Over the weekend, Tesla held its annual Artificial Intelligence Day in Silicon Valley. The company took the opportunity to introduce the latest prototype of its humanoid robot. Elon Musk shared the stage with Optimus as the machine slowly and awkwardly walked onto the stage and waved to a cheering crowd. However, with its exposed wires and electronics, the bot was a long way from the CEO’s vision.
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The presentation included a video demonstration of Optimus performing menial tasks such as carrying boxes and watering plants. While on stage, the robot functioned without a tether for the first time. Robotics developers often use tethers to support robots because they aren’t capable enough to walk without falling and damaging themselves. At this time, Optimus’ abilities appear to significantly trail what bots from competitors like Boston Dynamics are capable of. Tesla maintains that Optimus’ advantage over the competition is its ability to navigate independently using similar technology to Tesla’s “Full Self Driving” driver-assistance system. Further, since many fear a Terminator-style robot takeover, Musk noted that Optimus will have a maximum speed of 5mph. Additionally, the bot will feature a tamper-proof, hardwired off switch.
Still, experts in the robotics field remain skeptical of Tesla’s timeline for rolling out these humanoid bots to do the “useful things” Musk envisions. The demon didn’t impress AI researcher Filip Piekniewski, who tweeted the event was “next level cringeworthy” and a “complete and utter scam.” Further, robotics expert Cynthia Yeung pointed out that “none of this is cutting edge” and advised Tesla “hire some PhDs and go to some robotics conferences.”
Musk anticipates the robot will go on sale within a few years with an estimated price tag below $20,000 USD. You can check out CNET’s coverage of the event in the video below.
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