if you grew up watching Star Wars you might have been intrigued by the Droid character C3PO who could walk talk and act like a human and while he might be a piece of Science Fiction we've never been closer to Bringing such technology to life than we are today in fact with robotics companies pushing the boundaries of artificial intelligence to its limits we're probably closer than you think to a world where every home has a humanoid robot earlier this year Tesla showed off their second generation humanoid robot Optimus at the world artificial intelligence Conference in shangh
high and yep it's named after the popular character from the Transformers movie while it garnered a lot of interest for being one of America's top AI products with many guests lining up to take selfies with the Sleek humanoid machine Elon claimed that when the 125lb machine eventually enters limited production in 2025 it would be mainly used in Tesla facilities in other words when the first batch of Optimus becomes available to the general public it'll most likely be a manufacturing assistant to help Factory workers complete dangerous or repetitive tasks on the flip side the neobot parent
company 1X Tech heavily emphasizes that it's a robot built for your home weighing half as much as Optimus at just 66 lb Neo's marketing focuses on how how it can help you complete common tasks like tidying up your house cleaning up spills and even baking gingerbread cookies which is why the company is marketing it as the perfect home assistant because it completes your chores while you focus on more important things but with the Optimus generation 2 boasting of sleeker dexterity control that allows it to even poach an egg and dance we could argue that you
can easily use it at home too now let's take a closer look at their hardware and see which of these Bots has the Superior Mechanical design but before that really quickly which of these humanoid robots the Tesla bot or neobot do you think looks more human please tell us which you prefer and why in the comments section standing at 5 ft and 8 in the Tesla bot's humanoid frame is surprisingly light compared to its carrying capacity Optimus can deadlift up to 100 50 lb of weight about the size of a full beer keg or like
carrying an adult Mountain line but unless you're hunting wild cats realistically this feature makes it better suited for lifting heavy loads for long hours that's right in addition to being insanely strong compared to its compact size the Tesla bot also has an impressive power system similar to the one that the company uses in its cars its highdensity Battery Technology can last anywhere from 300,000 to 500,000 Mi before needing a replacement when you combine that with its lightweight exterior body the Tesla bot is bound to pass any durability test you throw at it on the flip
side the neobot doesn't come close to that level of longevity although we've gotten official announcements from its parent company 1X promising a better battery life some of the engineers working on the project have revealed that it only lasts two to 4 hours without charging that's just enough time to clean the house and help with some laundry you should know it features a reinforced steel frame and is built with flexibility in mind to allow for precise repetitive tasks but with such a short working time you'd have to prioritize your chores between charging times also despite weighing
less and being shorter than Tesla's Optimus at 5 ft and 4 in the neobot uses heavier materials in its design including muscle like Anatomy that makes it strong and gentle now let's look at handling capabilities Tesla bot's hands mimic the human hand structure with five fingers allowing it to grasp objects as big as a box or as Tiny as a spoon in other words it can handle simple to moderately complex tasks like lifting objects or even operating power tools so you can say goodbye to trying to figure out complex Ikea instructions and allow your Tesla
bot to assemble your brand new shelf while you grab a beer and kick back and watch some TV it also helps that this robot can vary its grip strength depending on the task but it can't complete more delicate operations like the neobot which has highly Advanced touch and pressure sensors to elaborate the neobot has more advanced grip mechanisms that allow it to interact more easily with delicate objects that require more Precision like threading a needle it all boils wheals down to the fact that the neobot not only has five fingers it has multi-joint articulations which
improves its dexterity and makes it better at unpacking the dishwasher or passing delicate items like yes eggs that's impressive here's a Peak at software features but what about the mechanisms that make these Bots tick after all both Bots leverage artificial intelligence to understand their environment and complete the tasks you give them however they still use different approaches thanks to their distinct Technologies the Tesla bot tends to heavily integrate Ai and ml Technologies which is the same Tech its parent company uses for its electric vehicles this AI system is powered by Deep neural networks they analyze
data from an array of cameras radar and ultrasonic sensors installed on each Tesla vehicle after collecting all this information the AI learns by observing the behavior of human drivers through imitation learning in other words after spending a few days observing you your Tesla bot could start walking like you while using a similar process the neobot on the other hand focuses more on Specialized Ai and ml algorithms designed specifically for robotics this technique involves reinforcement learning for task optimization path planning and obstacle avoidance which allows the nebot to learn from its experiences and not just mere
observation and while that might seem like a minor addition it makes the neobot more autonomous than its counterpart think of it as the difference between looking in a mirror that copies everything you do versus teaching someone how to use a cash register and letting them work independently after your tutorial is done let's look at human robot interaction still on the topic of software features how each of these Bots relates to humans is a another crucial point that separates them for context Tesla B tends to focus more on task oriented interactions using Advanced natural language processing
NLP algorithms as a result it can officially collaborate with humans because it understands and responds to speech it can even interact with users naturally and intuitively understanding context and responding appropriately still the neobot takes it a bit fur further by prioritizing social interactions and emotional intelligence its sensors not only recognize the obstacles on the floor they're complex enough to recognize facial patterns interpret gestures and engage in natural conversations in one of the company's latest videos they demonstrated this capability by asking the neots to prepare the room for a meeting while that instruction might be vague
