Musk https://t.co/o4hs9WbjNx pic.twitter.com/b1mO3e4FuB
— Reuters (@Reuters) September 21, 2022
But considering the issues Tesla has faced with its self-driving electric vehicles in recent years, some are doubting that when the humanoid prototype is unveiled on AI Day in September, the project may not live up to expectations, according to Reuters. With the robot business already expected to surpass Tesla’s car revenue in the near future, Musk is determined to prove his naysayers wrong as production is still expected to move ahead as early as 2023.
“Self-driving cars weren’t really proved to be as easy as anyone thought. And it’s the same way with humanoid robots to some extent,” Shaun Azimi, who is the lead of NASA’s Dexterous Robotics Team said in response to Musk’s pioneering plans. “If something unexpected happens, being flexible and robust to those kinds of changes is very difficult.”
Tesla Bot: what is Elon Musk preparing with his humanoid robot Optimus? https://t.co/AtHuNRN9KK
On September 30 this year, Tesla will host an event dedicated to its innovations in the field of artificia… pic.twitter.com/GIzXpPA15r— Geeky.News (@The_Geeky_News) September 21, 2022
Nancy Cook, a professor in human systems engineering at Arizona State University, seemed just as doubtful as she weighed in with her thoughts on Musk’s prototype reveal, which she says will have to do more than just walk or dance on stage in order to impress the masses. “If he just gets the robot to walk around, or he gets the robots to dance, that’s already been done. That’s not that impressive.”
It’s further mentioned that back in 2019, Musk had told investors about his plans to have produced one million robotaxis — a self-driving taxi service — by 2020, but his promise has already been delayed by almost three years. But that’s not to say that Musk hasn’t proved his doubters wrong in the past, having played a detrimental in kicking off the electric car market and moving ahead with plans to build a rocket company, SpaceX, which designs and manufactures advanced rockets and spacecraft.
The post Elon Musk Faces Skepticism Over Plans To Unveil Humanoid Robot Called ‘Optimus’ That Can ‘Make Dinner And Care For Elder People’ appeared first on Hollywood Unlocked .