The prototypes of humanoid robots are becoming more and more specialized and the last one we already know as Optimus. It seems that it may be for sale in a few years, which is surprising, since technology is advancing by leaps and bounds. Although the dog Spot from Boston Dynamics caught everyone’s attention a while ago, this case is even more striking, because he looks like a person.
Differences between Optimus and Spot
The main difference between Optimus and Spot is aesthetics and why they were designed. While the latter is like a dog that jumps, sits, turns its head and even asks to have its belly scratched, in the case of Optimus his humanoid appearance makes him closer to us. Although there is still much to do, the efforts seem to be on the right track and its aesthetics are very successful.
Also, something curious is that Optimus has been introduced by Elon Musk, this businessman who in recent times has been in the spotlight due to his comings and goings regarding Twitter, and who at the time mentioned that artificial intelligence could threaten humanity if we were not careful. So, could we be looking at a much safer humanoid robot? We will see.
What does Optimus promise?
The prototype of a humanoid robot like Optimus promises to improve people’s lives by taking care of tasks such as watering plants, lifting heavy objects, carrying boxes, among other possibilities. It is still too risky to say that he can clean the house, make the beds and act as if he were a professional cleaner inside the homes. But, we are talking only about a prototype.
Although Optimus’s mobility is still reduced, since he lacks agility and ease, the truth is that advances in the creation of a humanoid robot are gigantic. This prototype was presented precisely at the Tesla AI Day and there it became clear that the pertinent studies are still being carried out to ensure both the safety and the effectiveness of being able to have a humanoid robot.
Optimus will be launched on the market with a competitive price
During Optimus’ presentation, Elon Musk assured his intentions to mass produce this humanoid robot once the prototype meets all expectations. However, first they are going to test it in car factories to see how it performs, detect possible errors and study its effectiveness. Thus, in the future, they may begin to be seen inside homes.
The forecasts when this happens is that the robots will be on the market for a price of approximately 20,000 euros, which is quite affordable, since it is a cost similar to that of a new vehicle. In this way, the acquisition of this type of technology that seems distant, but that is getting closer and closer, will be promoted. In the past we would not believe we had a mobile phone in our hands and now it is common.
Although the creation of Optimus does not seek to recreate in reality movies like I robot by Will Smith, it is true that what is desired is to advance and offer society one more resource. To that end, security matters and Elon Musk is putting a lot of focus on it. Although the mistrust of this type of technology is pronounced, it is likely that in a few years we will already be familiar with it.
