Tesla is planning to have “thousands of Humanoid Robots within its factories,” according to a new job listing for the Tesla Bot program.
With science fiction promising us flying cars and robot butlers for decades, people aren’t taking tech companies announcing humanoid robots seriously.
When Elon Musk brought a dancer in a robot costume to the stage in order to announce the Tesla Bot program at Tesla AI Day last year, it didn’t help people to take it seriously; many saw it as a joke and didn’t believe that Tesla was serious in developing a humanoid robot.
However, Musk made it clear that the humanoid robot program has become a priority at Tesla.
On several occasions since then, Musk has said that people don’t appreciate the value that Tesla Bot could bring to the world. He even said that it could completely change world economics.
But Tesla doesn’t even need customers for the Optimus robot to prove its worth; the automaker plans to be its own best customers by putting the robots to work in its factories.
In a job listing for “Motion Planning & Navigation, Tesla Bot,” Tesla writes that it plans to use “thousands of Humanoid Robots within its factories”:
Tesla is on a path to build humanoid bi-pedal robots at scale to automate repetitive and boring tasks. Core to the Tesla Bot, the motion planning stack presents a unique opportunity to work on state-of-the-art algorithms for motion planning and navigation culminating in their deployment to real world production applications. Our motion planning software engineers develop and own this stack from inception to deployment. Most importantly, you will see your work repeatedly shipped to and utilized by thousands of Humanoid Robots within our factories.
The company said that the first version of Tesla Bot will be focused on completing simple repetitive tasks, which will make the robot useful in a factory setting.
Tesla is set to unveil the first working prototype of its humanoid robot at AI Day on September 30.
Electrek’s Take
If Tesla can successfully create a humanoid robot that is useful, the benefits are obvious, especially amid the current labor shortage.
But that’s the question: how advanced is the robot going to be?
We know that Tesla has been putting a lot of resources into AI, and it has made great advancements in computer vision, which are going to be useful for the robot, too.
However, there is also going to be a need for advancements in robotics to truly make the robot useful. Has Tesla achieved that? We don’t know yet, but we will know soon.
When do you think we will see Tesla Bots working inside Tesla factories? Let us know in the comment section below.
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Earlier this year, Apple canceled its decade-long Project Titan electric car initiative, but a new report from DigiTimessays that Apple’s electric vehicle ambitions might not be over. According to the story, Apple is “assessing the possibility of teaming up with a certain US EV startup, and Rivian is a very likely candidate.”
The report says that there is “speculation among supply chains” that Apple is investigating teaming up with an EV startup. DigiTimes suggests that Apple could take its 10 years of EV and autonomous driving research and team up with another company instead of making its own car.
While it’s “uncertain what form such a collaboration could take,” this report suggests that Rivian is the leading candidate, based on supply chain sources.
There are no other details provided in the DigiTimes report. It’s unclear what a partnership between Apple and Rivian would look like – or whether Rivian would even be interested in such an arrangement. Still, at least based on DigiTimes supply chain sources, it’s something Apple is “studying.”
9to5Mac’s Take
As much as I’d love to see a partnership between Apple and Rivian, I’m choosing not to get my hopes up about this one. The report is scarce on details, and sounds as if it’s based purely on speculation among Apple’s suppliers. I’d wait for something more concrete before getting too excited.
Perhaps most importantly, Apple could provide Rivian with some crucial cash as the company enters the challenging process of ramping up production of its new R2, R3, and R3X cars.
Do you think Apple should team up with Rivian? What kind of collaboration could Apple have in mind? Let us know down in the comments.
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A building of Stockholm Exergi in Stockholm, Sweden, Sept. 5, 2022.
He Miao | Xinhua | Getty Images
Microsoft signed a deal to remove to permanently remove 3.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide with Swedish energy company Stockholm Exergi, the companies announced on Monday.
The contract with Microsoft is the world’s largest carbon removal deal to date, Stockholm Exergi said in a statement. Delivery of the carbon removal certificates to Microsoft are planned to begin in 2028 and will continue for a decade, according to Stockholm Exergi.
The Swedish company, which provides power to the people of Stockholm, plans to build a carbon capture and storage project that will permanently remove 800,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year.
Construction on the carbon capture project is scheduled to start in 2025. The contract with Microsoft will help the project move closer to a final investment decision in the fourth quarter of this year, said Anders Egelrud, the CEO of Stockholm Exergi, in the statement.
The carbon capture project will be installed at Stockholm Exergi’s biomass power plant, which is the largest of its kind in Europe. The plant burns waste from the forestry industry and paper mills to produce heat and electricity.
Carbon dioxide released from those materials during incineration will be removed from the gas emitted from the plant, liquified for transport and permanently stored underground.
Stockholm Exergi is selling carbon removal certificates, equivalent to 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, to help companies achieve their net-zero emissions goals.
“Leveraging existing biomass power plants is a crucial first step to building worldwide carbon removal capacity,” said Brian Marrs, Microsoft’s senior director of energy and carbon removal, in a statement.