Introducing Optimus: Tesla’s Yoga-Performing Humanoid Robot
Elon Musk recently unveiled Tesla’s humanoid robot, Optimus, during the ‘Tesla AI Day’ event in October. In a video posted by the X owner, Optimus was seen comfortably performing Yoga postures while greeting followers with a ‘Namaste’. The robot has made significant advancements since its initial debut, now capable of self-calibrating its arms and legs. Using vision and joint position encoders, Optimus can precisely locate its limbs in space. It learns tasks smoothly and efficiently, such as sorting colored blocks, with its neural net running entirely on-board using only vision.
Equipped with the same artificial intelligence software and sensors found in Tesla’s advanced driver assistance system, ‘Autopilot’, Optimus is designed for mass production in the millions of units. It features a 2.3 kilowatt per hour battery pack, providing a full day’s worth of work, and runs on a Tesla chip with Wi-Fi and LTE connectivity. The robot’s human-like hands, designed with a biologically inspired approach, enable it to pick up objects of various shapes and sizes, making it suitable for use in factories and other facilities.
Elon Musk believes that Optimus represents a fundamental transformation for civilization as we know it. During the AI Day event, he mentioned that the robot could be priced at less than $20,000. Demonstrating its capabilities, the team moved a non-walking prototype offstage, showcasing Optimus’s ability to carry a 20-pound bag, use tools, and have a precision grip for smaller robots. The robot also features wireless connectivity, audio support, and hardware-level security features.