to other forms of artificial intelligence the neots got to work immediately putting away tossed clothing cleaning up spills and even getting a bottle of water from the fridge although the Tesla bot has a screen interface that allows users to adjust its settings its latest prototypes show that it uses a combination of visual signals like status lights to give feedback for instance when you say do the laundry it could turn on a yellow light to indicate a task in progress and switch to Green when the task is complete on the other hand the neobot features a
more sophisticated communication interface that even includes LED facial expressions this emotionally intelligent interaction makes the neobot friendlier and could help 1X expand outside the home into customer service spaces and even as a caring assistant in healthcare environments sensor system it's a no-brainer that these AI Bots have advanced sensor system systems that help them carry out their tasks independently and these systems are almost identical once again the Tesla bought borrows heavily from its parent company's existing scope with cars by leveraging its complex autopilot technology for its Vision system it also has multiple cameras around its head
and torso that provide a 360° view of its environment and prevent it from running into obstacles so you don't have to worry about it running into a corner and getting stuck like your Roomba vacuum cleaner of course unlike cars the bot's hands also have touch sensors with feedback that allow it to gauge the amount of force it needs to apply to each object the neobot touch sensor is a bit more advanced and not just limited to its hands it has tactile sensors throughout its body which in combination with its 3D depth sensing technology makes it
better at detecting objects and people in the environment design the Tesla bot stands out with its Sleek minimalist design reflecting Tesla's broader design language with its classic black and white color scheme the head is smooth and featureless housing a display screen that can show information it also has a robust appearance that makes it ideal for tedious tasks in contrast neob bot's body has a heavier focus on Aesthetics and closely resembles the human form in terms of its proportions and movements which makes makes the robot relatable and non-threatening it even has a more expressive face allowing
it to mimic your emotions and make it seem less like you're talking to a robot and more like you're asking a friend to help you out with a few things as a result Neo's design reflects a strong emphasis on both visual appeal and functional performance let's look at Safety and Security considering these robots are life-size buying one would kind of be like inviting a stranger into your home home so how safe are these machines for the Tesla bot safety is a critical aspect of its design and the Optimus comes with emergency stop mechanisms that prevent
it from toppling over stacked boxes or running into humans while it works since it uses the same technology as the one Tesla uses for their cars we're fairly confident its safety algorithms can effectively minimize accidents in your workplace or at home but what about the real question your probably asking could hackers get into your Bot and use them to attack you or could they all band together to subjugate the human race for now it doesn't seem like either of these robots possess enough sentience to start a war with Humanity besides Tesla has announced that each
of their Bots will come with localized controls to prevent remote hacking or updates and in 2021 Elon mus stated that they're planning to make the Tesla Bots easy to overpower you know you know just in case similarly the neobot has built in features to protect users' safety including remote controls that allow a human operator to take over a robot when you need support one X's CEO bird borick has also stated that our priority is safety and to back up that claim they're performing multiple humanoid trials in select homes to test the boss's sensors this neoa
program is supposed to give the company insight into the robots embodied learning which allows it to adapt to its environment kind of like how you could walk around your house blindfolded because you've done it so many times price estimation seeing that these robots are both pretty smart and boasting of using the latest technology in their hardware and software they're bound to cost a fortune right well not quite if you're wondering how much these items will cost on the open market once they're available don't fret you may be surprised by how affordable they are although Tesla
hasn't officially released a price for the Tesla bought since it's still in developmental stages estimates predict that it'll probably cost somewhere between $110,000 and $20,000 when it becomes available to the public this estimate aligns with Elon musk's vision of making the robot affordable for Mass adoption in his words let's say the production rate is probably something like a billion humanoid robots a year if Tesla has a 10% share of that it might be a lot more than 10% we could can make about 100 million Optimus units a year for reference the Auto industry is roughly
100 million vehicles per year so it's similar at least within an order of magnitude I think maybe we can make one for a cost of maybe $10,000 at a really high scale it's smaller and would be less expensive than a car for context a Toyota Camry costs about $228,400 so somewhere in the near future we could have more AI Bots helping with chores or working in factories then there are cars on the road even even if Tesla decides to sell their Optimus bot for $20,000 from their projects they stand to make about a trillion dollars
in profit in a single year unfortunately 1X is a bit more tight lipped about their estimate street price so we can only guess that it'll match Tesla's pricing model or possibly even cheaper after all the neobot is lighter and smaller than Optimus but since it's also more dextrous allowing it to complete more complex tasks easily it could still come with a higher price tag user feedback and Market reception reviews for the Tesla bot are a bit of a mixed bag obviously as the more popular of the two companies Optimus has received more interest but also
more scrutiny so while Elon Musk is marketing as the next great invention many cynics are quick to call these claims exaggeration but can you blame them since the company first announced production in 2021 there have been several setbacks and delays with no definitive release date at the moment on the flip side the neobot has received mostly positive attention for its Advanced design and capabilities as a home assistant after all you could argue that it takes less intelligence to complete repetitive tasks like lifting as opposed to autonomously cleaning a house cooking a meal or going grocery
shopping
