The Tesla Bot seems to have come a long way from its 2021 debut as a dancing guy in a spandex suit. The humanoid robot is still likely years away from hitting factory floors but when it does arrive, it’ll be packing plenty of leg muscle.
The company just posted a new video featuring one of Tesla Bot’s leg actuators lifting a grand piano off the floor while Tesla’s Principal Motor Designer, Konstantinos Laskaros, plays a famous nocturne by Chopin. The actuator is suspended above the piano and attached to a harness, allowing it to hoist the half-ton musical instrument about one foot above the ground while Konstantinos doesn’t miss a note.
It’s a clever video showing off the lifting power in Tesla Bot’s leg actuators and it’s impressive when you consider that a fully functioning Tesla Bot will have at least two legs with multiple motion mechanisms.
Tesla has big plans for incorporating its humanoid robots into its factories and the company foresees a future where thousands of Tesla Bots could take over some of the most dull and repetitive tasks.
According to the technical details revealed during last month’s AI Day, the Tesla Bot will be five feet, eight inches tall and weigh 125 pounds. The robot will include 40 total electromechanical actuators: 12 each in its arms, legs and hands, and another two each in its neck and torso. It will also feature a display screen where its face would be and two-axis feet for maintaining balance.
Tesla clearly still has lots of work to do before its humanoid robot is ready for prime time but CEO Elon Musk said it could go on sale within the next three to five years. And if leg pressing a grand piano is any measure of early success, it seems like the company is making progress.
