Humanoid Robot Showdown: Tesla Bot vs Figure 01 | Scott Walter Reacts

The rapid advancement in robotics technology, particularly in the development of humanoid robots, is leading to the potential for widespread deployment of autonomous robots to perform physical tasks, challenging the idea that the world was built for humans

Questions to inspire discussion 

• What advancements have been made in humanoid robot technology?

  —The development of humanoid robots, such as the Tesla Bot and Figure 01, has seen significant progress in terms of walking, balancing, and interacting with the world.

• What is the cost estimate for the Tesla Bot prototype?

  —The estimated cost to build and test the Tesla Bot prototype is around $10,000, with plans for future manufacturing and scaling.

• What are the potential business models for selling the robot?

  —The company is considering traditional ownership or leasing as potential business models for selling the humanoid robot, with leasing seen as a better long-term option due to reduced upfront costs and the ability to constantly update and improve the robot.

• What are the controversial aspects surrounding the Tesla Bot?

  —Controversy surrounds the potential for mass production, backlash and skepticism, and the controversy surrounding a CGI robot with a gun, as well as Elon Musk's response.

• What are the potential capabilities of the Tesla Bot and Figure 01 Humanoid Robot?

  —The potential capabilities of the Tesla Bot and Figure 01 Humanoid Robot include walking, performing tasks, and interacting with the world, with optimism expressed about their capabilities.

Key Insights 

Advancements in humanoid robot technology

• 🚶‍♂️ The progress of Figure's humanoid robot from "nothing at all to Dynamic walking" demonstrates the rapid advancement in robotics technology.
• 🤖 Tesla Bot's focus on AI is more important than its mechanical capabilities, as "the secret sauce is going to be the AI."
• 🤔 Humanoid robots from 10 years ago were comical, slow, and hard to balance, showing the significant progress in robotics technology.
• 🤖 The best robots in terms of bipedal Dynamic walking are able to reason and articulate almost better than a human, with locomotion potentially as good or better than a human.
• 💻 The ability to reason through the world quickly and parallelize work was not possible 10 years ago, but advancements in compute and algorithm perspective have made it achievable now.
• 🤖 The rapid advancement in robotics is due to the widespread knowledge and understanding of control algorithms, leading to the development of bipedal robots in a much shorter time frame.
• 🤖 The Tesla bot was not initially expected to have a large language model interface, but now it's realized that it can actually be built in, which is a game-changer.
• 🤖 The advancement of humanoid robots in dexterity and movement is impressive, showing potential for future development.

Impact of humanoid robots on society

• 🤖 Figure aims to deploy autonomous humanoid robots to perform physical work similar to what humans do today, challenging the idea that the world was built for humans.
• 🤖 The future vision of every human owning a humanoid robot to do physical tasks like getting coffee and doing laundry is both ambitious and controversial.
• 💰 Venture capitalists are putting money in different places to see who's going to do it, because they know there is a huge market and even if you get a small part of it, you're going to do really well.
• 🤔 He was thinking even at a volume of half a million a year they might be able to get down to 50,000, which seems cautious but surprising.
• 🤖 The cost of building the Tesla Bot could be driven way below the initial expectations, leading to potential success and profitability.
• 🤖 The idea that Bots are going to be building themselves is a controversial concept that raises ethical and practical concerns.

Future vision and implications of humanoid robots

• 🌍 "Our mission here is to really help expand human capabilities like how do we really do that and the only way we're going to do that is get a lot of robots out the only way we're going to do that is if it's really affordable and really makes sense."
• 🤖 "I really think that they're going to make it there's room for as many bot makers who are as possible."

