Elon Musk set to unveil ‘Optimus’ humanoid robot after Tesla Day delay: all the details

Elon Musk Set to Unveil

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said the robot business will be worth more than its cars, and on Friday investors, customers and potential workers expect to see a prototype at Tesla’s “AI Day” to prove whether the bot, dubbed “Optimus,” is ready. work

Robot AI will be the star of the show, but Musk is also expected to discuss Tesla’s long-delayed self-driving technology. In May, Musk said the world’s most valuable carmaker would have “essentially zero value” unless it achieves full self-driving capabilities and would face growing regulatory inquiries as well as technological hurdles.

“There will be lots of technical details and cool hardware demos,” Musk wrote on Twitter late Wednesday, adding that the event was aimed at recruiting engineers.

Tesla’s direct demonstration record is mixed. Launches usually draw cheers, but in 2019 the glass shattered when an employee threw a steel ball at the armored window of Musk’s new electric pickup truck.

The main test of a robot is whether it can handle unexpected situations.

Musk announced plans for Tesla’s humanoid robots at his AI Day in August last year and delayed this year’s event from August to work on his robot prototype, with plans to start production next year.

Tesla teased the bot on social media with an image of metallic robotic hands forming the shape of a heart. But creating a human-like, versatile hand that can handle a variety of objects is extremely challenging, said Henny Ben Amor, a professor of robotics at Arizona State University.

Initially, Optimus, an allusion to the powerful and benevolent leader of the Autobots in the Transformers media franchise, would do boring or dangerous jobs, according to Musk, including moving parts around Tesla factories or attaching bolts to cars with a wrench.

“There’s a lot about what people can do with dexterity that’s very difficult for robots. And that’s not going to change whether the robot is a robot arm or it’s human-shaped,” Jonathan Hirst, chief technology officer of Agility Robotics, a humanoid robot firm, told Reuters.

Musk has said that in the future, robots could be used in homes, to cook meals, mow lawns and care for the elderly, and become “companions” for humans or sex partners.

He will be at Friday’s event to give updates on Tesla’s long-delayed plan to launch self-driving cars and on its high-speed computer, the Dojo, which was unveiled last year and which the company says is integral to its own development. Driving technology.

Musk has said Tesla will achieve full self-driving this year and mass-produce robotaxis with no steering wheel or pedals by 2024.

At the “Autonomy” event in 2019, Musk promised 1 million robotaxis by 2020 but has yet to deliver such a car.

© Thomson Reuters 2022


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