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General purpose field robots like this are further away than level 5 driving, by a long margin

by iab 5y ago

gamegoblin 5y ago
I think they could see use in cities for delivery or patrol type jobs. The stakes are so much lower for a 50kg robot moving at walking pace compared to a car. Consider a pizza delivery operation. You could imagine having dozens of robots delivering pizzas, and even if you had to have one or two humans driving around town getting robots out of stuck edge cases when they happened, it could still be a net gain. Consider that Boston Dynamics Spot robot dog is already operating on industrial sites today. Having it stand upright is not too different from a deployability point of view (see the Atlas robot).
- jazzyjackson 5y ago
  Do you know how little pizza delivery guys get paid? Not a chance they get replaced by a million dollar robot this century. And lest we forget: “HitchBOT, the hitchhiking robot, gets beheaded in Philadelphia” https://www.cnn.com/2015/08/03/us/hitchbot-robot-beheaded-philadelphia-feat/ https://www.cnn.com/2015/08/03/us/hitchbot-robot-beheaded-ph...
  - gamegoblin 5y ago
    I assume if Tesla actually does intend to build them, they will be targeting a price point in the tens of thousands instead of $1M range. That is, priced comparable to a car. If a robot cost say, $50k, they could seriously be cost effective compared to humans if they don’t have a ton of maintenance costs.
- rlt 5y ago
  > Consider that Boston Dynamics Spot robot dog is already operating on industrial sites today. In fact, SpaceX has one in Boxa Chica. https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-robot-dog-wreckage-exploded-starship-rocket-2021-3 https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-robot-dog-wreckage-ex...
reilly3000 5y ago
I see bipedal robots as sort of a PC of robotics. They don’t need to have great AI, personalities, or any sci-fi jazz, just basic collision avoidance and programmability. Lots of spaces and tools are shaped for humans; this means a specialized robot is no linger needed for every task. It doesn’t mean, as Elon suggests, they will be shopping at the grocery store per se but it could mean they could load a laundry bin and carry it downstairs. With adequate programming, it could learn how to fold specific garments and identify flaws. Like video and spacial APIs, not goal seeking.
- olau 5y ago
  Yep. I bet there are plenty of programmers out there who would rather spend their evenings programming a robot to do their laundry than do it themselves. :)

General purpose field robots like this are further away than level 5 driving, by a long margin

by iab 5y ago

General purpose field robots like this are further away than level 5 driving, by a long margin

I think they could see use in cities for delivery or patrol type jobs. The stakes are so much lower for a 50kg robot moving at walking pace compared to a car. Consider a pizza delivery operation. You could imagine having dozens of robots delivering pizzas, and even if you had to have one or two humans driving around town getting robots out of stuck edge cases when they happened, it could still be a net gain. Consider that Boston Dynamics Spot robot dog is already operating on industrial sites today. Having it stand upright is not too different from a deployability point of view (see the Atlas robot).

jazzyjackson 5y ago
Do you know how little pizza delivery guys get paid? Not a chance they get replaced by a million dollar robot this century. And lest we forget: “HitchBOT, the hitchhiking robot, gets beheaded in Philadelphia” https://www.cnn.com/2015/08/03/us/hitchbot-robot-beheaded-philadelphia-feat/ https://www.cnn.com/2015/08/03/us/hitchbot-robot-beheaded-ph...
- gamegoblin 5y ago
  I assume if Tesla actually does intend to build them, they will be targeting a price point in the tens of thousands instead of $1M range. That is, priced comparable to a car. If a robot cost say, $50k, they could seriously be cost effective compared to humans if they don’t have a ton of maintenance costs.
rlt 5y ago
> Consider that Boston Dynamics Spot robot dog is already operating on industrial sites today. In fact, SpaceX has one in Boxa Chica. https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-robot-dog-wreckage-exploded-starship-rocket-2021-3 https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-robot-dog-wreckage-ex...

reilly3000 5y ago

I see bipedal robots as sort of a PC of robotics. They don’t need to have great AI, personalities, or any sci-fi jazz, just basic collision avoidance and programmability. Lots of spaces and tools are shaped for humans; this means a specialized robot is no linger needed for every task. It doesn’t mean, as Elon suggests, they will be shopping at the grocery store per se but it could mean they could load a laundry bin and carry it downstairs. With adequate programming, it could learn how to fold specific garments and identify flaws. Like video and spacial APIs, not goal seeking.

olau 5y ago
Yep. I bet there are plenty of programmers out there who would rather spend their evenings programming a robot to do their laundry than do it themselves. :)