Watch: Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveils the humanoid robot 'Optimus'
2 min read 01 Oct 2022, 07:44 AM ISTOptimus would initially perform boring or dangerous jobs, including moving parts around Tesla factories or attaching a bolt to a car with a wrench, according to Musk
PremiumTesla CEO Elon Musk has revealed the much-touted humanoid robot 'Optimus', after announcing about it last year and postponing the launch event from August to September this year.
CEO Musk has stated that the robot is slated to bring more business to the company than the cars manufactured by Tesla.
The humanoid robot 'Optimus' was launched at the electric vehicle maker's "AI Day" event on Friday. At the event Musk also showed a video of the robot picking up boxes and moving through a rendered office building to water plants.
"Our goal is to make a useful humanoid robot as quickly as possible," Musk said at the event being held at a Tesla office in Palo Alto, California.
During the event the prototype of the humanoid robot walked on stage and waved to the seated audience, according to Reuters. A video of the robot carrying a box, watering plants and moving metal bars in the automaker's factory was shown. Musk said that while Optimus wasn’t quite ready to walk, it has opposable thumbs and can perform tasks.
The billionaire at the event said Tesla is hoping to expand beyond self-driving cars that have not yet become a reality despite his repeated promises.
Musk is also expected to discuss Tesla's self-driving technology. In May, Musk said that the world's most valuable carmaker would be "worth basically zero" without achieving full self-driving capability, and it faces growing regulatory probes, as well as technological hurdles. Musk is also likely to talk about the launch and progress of the high-speed computer, Dojo.
Notably, in his Tweet on Wednesday, Musk had mentioned that the AI event of Tesla also aimed to recruit engineers
Musk has said he expects Tesla will achieve full self-driving this year and mass produce a robotaxi with no steering wheel or pedal by 2024.
What are humanoid robots
A humanoid robot is a robot resembling the human body in shape. The design may be for functional purposes, such as interacting with human tools and environments, for experimental purposes, such as the study of bipedal locomotion, or for other purposes. In general, humanoid robots have a torso, a head, two arms, and two legs.
Optimus- Tesla's humanoid
Musk announced Tesla's plan for humanoid robots at its AI day in August last year and delayed this year's event from August to have its robot prototype working, with a plan to start production possibly next year.
Tesla teased the unveiling of the bot on social media with an image of metallic robotic hands making a heart shape.
Initially, Optimus, an allusion to the powerful and benevolent leader of the Autobots in the Transformers media franchise, would perform boring or dangerous jobs, including moving parts around Tesla factories or attaching a bolt to a car with a wrench, according to Musk.
Musk has said that in the future robots could be used in homes, making dinners, mowing the lawn and caring for the elderly, and even becoming a "buddy" for humans or a sex partner.
The key test for the robot is whether it can handle unexpected situations.
(With inputs from Reuters)