#Robotics #Tesla #Optimus #Figure01 

Clips

• 00:00 🤖 Figer's humanoid robot praised for giving AI a body, while Tesla Bot achieves walking and balancing milestones, but skepticism remains about AI integration and practicality of roadmap.
  • Figer has made great progress in developing a general purpose humanoid robot, which has been praised by CEO Brett Adcock for giving artificial intelligence a body.
  • The Tesla Bot can walk and has intelligence, with recent clips showing its ability to walk, turn, and balance, marking a major milestone achieved in a matter of months.
  • The Tesla bot has a unique parallel form mechanism in the torso and uses different actuator linkages, while the rest of the joints are pretty standard.
  • The Tesla Bot and Figure 01 Humanoid Robot have similar degrees of freedom in the arms and legs, but the Tesla Bot does not have neck movement, while the Figure 01 may have made the same decision.
  • The CEO of Figure discusses the company's goal of deploying autonomous humanoid robots to perform physical work similar to humans, emphasizing the need to optimize the physical world to interact with the human body.
  • The CEO discusses the development of a 5-foot-six humanoid robot with an AI first strategy for commercial use, with plans to demonstrate real-world applications by 2024, while a roboticist expresses skepticism about the current level of AI integration and the practicality of the roadmap.
• 10:01 🤖 Tesla Bot and Figure 01 Humanoid Robot have advanced in their ability to walk, balance, and interact with the world, with a focus on AI and all-electric systems.
  • The speaker argues that the humanoid form is the most practical for a general purpose robot, despite the potential for modifications in certain cases.
  • Tesla Bot uses electromechanical controls and designed their own actuators, but the focus should be on their AI work rather than the humanoid bot and mechanics.
  • The development of bipedal humanoid robots has advanced significantly in the past 10 years, with the ability to walk, balance, and react to disturbances quickly, compared to the comical and slow humanoids of the past.
  • Robotic technology has advanced to the point where robots can now perform bipedal dynamic walking and interact with the world in ways that were not possible 10 years ago.
  • 10 years ago, it was not possible to have commercial viability for locomotion, power and torque in motors, and energy and power density in battery systems and motors for real operations from an electro-mechanical perspective, but now it is possible with all-electric systems using 2170 cylindrical cells and electric actuators.
  • The development of Tesla Bot and Figure 01 Humanoid Robot is made possible by advancements in perception systems, manipulation policies, high-level behaviors, onboard 3D occupancy, AI systems, and large language models, allowing for autonomous systems to interact with humans and understand language.
• 16:00 🤖 Humanoid robots are rapidly advancing with the convergence of different technologies, including energy-dense servos and language model interfaces, leading to potential success in the market and the future development of robotics courses.
  • Advancements in technology and knowledge have allowed for the rapid development of humanoid robots, with the convergence of different technologies making it possible for them to walk and be controlled.
  • The technology for energy-dense servos is there, but the challenge is to develop efficient drives that can deliver the required torque without consuming too much power, and the addition of language model interface to the Tesla bot was unexpected and a bonus.
  • Humanoid robots will start being built now that people have stopped laughing about it, and there is a lot of potential for success in the market.
  • More engineers and universities will offer robotics courses as the acceptance of humanoid robots increases, with a focus on the development of the hardware and the potential outsourcing of the brain function to companies like Google.
  • The speaker discusses the breakdown of the Tesla Bot and Figure 01 Humanoid Robot, emphasizing the use of subsystems for tasks and the integration of a large language model, while also considering the cost and future of humanoid robots.
  • Manufacturing volumes determine the price of the robot, and the show car needs to demonstrate human-like performance to be useful.
• 23:42 🤖 The Tesla Bot is expected to be cheaper than a car, with potential for driving down costs to make the project successful and profitable, while the CEO expressed caution and difficulty in ramping up production for the humanoid robot.
  • The Tesla Bot is expected to be cheaper than a car, with a cost of below $50,000 at half a million units a year, and will continue to decrease in cost over time due to the reduction in human labor.
  • The CEO discussed the cost, scale, and manufacturing challenges of the humanoid robot, expressing caution and the difficulty of ramping up production.
  • The speaker discusses the cost calculations for the Tesla Bot and the potential for driving down costs to make the project successful and profitable.
  • The Tesla Bot prototype is estimated to cost around $10,000 to build and test, with future plans to manufacture and scale it, unlike the Boston Dynamics humanoid robot which was built for demonstration purposes and not intended for mass production.
  • The Tesla bot and Figure 01 Humanoid Robot are both in the demonstration stage, but Tesla has more experience in manufacturing.
  • The company has proven that they have a real robot, which will attract investors and customers, and the CEO understands that ultimately everything comes down to cost.
• 32:27 🤖 Tesla is developing humanoid robots for their manufacturing setting, aiming for capital efficiency and considering leasing as a better long-term option for selling the robot.
  • Human labor is the basis of everything, and Tesla can use their own humanoid robots in their manufacturing setting.
  • Elon's companies are capital efficient and can raise a lot of money easily, unlike others in Silicon Valley.
  • Companies are raising large amounts of money without first figuring out how to solve the problem, resulting in capital inefficiency, while Elon Musk's companies have realized the need for a smaller, more efficient team.
  • Tesla may not need 700 people to solve the problem, and a partnership with companies like Google or Microsoft for AI development would make sense.
  • The company is considering two business models for selling the robot: traditional ownership or leasing, with the latter being seen as a better long-term option due to reduced upfront costs and the ability to constantly update and improve the robot.
  • The company aims to make humanoid robots affordable and useful for a wide range of applications in order to have a significant impact on the world.
• 38:06 🤖 The CEO discusses skepticism around Tesla Bot, mass production concerns, and the potential for robot as a service and subscription models for FSD drivers.
  • The CEO discusses the backlash and skepticism surrounding the Tesla Bot and the similarities between their cost breakdown and Elon Musk's statements.
  • The speaker discusses the potential for mass production of robots, with the CEO expressing hesitation about the idea of producing billions due to the scale being too crazy.
  • Tesla and other companies are mission-driven, and employees love their work and the mission, not just the paycheck.
  • Robot as a service makes more sense for revenue and control, and a subscription model for FSD drivers could make it more affordable for many people.
• 41:47 🤖 The Tesla Bot is a cost-effective alternative to human labor, with advancements in capabilities and potential for interaction and task performance, but may lack dexterity for driving or getting into a car.
  • The Tesla Bot is expected to be cost-effective for businesses, potentially replacing the need for human labor and offering a cheaper alternative.
  • Figure and Sanctuary are two companies with great humanoid robots, and Amazon is testing a robot called Digit, with plans to produce 10,000 bots a year, while Tesla is also working on a humanoid bot.
  • The Tesla Bot has made significant advancements in its capabilities, including walking and performing yoga, with hopes for further development in the future.
  • The video discusses the controversy surrounding a CGI robot with a gun, Elon Musk's response, and the potential for robots to interact and perform tasks with dexterity.
  • The Tesla bot may not be able to drive or get into a car due to lack of dexterity, but it may be able to interact and perform other tasks.
• 46:53 🤖 The Tesla Bot and Figure 01 Humanoid Robot won't have real guns, just spray guns for manufacturing; they need to interact, understand tasks, communicate, and handle tools to reach Tesla's bot level, with the speaker expressing optimism and inviting the Figure CEO for an interview.
  • The Tesla Bot and Figure 01 Humanoid Robot will not be given actual guns, just spray guns for manufacturing purposes.
  • The robots need to be able to interact, understand tasks, communicate, and have the dexterity to handle tools in order to reach the level of Tesla's bot.
  • The speaker discusses the potential of the Tesla Bot and the Figure 01 Humanoid Robot, expressing optimism about their capabilities and inviting the CEO of Figure to come on the program for an interview.

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