Commentary: Elon Musk's human-like robots are coming, but don't expect them to do your chores
- by Channel NewsAsia Singapore
- Oct 24, 2024
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DALLAS, Texas: Optimus, the humanoid robot that Elon Musk claims will do household chores and cure poverty, was a hit at Tesla’s recent product launch.
While many Musk fans came for the main event – the reveal of the company’s much-hyped robotaxi – some in the crowd appeared more impressed with the faceless, black-and-white robots that danced, served drinks and interacted with human attendees. The movements of these bipedal robots were incredibly dexterous.
It seemed almost too good to be true. And as the world later found out, it was: Tesla’s people were helping control the robot remotely behind the scenes.
Musk’s robot is likely many years away from becoming a marketable household product. But multiple companies are testing human-form robots in warehouses and on factory floors, structured settings where the technology has a much better chance of succeeding in the near term.
Humanoid robots being developed by Agility Robotics, Neura Robotics, Boston Dynamics, Apptronik, Reflex Robotics and others are more capable with each new version.
Companies are interested in bipedal robots because they combine mobility with robotic arms, enabling the machine to do jobs such as packing a truck densely with different-size boxes.
Agility Robotics' robot Digit performs maneuvers at the company's office in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
MOVING SAFELY AROUND WORKERS
But progress will be gradual. The challenge is not only for the robot to mimic human movements, but to do so safely around workers.
This isn’t easy. Just ask Melonee Wise, chief product officer at Agility Robotics, whose test robot still struggles to distinguish between the plastic containers it needs to pick up and a human hand grabbing that same container. The robot isn’t viable if it mistakenly crushes a worker’s hand.
At the Oct 10 Tesla event, Musk boasted that Optimus will be able to walk the dog, put away groceries and mow the lawn. Musk has a solid track record of making technology work, even though it’s usually later to market than he promises and never matches the hype that he so deftly whips up. (He did stick the landing recently on an enormous, spent rocket booster.)
But I’m betting against his idea of a home robot having more potential than a commercial version.
I’d be happy if Musk turns out right and I’m wrong, because the first thing my personal robot would learn is how to cut the grass on a hot Texas summer day. Certainly, these machines shouldn’t ever be left alone to babysit kids, another task Musk claimed his robots will be able to do.
I’d expect Optimus to appear in factories long before it winds up in homes, provided the robot can meet the automation industry’s standard of a two-year return on investment. Retail settings, like fast food restaurants, might come later. Robots might make great bartenders.
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