Tesla unveiled a new and improved hand for its Optimus humanoid robot and pulled off an impressive display that still works.
The Optimus program is somewhat controversial for Tesla. That's because it's a significant departure from Tesla's core products, but the company has also raised doubts about things like not disclosing that its robots in its latest 'We, Robot' were remotely operated by humans.
It's not so much that they need to be connected by phone, but the fact that Tesla didn't reveal it until after the event.
Now, Tesla has released a new video to show Optimus' latest robotic hand:
The new hand is very realistic, and actually has muscles, like a human hand. Tesla says it has 22 degrees of freedom in the hand and three more in the wrist and hand.
In this case, Tesla was quick to confirm that this Optimus was also used by phone in the demonstration.
Milan Kovac, head of the Optimus program, elaborated on what's next in the short term for the robot:
There is still some work to be completed by the end of the year, especially in terms of sensory integration (much more area coverage than the previous hand), better muscle control, and shaving some weight off the arm. All the work has been moved to the arm, which has increased its weight. An interesting challenge in terms of having enough squishiness/compliance and a protective layer on the fingers and palm, without affecting the tactile sensation too much.
Tesla says it is already using Optimus robots in its factory as it continues to develop the system, but it is expected to ramp up next year.
Electrek's Take
Helpful hands and creativity are some of the most difficult parts of humanoid robots, and it looks like Tesla is making significant progress on that front.
I actually don't mind the teleoperated part. It's only when Tesla doesn't reveal it, like in 'We, Robot', that it becomes a problem for me.
What I find exciting about humanoid robots right now is the development of robots to the point where robots can achieve intelligence and autonomy equal to or even surpass humans, just as AI is advancing at an incredible pace to harness that intelligence and autonomy.
You want robots to be ready by the time AI reaches high enough levels to be useful to those robots. It seems that Tesla is getting closer to that on the robotics front, and I have no doubt that AI will be there soon.
In fact, I believe that Tesla will gain the help of humanoid robots at scale before they can create an unsupervised robot at scale.
People reach levels of ease of use faster than they can use cars at high speeds in complex environments. I wouldn't be surprised if it's like AI.
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