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A quick peek into the video can make any viewer understand the comparison.
In an age where little technological advancement could shock us, Tesla’s charging robot snake is amazing and eerie at the same time, presenting an option most hadn’t thought of. Elon Musk, CEO and general innovative tech developer, has recently unveiled a robotic contraption that might just creep us out a little.
The now deemed ‘Snakebot’ is a robotic charger, meant to plunge itself to the slot of battery-run vehicles, likely meant to be available in all garages at some point. It has been announced since December of last year that Musk is working on a “solid metal snake” charging system, which was “wrong” enough by itself.
The full visual was recently made available for the public and brought truth to Musk’s words. The silver, metallic, snake-like arm slithers itself to a bright red Model S and recharges its battery without human interference. In the 36 seconds long video, the ‘Snakebot’ moves slowly through the air, bending, slithering and bowing like an attentive yet tranquilized snake toward its ‘prey’.
The sluggishness does not make it any less eerie though. It’s close to seeing an interaction between two objects, and no one likes the thought of combining Anaconda with Skynet.
However creepy, the charging station is no less amazing and fascinating. The autonomous robot is able to guide itself into the proper spot the moment the doors open, joining what could soon be an autonomous car. It charges the vehicle completely on its own. So far though, it has not been made clear if it will be released for public usage.
The snakelike gadget is set to work with the Tesla Model S, a $67,000 worth vehicle that will be able to park itself in your garage and possibly drive itself sometime in the future. Ironically, it’s the kind of artificial intelligence that Elon Musk warned humanity against not too long ago.
Model S has also seen some controversy, with hackers reportedly being able to make it stop by interfering into the system’s programming, but the company has since released a patch that fixed the issue. It’s now safe and, apparently, has its own charging station that might be the source of a few nightmares.
The unveiling of ‘Snakebot’ did raise a few questions though, mostly surrounding the actual practicality of such a device. It may be challenging to find someone admitting themselves to being that lazy as to not take 10 seconds to get out of the car and charge it themselves.
However, Musk has assured that the robot arm will have multiple applications, so this is just the first action on the long list that a robotic snake might have in functions, which we can hope it will not involve some sort of coiling and hissing sounds.
Image source: jalopnik.com
