After more than a year’s wait, Tesla has finally presented a prototype of its Optimus humanoid robot. Unfortunately, experts have been disappointed by this machine, which is far less advanced than Elon Musk had suggested… rest assured: machine uplift is not just around the corner.
As part of his AI Days conference on Friday, September 30, 2022, Tesla has finally presented a prototype of its Optimus humanoid robot announced last year.
Unfortunately, and despite the cheers of an enthusiastic audience of mostly Tesla employeesthe bipedal machine failed to impress the experts.
The biped robot waved his hand and moved his hips as best he could to the rhythm of the music, with the agility of an old man looking for his walker.
In other words, we’ll have to wait a little longer for the robots to offer us the “ future of abundance “promised by Elon Musk. The good news is that there is no risk of the machines lifting up against humans by tomorrow. And with good reason: for the moment, Optimus still has needs to be lifted by humans to get on stage…
A second prototype made of Tesla car parts, presented as more advanced, had to be carried by a team of engineersbecause ” he is not yet ready to walk, but will be able to do so in a few weeks. “…
Several robotics engineers, AI experts and other technology enthusiasts have been disappointed by the robot’s limited capabilities presented in live streaming.
According to CEO Elon Musk, ” the robot can actually do a lot more than what we’ve just shown you. we didn’t want it to fall over head first “. An unconvincing way of justifying the modest show put on for the audience.
In a video presented at the same time, we can still see the Optimus prototype. lifting a box and watering plants. Not enough to provoke general amazement…
A robot similar to the Xiaomi CyberOne
Previously, the billionaire often criticized robot demonstrations from other companies. In his view, it “ a brain is missing These machines are “missing a brain” in order to be able to navigate autonomously. We could therefore expect Optimus to be much more advanced.
This machine relies on the same artificial intelligence as Tesla’s autonomous cars, trained on thousands of images and equipped with cameras and sensors to perceive its environment.
However, during this event, the humanoid didn’t really stand out from the competition. It remains comparable with the CyberOne from China’s Xiaomi, unveiled last month.
Compared with Boston Dynamics’ robots, capable of back flips and extremely sophisticated choreography, Optimus even seems to be a step behind…
AI experts ridicule Tesla
This demonstration didn’t impress many people apart from Tesla employees. AI researcher Filip Piekniewksi thinks Optimus is simply ridiculous and embarrassing, and he’s not about to give up. calls it “ a complete and utter scam “. In his opinion, a drop test would be good and necessary for this robot because it will probably fall a lot.
This Tesla AI day is next level cringeworthy. Complete and utter scam. Who on earth believes this bullshit anymore?
– Filip Piekniewski (@filippie509) October 1, 2022
Similarly, robotics expert Cynthia Yeung points out that there’s nothing revolutionary about this robot. She calls on Elon Musk to recruit better specialists…
None of this is cutting edge. Hire some PhDs and go to some robotics conferences @Tesla. @iros2022 is coming up in a few weeks! pic.twitter.com/sqWWpPZgK8
– Cynthia Yeung 🤖📦🌱 (@ctwy) October 1, 2022
Some people also criticize Tesla for choosing the humanoid format for its robot. According to Tom Ryden, executive director of startup incubator Mass Robotics, ” when you’re trying to develop a robot that’s both useful and affordable, humanoid size and shape aren’t necessarily the best route. “.
Launch in 3 to 5 years for less than $20,000
During the presentation, Elon Musk stated that the robot would cost ” probably less than $20,000 “ and is designed to be produced ” millions of times “. Once again, the entrepreneur promises that these machines will soon be able to mow our lawns, prepare our meals and look after our grandparents.
He explains that ” our goal is to manufacture a useful humanoid robot as quickly as possible “. He is aware, however, that there is “still a lot of work to do “. According to him, it will be another three to five years before Optimus is ready…