Tesla Plans to Build Human-like Robot by Next Year
2021-08-26
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1The chief of American electric carmaker Tesla says the company aims to complete a humanoid robot by next year.
2Elon Musk said last week that the robot, called Tesla Bot, will be designed to perform jobs that people do not like to do.
3He added that the human-like machine would be based on the same artificial intelligence (AI) technology that Tesla uses in its automobiles.
4This includes a complex system of cameras and other devices to help the robot operate in real-world situations.
5Musk said the machine -- which will stand about 1.7 meters tall -- is "intended to be friendly, of course."
6It will be designed to "navigate through a world built for humans," he added.
7The company chief described the plans during a public presentation about Tesla's latest AI systems.
8Musk said the Tesla Bot will use a lot of the same technology that goes into the company's electric vehicles.
9"It kind of makes sense to put that onto a humanoid form," he said.
10However, he repeated that the main purpose of the humanoid robot would be to take over jobs that are "dangerous, repetitive and boring" to people.
11"In the future, physical work will be a choice. If you want to do it you can, but you won't need to do it," Musk said.
12He added, for example, that the humanoid robot would be able to understand simple instructions and perform duties as directed.
13Such instructions could involve work related to manufacturing or picking up food for people at the store.
14Musk did not provide specific details about how Tesla's current systems would fit in with the operating model of the humanoid robot.
15The use of such robots in manufacturing settings has the possibility to change the world's economy, Musk said.
16This is because it could help deal with labor shortages that are currently a problem.
17"What is the economy? At the foundation of it is labor," he told the crowd gathered for the company's presentation.
18"Is there any actual limit to the economy? Maybe not."
19The event was held days after a U.S. government safety agency said it was investigating a series of crashes involving Tesla cars.
20The crashes involved the company's driver assistance systems.
21Musk did not comment on that decision during the company event.
22He repeated, however, that Tesla is confident that its full self-driving system will perform at higher safety levels than human drivers.
23The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it had identified 11 crashes involving Tesla models that struck emergency vehicles that were parked on the road.
24The accidents resulted in one death and 17 injuries.
25The agency said it had confirmed that the Tesla cars involved were using either the company's Autopilot or Traffic-Aware Cruise Control systems just before the crashes.
26Both systems use a series of cameras and other devices to assist drivers.
27Some industry experts questioned whether the humanoid robot described by Musk would become a reality.
28The Tesla chief has a history of announcing product launches that face major delays or are canceled.
29Raj Rajkumar is a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon University.
30Speaking to Reuters, he asked, "Is the 'Tesla Bot' the next dream shot to pump up the hype machine?"
31Rajkumar added: "I can safely say that it will be much longer than 10 years before a humanoid bot from any company on the planet can go to the store and get groceries for you."
32I'm Bryan Lynn.
1The chief of American electric carmaker Tesla says the company aims to complete a humanoid robot by next year. 2Elon Musk said last week that the robot, called Tesla Bot, will be designed to perform jobs that people do not like to do. 3He added that the human-like machine would be based on the same artificial intelligence (AI) technology that Tesla uses in its automobiles. This includes a complex system of cameras and other devices to help the robot operate in real-world situations. 4Musk said the machine -- which will stand about 1.7 meters tall -- is "intended to be friendly, of course." It will be designed to "navigate through a world built for humans," he added. 5The company chief described the plans during a public presentation about Tesla's latest AI systems. Musk said the Tesla Bot will use a lot of the same technology that goes into the company's electric vehicles. "It kind of makes sense to put that onto a humanoid form," he said. 6However, he repeated that the main purpose of the humanoid robot would be to take over jobs that are "dangerous, repetitive and boring" to people. "In the future, physical work will be a choice. If you want to do it you can, but you won't need to do it," Musk said. 7He added, for example, that the humanoid robot would be able to understand simple instructions and perform duties as directed. Such instructions could involve work related to manufacturing or picking up food for people at the store. 8Musk did not provide specific details about how Tesla's current systems would fit in with the operating model of the humanoid robot. 9The use of such robots in manufacturing settings has the possibility to change the world's economy, Musk said. This is because it could help deal with labor shortages that are currently a problem. 10"What is the economy? At the foundation of it is labor," he told the crowd gathered for the company's presentation. "Is there any actual limit to the economy? Maybe not." 11The event was held days after a U.S. government safety agency said it was investigating a series of crashes involving Tesla cars. The crashes involved the company's driver assistance systems. 12Musk did not comment on that decision during the company event. He repeated, however, that Tesla is confident that its full self-driving system will perform at higher safety levels than human drivers. 13The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it had identified 11 crashes involving Tesla models that struck emergency vehicles that were parked on the road. The accidents resulted in one death and 17 injuries. 14The agency said it had confirmed that the Tesla cars involved were using either the company's Autopilot or Traffic-Aware Cruise Control systems just before the crashes. Both systems use a series of cameras and other devices to assist drivers. 15Some industry experts questioned whether the humanoid robot described by Musk would become a reality. The Tesla chief has a history of announcing product launches that face major delays or are canceled. 16Raj Rajkumar is a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. Speaking to Reuters, he asked, "Is the 'Tesla Bot' the next dream shot to pump up the hype machine?" 17Rajkumar added: "I can safely say that it will be much longer than 10 years before a humanoid bot from any company on the planet can go to the store and get groceries for you." 18I'm Bryan Lynn. 19Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English, with additional information from the Tesla AI presentation. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 20We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 21__________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23intend - v. to want and plan to do something 24navigate - v. to find the right direction for traveling by using maps or other equipment 25repetitive - adj. doing the same thing over and over again 26boring - adj. not interesting or exciting 27foundation -n. an idea or fact that provides support for something 28confident - adj. sure about your ability to do things well 29park - v. to leave a vehicle in a particular place for a period of time 30hype - n. a lot of attention given to something, especially in media, to make it seem more important or exciting than it really is