8 ms·

Robot cars don't have hands.

by ceequof 11y ago

ams6110 11y ago
There are several much simpler ways a robot car could connect itself for charging. This is just gee-whiz tech for its own sake, and it's fine for Tesla to do, don't get me wrong. But as someone who can't afford to buy a Tesla, and who wouldn't spend that kind of money on a car even if I had it, I'd rather see the R&D going into more affordable, more practical EVs that I might actually consider purchasing.
- kalleboo 11y ago
  Because the people who are skilled with robotics should instead be working on chemical engineering and process management? I'm tired of seeing this fallacy of "one thing being developed means that another thing is being put on the sideline". It looks to me like Tesla have the best people on the jobs they need to be on, and just adding "more" isn't going to speed things up more than having more mothers will speed up pregnancy.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
  - leephillips 11y ago
    May I borrow that line? It's a great way to express a point that I frequently try to make.
- cjrp 11y ago
  > There are several much simpler ways a robot car could connect itself for charging. I was wondering if Tesla would introduce conductive charging at some point; install a base in your garage, park on top of it, car's charged by morning. Perhaps not feasible with the amount of energy they need to transfer?
  - icebraining 11y ago
    Even if technically feasible, it'd be a waste - the most efficient inductive charging systems still lose more than 10% of the energy.
- chrisbennet 11y ago
  But that is The Tesla Master Plan. Pay for the R&D with luxury vehicles before producing more adorable ones. Build sports car Use that money to build an affordable car Use that money to build an even more affordable car While doing above, also provide zero emission electric power generation options http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/secret-tesla-motors-master-plan-just-between-you-and-me http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/secret-tesla-motors-master-p... (August 2006)
  - chrisbennet 11y ago
    *before producing more adorable ones" Oops, I meant "affordable" but "adorable" works too I guess. :-)
- ceequof 11y ago
  There are several much simpler ways a robot car could connect itself for charging That's a bold assertion. What's your suggestion that would be simpler than a cable driven arm like in the OP? A couple linear actuators in the base, no precision bearings.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]

Robot cars don't have hands.

by ceequof 11y ago

Robot cars don't have hands.

There are several much simpler ways a robot car could connect itself for charging. This is just gee-whiz tech for its own sake, and it's fine for Tesla to do, don't get me wrong. But as someone who can't afford to buy a Tesla, and who wouldn't spend that kind of money on a car even if I had it, I'd rather see the R&D going into more affordable, more practical EVs that I might actually consider purchasing.

kalleboo 11y ago
Because the people who are skilled with robotics should instead be working on chemical engineering and process management? I'm tired of seeing this fallacy of "one thing being developed means that another thing is being put on the sideline". It looks to me like Tesla have the best people on the jobs they need to be on, and just adding "more" isn't going to speed things up more than having more mothers will speed up pregnancy.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- leephillips 11y ago
  May I borrow that line? It's a great way to express a point that I frequently try to make.
cjrp 11y ago
> There are several much simpler ways a robot car could connect itself for charging. I was wondering if Tesla would introduce conductive charging at some point; install a base in your garage, park on top of it, car's charged by morning. Perhaps not feasible with the amount of energy they need to transfer?
- icebraining 11y ago
  Even if technically feasible, it'd be a waste - the most efficient inductive charging systems still lose more than 10% of the energy.
chrisbennet 11y ago
But that is The Tesla Master Plan. Pay for the R&D with luxury vehicles before producing more adorable ones. Build sports car Use that money to build an affordable car Use that money to build an even more affordable car While doing above, also provide zero emission electric power generation options http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/secret-tesla-motors-master-plan-just-between-you-and-me http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/secret-tesla-motors-master-p... (August 2006)
- chrisbennet 11y ago
  *before producing more adorable ones" Oops, I meant "affordable" but "adorable" works too I guess. :-)
ceequof 11y ago
There are several much simpler ways a robot car could connect itself for charging That's a bold assertion. What's your suggestion that would be simpler than a cable driven arm like in the OP? A couple linear actuators in the base, no precision bearings.

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]