Robots, what are they?
A robot is a machine that does not necessarily look like a human that can replicate one or more tasks with less or no human intervention.
The laws of robotics.
- A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
- A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
- A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.
Now that we know the three of Asimov’s laws of robotics let’s meet the robots.
1 Tesla Optimus
Among Elon Musk’s creations, not the cyber-truck but the Tesla Optimus (Giga chad). On March 2023 Gen 1 was showcased, things at Tesla move pretty fast, about two months ago, Gen 2 was shown to the public: see the video below. Let’s summarize what the Tesla Optimus Gen 2 is capable of and its future.
- 10 kg total weight reduction (without sacrifice) compared to Gen 1
- Tesla-designed actuators and sensors
- Faster and more capable hands
- Improved balance and full body control
This is a machine powered by both AI and human body features. If you think that AI is not dangerous, this thing is about to make all people in an assembly line obsolete. To learn more visit [https://tesla.com/AI](https://tesla.com/AI)
Tesla Optimus Gen 2
2. ASIMO.
ASIMO, a honda creation still maintains the world’s most agile robot after retiring. His name stands for Advanced Step In Innovative Mobility. Honda decided to discontinue its production after 20 years.
But where is ASIMO? He is male and is displayed at the Miraikan museum in Tokyo, Japan. There are about 100 of them around the world.
What is ASIMO capable of?
He was built to be a companion to the elderly, children who often do repetitive tasks in another video he could even unscrew a flask lid and serve a drink. Here is a list of all the tasks he could perform.
- Capable of predicting whether you will take a step.
- Recognize gestures, sitting positions, sounds, and faces.
- Communicate in English, Japanese, and Chinese.
- He can navigate sideways enabling him to maneuver tight spaces.
- Walk 1/MPH and run 4/MPH
sadly, ASIMO was discontinued after he surpassed his teenage days. However, he will continue being developed and make public appearances once in a while.
3. SOPHIA.
Unlike ASIMO, Sophia is a social-humanoid robot that is more intelligent, she uses Artificial Intelligence, Alphabet INC’s Voice recognition and learns from every mistake she makes. Many still argue which robot is superior to the other, which we can’t settle on, but we can agree on one thing: Sophia is the most beautiful and human look-alike. She can make over 60 facial expressions, sing, and was granted Saudi-Arabia citizenship. She is the first robot to earn citizenship all over the world, how cool is that?
She is the most advanced robot and often participates in talks all over the world about AI, and weather amongst others, this alone has given her popularity and a public figure title. There is much more about Sophia.
Sophia sings better than you would here.
4. PEPPER.
Pepper is an intelligent semi-humanoid robot that was built to curb labor shortages. Where? I have no idea. Just like ASIMO and Sophia, Pepper has a gender and is male. He moves on a rolling base. The company, Soft Bank Robotics says that it was the first robot to recognize faces and human emotions.
Today, companies use Pepper to interact with their customers since the robot is very good at collecting data this helps companies to understand the taste of their customers. According to [[iee.org](iee.org)](https://robots.ieee.org/robots/pepper/), Renault, Nestle, and Uniqlo have used Pepper to interact with their customers. Pepper does not look intimidating. it is short and friendly and only costs $1,500 per robot. You can purchase the robot by visiting their website here.
5. AMECA.
Ameca is still being built and still not quite efficient, he is built not to look like a human but like a fictional robot from the movies. He is made of plastic and metal and can perform movements like moving his arms, making facials, and even recognizing people and gestures.
Ameca’s purpose is for entertainment and will be seen around often in ten years’ time he is still on a mission and very promising.
6. ATLAS.
Atlas is a product of an American company founded in 1992 -Boston Dynamics. The company was once owned by Alphabet INC -Google’s parent company and Soft bank which owns Pepper. Today Boston Dynamics parent company is still Hyundai Motor Group.
Atlas has a height of 1.5m and a weight of 89 kg. Like ASIMO he is also one of the most agile robots around. The last Atlas update was done in 2021, he can walk on an inclined surface, do backflips, dance among others and perform gymnastics somersaults and handstands.
The robot is still too expensive at 75,000.
7. SPOT.
Spot is a robotic dog by Boston Dynamics the creators of Atlas. Spot can perform various tasks like patrol a warehouse overnight while you sleep or just as an assistant, carry stuff around, inspect and place misplaced stuff since he comes with an arm strong enough to lift blocks and open doors by himself, and also maintain machines.
He uses cameras and Lidars to map his environment.