Brian Malone
Industrial
- Jun 15, 2018
- 399
The Cybercab reveal was quite interesting.
A few of my observations:
1. Tesla full self driving appears to be fully functional and capable - at least on clear, calm-weather night.
2. The cars are working purely on cameras and AI. No radar or Lidar. Pretty impressive.
3. The Cybercab design is sleek and futuristic but the design concessions to eliminate rear liftgate glass does not make for a totally inviting ride environment. Functional, sure. The Cybercab appears to have a reasonable cargo space.
4. Same observation on the Robovan - eliminating front, rear and a lot of side glass lightens the vehicle and reduces the manufacturing details required for windows but it makes the ride environment less than ideal.
I'd hate to ride in the Robovan and be surrounded by solid sides with no view outside.
5. Elon's projected costs seem wildly optimistic or possibly foolhardy. But - hey, you have to offer the vision!
6. Inductive charging is standard - no plug. Excellent if the charging pads/stations can be spread around to be effective.
7. Elon's futuristic view of a society using autonomous cars to replace mass transit is wildly optimistic and idealistic. The vision of eliminating parking spaces in urban areas would be great. But, can it truly be achieved? A major change in society will be required.
8. Optimus robots - very, very impressive! The robots are still slow and slightly stiff-gaited but their hand and arm dexterity is amazing. Their battery runtime was not mentioned. Maybe they charge inductively and get a constant trickle charge whenever they go near/past a charging coil? Intermingling with humans unsupervised - very impressive AI !! Tesla shows the robots being used to be a family maid/butler/friend - serving drinks/food, bringing in groceries, walking the dog, etc. - those are all nice and cute. I think Tesla is missing the real need for a home robot - caring for a physically-compromised or gravely sick human. I have cared for three family members who needed full care: feeding, cleaning, wound care, etc. - that is where a home robot will really be useful. Safely lifting, moving, dressing/undressing a physically compromised human - feeding a human - that will be the real benefit of a homebot.
Very impressive mechanical engineering, software and AI. I am not an Elon Musk fanboy - but I definitely admire the engineers he has doing the real work.
A few of my observations:
1. Tesla full self driving appears to be fully functional and capable - at least on clear, calm-weather night.
2. The cars are working purely on cameras and AI. No radar or Lidar. Pretty impressive.
3. The Cybercab design is sleek and futuristic but the design concessions to eliminate rear liftgate glass does not make for a totally inviting ride environment. Functional, sure. The Cybercab appears to have a reasonable cargo space.
4. Same observation on the Robovan - eliminating front, rear and a lot of side glass lightens the vehicle and reduces the manufacturing details required for windows but it makes the ride environment less than ideal.
I'd hate to ride in the Robovan and be surrounded by solid sides with no view outside.
5. Elon's projected costs seem wildly optimistic or possibly foolhardy. But - hey, you have to offer the vision!
6. Inductive charging is standard - no plug. Excellent if the charging pads/stations can be spread around to be effective.
7. Elon's futuristic view of a society using autonomous cars to replace mass transit is wildly optimistic and idealistic. The vision of eliminating parking spaces in urban areas would be great. But, can it truly be achieved? A major change in society will be required.
8. Optimus robots - very, very impressive! The robots are still slow and slightly stiff-gaited but their hand and arm dexterity is amazing. Their battery runtime was not mentioned. Maybe they charge inductively and get a constant trickle charge whenever they go near/past a charging coil? Intermingling with humans unsupervised - very impressive AI !! Tesla shows the robots being used to be a family maid/butler/friend - serving drinks/food, bringing in groceries, walking the dog, etc. - those are all nice and cute. I think Tesla is missing the real need for a home robot - caring for a physically-compromised or gravely sick human. I have cared for three family members who needed full care: feeding, cleaning, wound care, etc. - that is where a home robot will really be useful. Safely lifting, moving, dressing/undressing a physically compromised human - feeding a human - that will be the real benefit of a homebot.
Very impressive mechanical engineering, software and AI. I am not an Elon Musk fanboy - but I definitely admire the engineers he has doing the real work.
