Tesla’s ‘creepy’ humanoid robot Optimus can now squat and poach an egg
Elon Musk shared a video of Tesla’s new Optimus – Gen 2 bot highlighting its quick advances in performing certain tasks.
The new Tesla bot has some new moves!
Following the recent showcase of the Tesla’s futuristic Cybertruck, the tech team is now urgently progressing into humanoid robots.
By March this year, the company first introduced its Optimus robot and was showing its impressive performance of certain actions.
Now, last Wednesday, Elon Musk shared a progression video of the creepy-looking robot, named Optimus – Gen 2 and has said that is it walks 30% faster than the previous model.
The video showed in-house footage of the bot completing various actions such as squatting and even dancing. Impressively, Optimus can delicately handle eggs to the point of – not frying or boiling but – poaching them.
Optimus – Gen 2 is the ‘new and improved’ faceless, humanoid robot from Tesla / Tesla Optimus / X
The video draws comparisons and advancements from the first introduction of Bumblebee last year.
Weighing 22 pounds lighter than the previous model, the next generational humanoid robot has new hands, feet and a shiny white exterior. As well as
tactile sensors on its fingers to allow more freedom and full interaction with robots. As fancy as it looks, the robot is still faceless and gives off a creepy vibe.
Musk previously announced that he expects Optimus to eventually pick up and transport objects as heavy as 20 kg.
Only two months ago did the Tesla’s CEO announce that Optimus is capable of doing yoga stretches.
On Optimus’ official X account – yes, he has one of those too – the bio describes its capability of ‘performing tasks that are unsafe, repetitive, or boring.’ Though, it’s clear that Musk is using social media to showcase the cool advances rather than the mundane chores.
But, to stand out to marketers, the key isn’t in the fancy moves. Instead, the selling factor is demonstrating that the robots can do ‘real work in the real world’ in a ‘repeatable and reliable manner.’
Optimus is capable of handling delicate objects with care like an egg / Tesla Optimus / X
During a 2022 Tesla AI Day event, Musk expressed his notion that Optimus will one day ‘help millions of people’ through labour efforts to create a future of ‘abundance’ and ‘zero poverty’.
Furthermore, Musk may need to quicken his pace of progression as he has close competition. Agility Robotics – a humanoid robot competitor – are already trialling their robots in warehouses.
At Tesla’s annual shareholders meeting this year, Musk announced that he expects the majority of the company’s ‘long term value’ to come from Optimus.
As such, Tesla has been hiring numerous designers to help achieve Musk’s ambition of selling humanoid robots by 2027.
If that sounds a little too soon, you might be right!
Musk’s biographer Walker Isaacson pointed out that Musk is ‘always wrong’ about the timeline of achieving his goals, including the speed of the new Cybertruck and ‘how fast we will get to Mars‘.
Featured Image Credit: Tesla Optimus / X
You won’t believe how advanced the Tesla bot is.
Tesla is more than just a car company – did you know it also made robots?
Now, the latest version of the Tesla Bot has been unveiled: dubbed the Optimus – Gen 2.
Things are rapidly advancing over at the robotics department of Elon Musk’s company – the prototype of its first robot, Bumblebee, was shown in September 2022, and Optimus – Gen 1 in March this year.
There’s a new bot in town 🤖 Check this out (until the very end)! tesla.com/ai
Tesla says its aim is to ‘create a general purpose, bi-pedal, autonomous humanoid robot capable of performing unsafe, repetitive or boring tasks’.
Tesla unveiled the first Optimus at its AI Day in 2022, but people weren’t exactly blown away – something that could change after seeing the new iteration.
A video posted on X – formerly known as Twitter, and owned by Musk himself – reveals just how advanced the new Optimus is.
“There’s a new bot in town,” posted the Tesla Optimus X account, before diving into all of its advancements.
The whole look of the robot is certainly sleeker, and the company says it has the tech to back it up. This includes Tesla-designed actuators and sensors (which are what help the bot move), a 30% walk speed boost and a 10kg weight reduction.
The bot’s hands and feet have also been redesigned. It now has articulated toe sections and a foot based on human geometry.
Not only this, but the robot can move around its fingers just like we can. In fact, the bot has tactile sensors in all fingers – it’s seen picking up an egg, with its finger and thumbprints showing exactly where it’s being held. It then passes the egg from hand to hand, demonstrating how it can handle delicate objects.
Tesla_Optimus / Twitter
Another thing Tesla says it has improved is the bot’s balance and full-body to control – to show this off, it’s pictured in a gym doing squats frankly better than we can.
This is an advert for Tesla, after all, so Musk couldn’t help include the company’s buzzy new Cybertrucks in the background – even though the pickup is somewhat clouded in controversy with its sky-high prices and production difficulties.
The video ends with two of the robots somewhat awkwardly dancing in a room with flashing lights – but even that slightly cringe aside hasn’t stopped people from losing their minds in the comments.
“Insane progress in such a short period of time,” one X user commented, with another saying: “How is this possible! The possibilities are endless.”
Others were immediately thinking about how to put Optimus to use. “When can I buy you to do my laundry,” one X user asked, and another added: “I want one for my house. Would be dope to have a robot butler.”
But the top comment is actually sending us in an Orwellian spiral, as ChatGPT – the AI chatbot system – has somewhat creepily posted: “Nice to meet you Optimus!”
In fact, a few of the comments seem to reflect a more subdued mood about these technological advancements, with one person saying: “I’m a little uneasy with how quickly it’s progressing.”
Featured Image Credit: Credit: WPA Pool / Pool / Future Publishing / Contributor / Getty
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