Tag: Tesla

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Back to the Future

Elon Musk presented the prototypes of his new Cybercab and his new Robovan in October 2024. In this context, he once again said: “The future should look like the future.” (TechCrunch, 10 October 2024) This is an astonishing statement, because if you know a little about the history of robot and vehicle construction, you know that Elon Musk is orientating himself on ideas that were popular 20 to 80 years ago. Brass, copper, silver, gold, and large, matt or polished surfaces – reminiscent of Elektro (1939) and his animal companion Sparko (1940) as well as futuristic vehicles such as Gil Spear’s Chrysler two-seater (1941). Science fiction and fantasy are also likely to play a role in the design of Tesla and co – think of steampunk and cyberpunk in general, and think of movies like “Metropolis” (1927) and “I, Robot” (2004). Elon Musk generally likes to mix ideas from fiction in his developments, for example the large language model called Grok, which takes its name from “Stranger in a Strange Land” and is intended to fulfil claims formulated in “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”. TechCrunch also points out the backward-looking nature of the Robovan: “The Robovan has a retro-futuristic look – somewhere between a bus from The Jetsons and a toaster from the 1950s. It features silver metallic sides with black details, and strips of light run-ning parallel to the ground along its sides, with doors that slide out from the middle.” (TechCrunch, 10 October 2024) Robots and robotic vehicles could look very different in the 2020s (Photo: Eirik Newth; cropped by Robophilosophy).

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The Rise of the Humanoid Robots

If a report in Wired is to be believed, humanoid robotics has entered a decisive phase. The editor describes the case of Figure AI. This company from Sunnyvale, CA is building a humanoid robot for warehouse work and recently announced $70 million in investment funding. Chief Technology Officer Jerry Pratt is one of the key figures. “Pratt says his company’s robot is taking its first steps around a mocked-up warehouse in Sunnyvale, California. Brett Adcock, Figure’s CEO, reckons it should be possible to build humanoids at the same cost of making a car, providing there is enough demand to ramp up production.” (Wired, 25 May 2023) According to Wired, Figure AI is not the only company betting that humanoid robots are maturing. “Others include 1X, Apptronik, and Tesla.” (Wired, 25 May 2023) Tesla’s Optimus recently made an appearance on stage that was much more convincing than the first. By the way, it looks similar to the Figure AI model. Improvements in the robots can be seen in motor skills, but also in perception and control. Language models like PaLM-E could play an important role here in the future.

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A New Version of Optimus

Tesla has so far caused more amazement than admiration among roboticists. Now the company has unveiled a revised version of its Optimus humanoid robot. It is said to have more capabilities than its predecessor. A video released by Tesla shows five of the robots in action. As an editor of the German magazine Golem points out, the robots walk much more safely than before and are also capable of sensitive interactions. The progress is attributed to improvements in the actuators and to human assistance. The design is still likely to put off many users. In particular, the head without a face will take some getting used to. But perhaps the eyes and mouth, including facial expressions, will be digitally implemented later. You can watch the video here.