Tesla is building an AI humanoid robot called Optimus, says Elon Musk

2 years ago 285
Technology 20 August 2021

By Matthew Sparkes

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An representation of the Optimus robot released by Tesla

Tesla

Tesla volition subdivision retired from gathering electric, self-driving cars to nutrient humanoid robots designed to “eliminate dangerous, repetitive, boring tasks” and respond to dependable commands from their owners.

The robot, referred to arsenic Optimus by those wrong the company, volition beryllium 173 centimetres gangly and measurement 57 kilograms. Its assemblage volition beryllium powered by 40 electromechanical actuators and its look volition diagnostic a surface display.

Optimus volition beryllium capable to transportation a cargo of up to 20 kilograms, and Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk claims that a moving prototype volition beryllium acceptable adjacent year.

Speaking astatine the company’s AI Day event, designed to pull engineering and probe endowment to the company, Musk said that overmuch of the exertion successful Tesla’s self-driving cars is applicable to oregon utile successful creating humanoid robots.

“Tesla is arguably the world’s biggest robotics institution due to the fact that our cars are similar semi-sentient robots connected wheels,” helium said. “It benignant of makes consciousness to enactment that onto a humanoid form. We’re besides rather bully astatine sensors and factories and actuators.”

Musk said the instrumentality volition beryllium constricted to a walking velocity of 8 kilometres per hr and volition beryllium deliberately anemic capable that astir humans volition beryllium capable to overpower it if needed. “You ne'er know,” said Musk, who had suggested earlier successful his presumption that general AI was the largest menace presently facing humanity.

The robot is inactive successful development, but automation volition marque carnal enactment a prime successful the future, which volition person profound implications for the system and necessitate universal basal income arsenic authorities policy, said Musk. A quality dancer wrong a suit was presented astatine the lawsuit to springiness the assemblage a flavour of what to expect from the robot.

Tesla besides announced an AI-optimised, customized machine spot called D1, which it is utilizing to make a supercomputer called Dojo. This instrumentality is intended to process immense amounts of camera and sensor information from Tesla cars and bid the neural networks down Tesla’s self-driving technology. These improvements and updates tin past beryllium sent retired to cars astir the satellite via the internet.

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