{"id":4923,"date":"2022-10-20T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-20T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/?p=4923"},"modified":"2022-10-05T10:16:25","modified_gmt":"2022-10-05T10:16:25","slug":"teslas-optimus-robot-isnt-very-impressive-but-it-may-be-a-sign-of-better-things-to-come","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/teslas-optimus-robot-isnt-very-impressive-but-it-may-be-a-sign-of-better-things-to-come\/","title":{"rendered":"Tesla\u2019s Optimus robot isn\u2019t very impressive \u2013 but it may be a sign of better things to\u00a0come"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n \n Tesla<\/span><\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n\nWafa Johal<\/a>, The University of Melbourne<\/a><\/em><\/span>\n\n

In August 2021, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced<\/a> the electric car manufacturer was planning to get into the robot business. In a presentation accompanied by a human dressed as a robot, Musk said work was beginning on a \u201cfriendly\u201d humanoid robot to \u201cnavigate through a world built for humans and eliminate dangerous, repetitive and boring tasks\u201d.<\/p>\n\n

Musk has now unveiled<\/a> a prototype of the robot, called Optimus, which he hopes to mass-produce and sell for less than US$20,000 (A$31,000).<\/p>\n\n

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At the unveiling, the robot walked on a flat surface and waved to the crowd, and was shown doing simple manual tasks such as carrying and lifting in a video. As a robotics researcher, I didn\u2019t find the demonstration very impressive \u2013 but I am hopeful it will lead to bigger and better things.<\/p>\n\n

Why would we want humanoid robots?<\/h2>\n\n

Most of the robots used today don\u2019t look anything like people. Instead, they are machines designed to carry out a specific purpose, like the industrial robots used in factories or the robot vacuum cleaner you might have in your house.<\/p>\n\n

So why would you want one shaped like a human? The basic answer is they would be able to operate in environments designed for humans. <\/p>\n\n

Unlike industrial robots, humanoid robots might be able to move around and interact with humans. Unlike robot vacuum cleaners, they might be able to go up stairs or traverse uneven terrain.<\/p>\n\n

And as well as practical considerations, the idea of \u201cartificial humans\u201d has long had an appeal for inventors and science-fiction writers! <\/p>\n\n

Room for improvement<\/h2>\n\n

Based on what we saw in the Tesla presentation, Optimus is a long way from being able to operate with humans or in human environments. The capabilities of the robot showcased fall far short of the state of the art in humanoid robotics.<\/p>\n\n

The Atlas robot<\/a> made by Boston Dynamics, for example, can walk outdoors and carry out flips and other acrobatic manoeuvres. <\/p>\n\n

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