Expand / The walking Optimus prototype was demonstrated at the AI Day 2022 event.
Tesla
Today at Tesla’s “AI Day” press event, Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled a first prototype of his Optimus humanoid robot, which emerged from behind a curtain, walked, waved and ” raise the roof” with hands to the beat of techno. music
It was a risky reveal for the prototype, which seemed a little unsteady on its feet. “Literally, the first time the robot has operated without a rope was on stage tonight,” Musk said. Soon after, Tesla employees rolled a sleeker-looking Optimus model onto the stage supported by a stand that still couldn’t stand on its own. He waved and lifted his legs. Later, he collapsed while Musk was speaking.
Tesla AI Day 2022 video
The full live demo of the robot lasted about seven minutes, and the company also played a demo video of the Optimus prototype walking around picking up a box and placing it on the ground, watering a plant and moving metal parts in an environment factory-like, all while tied up. to an overhead cable. The video also showed a 3D view of the world that represents what Optimus the robot can see.
Expand / Three stages of the Tesla Optimus robot so far, presented at AI Day 2022.
Tesla
Tesla first announced its plans to build a humanoid robot during its AI Day event in August last year. During that earlier event, a human dressed in a robot-like spandex suit performed the Charleston on stage, prompting skepticism in the press.
announcement
At today’s AI event, Musk and his team emphasized that the walking prototype was an early demo developed in about six months with “semi-disposable actuators” and that the sleeker model was much more like the “Version 1” unit that they wanted to send. He said he could probably walk in a few weeks.
Project Optimus’ goals include high-volume production (possibly “millions of units sold,” Musk said), low cost (“probably less than $20,000”) and high reliability. Comparing Optimus’ plans to competitors’ existing humanoid robots, Musk also emphasized that the Optimus robot would need to have a brain on board to work autonomously, citing Tesla’s work with its Autopilot car system.
Expand / Tesla shared some specs of its “next generation” Optimus robot prototype.
Tesla
Soon after, Musk turned the stage over to Tesla engineers who gave an overview of the development of the power systems, actuators and joint mechanisms that would make Optimus possible, full of fancy graphics but few concrete specifics on how would apply to a shipping product. “We’re moving most of our design experience from the car to the robot,” said one engineer, while another engineer said they drew a lot of inspiration from human biology, especially in joint design.
Earlier in the rally, Musk said they were holding the event to “convince some of the most talented people in the world to come to Tesla and help bring this to fruition.” Musk also emphasized the publicly owned nature of Tesla several times, mentioning that if the public doesn’t like what Tesla is doing, they could buy stock and vote it down. “If I go crazy, you can fire me,” he said.
After the entire two-and-a-half-hour presentation, which also included lengthy updates on Tesla’s work with Autopilot AI, the Tesla team gathered on stage to answer detailed questions from the audience for more than time
[This is a developing story and will be updated as new information comes in.]