4 days ago
The robots are (almost) here
An Optimus robot holding a battery where Tesla posted on X announcing the production of its 100 millionth 4680 cell.
Image: Tesla, X.
Over the past few years it's been predicted that robots will live amongst.
In 2025, we are beginning to see signs that they almost here.
Some of the leading technology companies are developing their humanoid robots.
Tesla Optimus is is a general-purpose robotic humanoid under development by Tesla, it was announced at the company's Artificial Intelligence (AI) Day event on August 19, 2021, and a prototype was shown in 2022.
What's interesting about the robot is that the Tesla CEO Elon Musk thinks Optimus "has the potential to be more significant than Tesla's vehicle business over time."
There's a belief that humanoid robots will form part of future workforce and human companions.
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The Chinese tech company, Xiaomi, has also developed their own humanoid robot, known as CyberOne.
It's a full-sized bipedal robot designed with advanced features like 21 joints, a 3D visual spatial system, and the ability to sense human emotions and interpret environments.
The robot is part of Xiaomi's Cyber series, which also includes the CyberDog and CyberDog 2 quadrupedal robots.
CyberOne was first unveiled in August 2022 and is a functional humanoid robot, not just a concept.
One notable development so far about humanoid robots is that there's one being developed in South Africa as well.
Although it's still early days, the robot has been introduced as an innovative research platform by the Stellenbosch University, Department of Electrical Engineering.
It is designed to advance the field of humanoid to the university this state-of-the-art platform highlights sophisticated robotics technology and exemplifies the benefits of interdisciplinary collaboration in engineering.
Although it's still early days, the robot has been introduced as an innovative research platform by the Stellenbosch University, Department of Electrical Engineering.
Image: File.
The humanoid robot stands fully assembled, built around a total of 38 degrees of freedom (DOF)—including dual 6-DOF arms, two neck joints, and dexterous five-finger hands on each side—the design closely mirrors human upper-body mobility.
It's also equipped with a webcam for vision tracking and advanced software, the robot can analyse and replicate human movements in real time, enhancing its human-like functionality.
An on-board NVIDIA GPU accelerates vision processing and large-language-model (LLM) inference, enabling voice-initiated commands and natural dialogue with operators.
Although the SA developed robot is far from what has been developed by Tesla and Xiaomi it's an indicator of what the future will look like.
I foresee that in the near future we will own/buy robots in the same way that we acquire cars.
They will form part of our tools and possessions.
We will probably use them in our factories and at our homes to carry out complex tasks that are beyond us in terms of energy and time.
As the field of robotics advances it will surprise us in ways that we have not imagined.
We now have a choice to prepare for them to enter society.
At a policy level we need to start thinking about what it will mean to have humanoid robots amongst us.
What kind of advantages they will bring as well as risks.
If we are to live harmoniously with them we need to start preparing now for a world that will include humanoid robots.
As engineers are building humanoid robots in South Africa, it is my hope that they are initiating conversations that will assist with the integration of robots in society.
Latest technologies have not been well introduced to society and that has led to negative effects at least in the beginning.
Humanoid robots can form part of improving our productivity and quality of life. We just just need to prepare for them now.
Wesley Diphoko is a Technology Analyst and the Editor-In-Chief of FastCompany (SA).
Wesley Diphoko.
Image: File.
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