Elon Musk’s humanoid robot, Optimus, is transforming from a bold concept into a practical marvel. Tesla’s latest video shows Optimus handling household tasks—dumping trash, wiping tables, stirring pots, and vacuuming floors. Milan Kovac, vice president of the Optimus team, said: “One of our goals is to have Optimus learn straight from internet videos of humans doing tasks.” This method, using human video data, accelerates the robot’s ability to master new skills.
Optimus’s mobility is improving rapidly. A recent video captured it navigating uneven, mulched terrain, recovering from a slip on a steep slope. Kovac noted, “Optimus is seen walking on mulched ground where I once slipped myself.” Musk added, “Optimus can now walk on highly variable ground using neural nets to control its electric limbs.”
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Optimus isn’t just nailing physical tasks—it’s getting chatty, too. At Tesla’s latest public shindigs, the robot’s been spotted passing out water bottles and tossing out waves, flexing its early human-robot banter skills. Its sleek frame and LED face, which flashes simple emotions, are designed to feel friendly, not futuristic. A key breakthrough is Optimus’s zero-shot training, detailed by Nicky Cammarata on Medium: “It adapted. In real time. With zero extra tuning.” This allows Optimus to perform tasks without physical practice, relying on simulations.
In Tesla’s Fremont factory, two Optimus robots are already placing battery cells into crates. Musk, during a 2024 shareholder meeting, stated, “We’ve made a massive amount of progress with Optimus in a short period of time.” He envisions thousands working alongside humans by 2025, priced at $20,000–$30,000. Musk also sees Optimus as a household companion, saying, “Optimus will be like having your own personal C-3PO & R2-D2.”
From a clunky 2022 prototype to catching tennis balls and mingling at events, Optimus rivals robots like Boston Dynamics’ Atlas. Recent posts show Optimus robots roaming Tesla’s Palo Alto lab unsupervised, with Musk confirming, “They walk around the office 24/7. No one watches them.” As the company refines their computer vision and safety technologies, Optimus will be poised to redefine robotics, reshaping work and home life with every step.
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