Tesla has unveiled new footage of its Optimus humanoid robot, showcasing significant advancements in autonomous function and human interaction. The release follows Tesla's recent "We, Robot" event, where CEO Elon Musk suggested that Optimus might become the company's most important product.
In the video, Optimus navigates a factory floor independently, avoiding obstacles and people with ease and even walking up stairs. Tesla says this is achieved using onboard neural networks that capture and process visual cues from the environment. Like its self-driving cars, multiple robots can share this environmental data, building a collective understanding of their surroundings.
Another notable advancement shown in the demo is Optimus' ability to locate and dock itself at charging stations. Using only its rear camera, the robot precisely aligns itself and initiates charging without human intervention. This self-sufficiency is an important step towards practical deployment in real-world settings.
The bot's strength and dexterity have also seen improvements. Optimus is shown locating, lifting and carrying around an 11kg (24.2 lb) battery tray. It now has an upgraded hand with an impressive 22 degrees of freedom that enables more human-like dexterity and manipulation capabilities.
Here is the next-generation Tesla Bot (Optimus) hand with 22 degrees of freedom. It looks remarkably human like.
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) October 11, 2024
The previous version had 11 degrees of freedom. pic.twitter.com/3fXyIa5VTq
Its ability to interact with humans has also progressed significantly. In the footage, Optimus is seen handing out snacks, giving fist bumps, and generally responding to human gestures and requests. Tesla emphasizes that these interactions are driven by a single neural network running in real-time on Optimus' onboard computer, allowing the robot to respond to voice commands and gestures.
Tesla has drawn heavily from its experience in developing Autopilot for its vehicles. The company leveraged similar neural network architectures and hardware components—including the AI accelerators used in its cars—to power Optimus. Tesla Vision, used to perceive the world around Tesla vehicles, has also been adapted to help Optimus navigate, further accelerating its development. Tesla's emphasis on hardware commonality seems to be paying off, allowing rapid iteration and cost-effective scaling of the bot's capabilities.
It's worth noting that the video doesn't specify whether Optimus was navigating the space for the first time (zero shot), or if it was benefiting from shared data from other robots. Either way, the progress is undeniable and the demo is very impressive.
As Tesla pushes forward with Optimus' development, the company is banking on synergies with its automotive technology to accelerate progress. The capabilities shown off in the footage are a clear step beyond telepresence, and position Optimus among the likes of Atlas, Figure 02, and Apollo. There is still a lot of work ahead, as Tesla acknowledges, but the path towards a versatile, autonomous humanoid robots is becoming increasingly tangible.