Tesla recently shared a glimpse at two of its newest drones that have been deployed at Giga Berlin in Germany. The two robots are named after two of NASA’s most famous Mars spacecraft, and they are tasked with a job that some humans might find very tedious.
As noted by Tesla in its dedicated manufacturing account on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, the two drones that have been deployed at Giga Berlin are named “Pathfinder” and “Opportunity.” As per Tesla, each drone is capable of counting up to 12,000 pallets per day. Counting pallets in the factory is a notable aspect of inventory management and logistics.
Welcome Pathfinder and Opportunity, our fully autonomous drones at Giga Berlin. They accurately count up to 12.000 pallets a day – each! pic.twitter.com/L9atb5NNWU
— Tesla Manufacturing (@gigafactories) December 6, 2023
The names of the two autonomous drones highlight Musk and Tesla’s playful and nerdy side, as Pathfinder and Opportunity could be considered two of NASA’s most iconic missions that have been deployed on Mars. Pathfinder reached the Red Planet on July 4, 1997, and Opportunity made history by surviving 14 years and 138 days on Mars.
Images that were shared by Tesla showed the drones in action. Tesla has not shared details of its two autonomous drones, though Benzinga observed that the units featured in the company’s post on X looked pretty similar to the inventAIRy XL by RAWview, a self-flying drone designed to increase stock-taking efficiency and accuracy in racked warehouses.
As noted in a report from DroneXL, the two robots should be able to provide some benefits for Tesla. The two units could navigate autonomously through Giga Berlin’s warehouse. By doing so, they should be able to capture some real-time data on inventory, locations, and potential discrepancies.
Years ago, Elon Musk brought up the idea of creating a hyper-automated Tesla factory akin to an alien dreadnought. The concept was intended for the Model 3, but the EV maker had to abandon the concept amidst the vehicle’s production hell. With the increasing use of robots such as Pathfinder and Opportunity, as well as projects like the Optimus humanoid robot, Tesla does seem to be taking a step towards creating Elon Musk’s dream factory.
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