Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, inaugurated Tesla AI Day 2022 by showing off the most exciting innovation of the event, “Optimus”. At its second annual event, Tesla unveiled a working robot, albeit one that was a little unsteady and with exposed cables. It was functioning for the first time without “any support, cranes, mechanical mechanisms or cables”, according to Musk. The ultimate version of this robot will be able to balance itself while walking, carry a 20-pound backpack, operate tools, and have a tiny robot-specific precise grasp. A Tesla staffer claimed that the Bumble C prototype’s 2.3 kilowatt-hour battery pack was “perfect for about a full day’s worth of work.”

Essentially, Tesla is perfectly poised to advance in the field of humanoid robotic. Their expertise in batteries, industry and AI due to their electric vehicles venture has placed them in an excellent position to keep innovating in the field. Tesla said that it is utilising its energy products and employing those parts, including battery management, for the bot. The Tesla bot uses the same supercomputer as the Tesla cars. Additionally, Tesla is using for the bot the same technology and software that it uses for its autopilot. The Tesla robot also has hardware-level security measures, audio support, and wireless communication, all of which, according to the firm, are “important to protect both the robot and the people around the robot.”

The price point for the bot is expected to be about $20.000 when it rolls out, according to Musk. However, Tesla has asked shareholders to temper their expectations. The technology will take a long time to develop it properly and to roll out.

Korosec, K. (n.d.). *Tesla’s robot is a real robot now, not just a guy in a suit | TechCrunch*. Retrieved October 1, 2022, from https://techcrunch.com/2022/09/30/teslas-robot-is-a-real-robot-now-not-just-a-guy-in-a-suit/?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAHY7HV9x4XgtXa-lWKjCKNSaLPKrN5bH7W0BQk9010LllaAEqEpI4Mw8bFinizJTe3PfVJWFJrha0_8UxM9tJEaYEZZBMnWKoMJXdQLMogNCKMMmpGrAIKiE4-BobHrcw1hTwZyN1wCI0OLJrXVJ7-pFAOeLQtncwxeXpt0U7Kjq

*Elon Musk unveils humanoid ‘Optimus’ robot at Tesla’s AI Day | Tesla | The Guardian*. (n.d.). Retrieved October 1, 2022, from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/sep/30/tesla-optimus-humanoid-robot-elon-musk-ai-day

We live in a world of information. But physics tells us that deep down the world is quantum mechanical. To be honest, the meaning of quantum mechanics still evades me to this day. Something about sub-atomic particles and waves. What I know is that the promise of discovering a way to harness its capabilities could result in huge advancements in every field. The most practical way to do so is through quantum computing.

Essentially quantum computing takes advantage of quantum physics phenomena to grow in computing power exponentially. While the power of traditional computers can only grow linearly as more bits are added, quantum computers utilise qubits. Essentially, a qubit can exist in a multidimensional state in contrast to a standard computer bit, which can only be either 0 or 1. With additional qubits, quantum computers’ power increases exponentially. This is a very simplistic explanation of quantum computing (Frankenfield, 2022).

The Breakthrough Prize Foundation, funded by Sergey Brin, Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg, Julia and Yuri Milner, and Anne Wojcicki, bestows $3 million annual prizes for each of a number of distinct categories for groundbreaking discoveries in their respective fields. Charles H. Bennett, Gilles Brassard, David Deutsch, and Peter W. Shor received the 2023 prize in the fundamental physics category for their pioneering work in the area of quantum information. These men have made some of the most important discoveries in the field of quantum mechanics. The BB84 protocol, developed by Charles Bennett and Gilles Brassard, launched the discipline of quantum cryptography. The first quantum algorithm that outperforms the best comparable classical algorithm was created by David Deutsch, who also described the quantum equivalent of a Turing machine. Peter Shor created the Shor’s algorithm, which was the first method to show how quantum computing may one day be beneficial, to factor big numbers exponentially faster than any classical technique (Winners of the 2023 breakthrough prizes in life sciences, Mathematics and fundamental physics announced).

These discoveries are nothing short of revolutionary in the field. After watching several videos on these discoveries, they still are elusive to me. However, the sense of importance that these technologies incite are matched only by very few technologies. I believe it is thanks to these gentlemen and other researchers in this field that humanity will prosper in the future.

Citations

Frankenfield, J. (2022, September 21). Quantum Computing: Definition, how it’s used, and example. Investopedia. Retrieved September 27, 2022, from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/q/quantum-computing.asp#:~:text=Quantum%20computing%20uses%20subatomic%20particles,0)%20at%20the%20same%20time.&text=Classical%20computers%20today%20employ%20a,to%20encode%20information%20in%20bits.

Winners of the 2023 breakthrough prizes in life sciences, Mathematics and fundamental physics announced. Breakthrough Prize – Winners Of The 2023 Breakthrough Prizes In Life Sciences, Mathematics And Fundamental Physics Announced. (n.d.). Retrieved September 27, 2022, from https://breakthroughprize.org/News/73