Flying cars, hoverboards, jetpacks and humanoid robots that help you in everyday life. If you were to ask someone in their 80’s or 90’s how that person imagined the future, one of these things would certainly come up. Much of this is more sci-fi than reality today, unless you ask Elon Musk. The visionary of self-driving cars over a year ago Optimus
presented. A robot that is supposed to help people in everyday life and also looks like one.
Tesla finally presented a prototype of Optimus last weekend at its Tesla AI Day 2022 event. Above all, it should make people’s work easier and take over tasks that are monotonous, boring or dangerous. But how well will this work and what do robotics experts think of it?
Not only Tesla, but also Amazon is working in the field of robotics. Their little minder Astro recently received new functions that could protect users from burglars. You can find out what other new devices Amazon has presented in our overview.
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Wobbly legs, but strong software
When the robot entered the stage on Friday and waved to the audience, it still looked very shaky and awkward overall. Even Tesla boss Elon Musk is not yet confident enough to show another live demonstration of the robot’s capabilities, which is why he preferred to present the audience with a video.
It shows Optimus transporting a crate from A to B, watering plants, and picking up and placing a metal pole in a factory. Few were impressed by the demonstration of motor skills, as other robotics companies such as Boston Dynamics have already set the bar very high.
The software the robot uses is far more interesting. It uses the same Autopilot technology used in Tesla’s cars. Cameras analyze the environment so that Optimus can orientate himself and recognize objects.
Natural movements were rendered to him via motion tracking taught
and a built-in program ensures that he adapts the movements to all possible scenarios. For example, it can transport parcels, water flowers or store tools.
Elon’s Vision: Mass-produced and cheap
Elon Musk has big plans for Optimus, even anticipating that the robots will eventually outsell Tesla’s electric cars. The humanoid robots are to be produced in the millions and cost less than 20,000 US dollars.
So Optimus should have the potential to change civilization
. According to Musk, he should do the things that nobody wants to do
and also help out in factories. He assumes that the first orders will be possible in about three to five years.
You can find Optimus’ entire presentation of Tesla AI Day in the company’s linked YouTube video.
link to YouTube content
Experts are skeptical, but also cautiously optimistic
Dennis Hong is a Professor of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at UCLA and Principal of RoMeLa Robotics & Mechanisms Laboratory. He firmly believes in a future with humanoid robots and that they can improve our lives. Nevertheless, he is rather skeptical whether Tesla can realize his ambitions in such a short time.
He doesn’t think Tesla will be able to mass-produce these robots anytime soon and then use them for everyone. Hong can rather imagine Optimus being used in factories, for example, to carry out simple tasks in a controlled environment. Nevertheless, he hopes that Tesla will teach him otherwise and that he is wrong. He sees Optimus as an important first step in the right direction.
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Will Jackson, the CEO of Engineered Arts, is rather skeptical about the whole thing. Engineered Arts specializes in humanoid robots produced primarily for entertainment purposes. Above all, Jackson doubts that the Tesla robot should be used in factories. According to him, a number of robots are already used in Tesla’s factories and they don’t have to be humanoid for this. He says Elon Musk’s robot is only humanoid because it looks cool.
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Christian Hubickia professor of robotics at Florida State University, is impressed by how quickly Tesla went from vision to a prototype, but not by its capabilities and skeptical of the target price.
The tasks shown that Optimus can complete are rather standard and nothing earth-shattering. Another point of criticism from him is that there is still no information on the reliability of the robot. He especially praises Boston Dynamics, as they also show videos in which their robots fall over and don’t work properly. All in all, his lab would still be interested in buying an Optimus at the targeted price.
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Jonathan Aitkena roboticist and teacher at the University of Sheffield, spoke with us The Verge. He found the demo interesting and was impressed by how quickly the engineers got the prototype up and running.
However, there are still a lot of unanswered questions for him. For example why the robot in the featured videos was connected to a cable hanging from the ceiling. While he was impressed that the robot was moving individual parts in a Tesla factory, he would have liked more context. He wonders if this was an important step in the production chain.
Cynthia Yeung, product manager at Plus One Robotics, is particularly critical of Optimus. In her opinion, Tesla focuses too much on presenting features and not on the actual use that the robot should bring.
She also doubts the claim that the Tesla bot can last a full day on a single charge. She is also skeptical about the price of 20,000 US dollars. Yeung also assumes that Optimus’ live demo was pre-programmed or even remote-controlled.
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Robotics experts are largely skeptical about the Tesla bot. Still, many are impressed by how quickly Tesla has progressed from announcement to prototype.
In any case, Elon Musk is a man with visions. He dreams of fully autonomous cars and humanoid robots. It remains to be seen whether he can also realize these high ambitions.
Robots can not only be humanoid, but also tiny. In his article, Kai explains how the world’s smallest robot manages without its own energy source.
The world’s tiniest remote control robot is so small it could crawl in your ear
How do you feel about humanoid robots? Would you be interested in having a robot butler in your apartment to do the housework for you? Feel free to write it in the comments!
