What is Tesla's robot capable of? Let's find out
Technology
The humanoid is named Optimus II and is one of the most advanced robotic technologies
(Web Desk) - Elon Musk has finally revealed the brand new Tesla robot and it's the most human-like model yet with its creepy moving fingers and chilling ability to walk and squat.
The humanoid is named Optimus II and is one of the most advanced robotic technologies on the planet as it can poach an egg to perfection and dance on command.
Tesla's new toy has gone through some massive changes since the first model was shown publicly 16-months-ago.
Optimus II can now work at speeds 30 times faster than any robot before it as Musk and his team have crammed in as many high tech, vastly improved sensors and actuators into the robot to smash through any task in super quick time.
Musk and Tesla showed off the new robot in a video on social media.
It shows the development since the first version of the Optimus robot before demonstrating it's new hands and ability to perform delicate tasks like cooking eggs and moving it's entire set of limbs to dance.
Tactile sensing on the thumbs and index fingers and a very clever ability to manipulate objects have all blown away the competition.
The video also shows the robot doing squats in the gym and walking with a scarily similar stride as a human.
These massive improvements are thanks to a 10kg reduction in weight and a huge improvement in its balance.
The robot has been taken up to a literal new gear as it can even glide across the floor at speeds 30 per cent faster than before.
Even the simple task of making a fist and extending its fingers back out again has an eerie realistic feel to it.
The world's richest man and his gang of super boffins are hoping that one day Tesla will be almost fully automated and robotic in their workforce.
This hope should mean that work gets done quicker, more efficiently, for cheaper and even helps to avoid human error, injuries and burn out - things CEO Musk is desperate to achieve.
Posting on X - Musk's own social media - the business giant said the robot would be able to “thread a needle” within the next year and within three to five years customers should be able to get their hands on their own robot helper.
Tesla’s ambition for the futuristic bot is to create a “general purpose, bi-pedal, autonomous humanoid robot capable of performing unsafe, repetitive or boring tasks”.
Elon has made the development of the robot a priority for his company as he's coined the bot “more significant” than his booming electric car business.
The tech boss said back in 2021: “Essentially in the future, physical work will be a choice.
“It has profound implications for the economy, given that the economy at its foundational level is labour.”
He also told Tesla employees that Optimus is the key to making a $10trillion company - a far cry from their current valuation of $750billion.
The third generation of the bot marks big progress for Tesla as the first model - Bumblebee - was a stiff, metal looking machine that wasn't able to walk without help.
Version two came in March 2023 and was the original Optimus.
This one has striking similarities to the V Two model in it's sleek appearance but was again too clunky for Musk's liking and lacking the smoothness and delicate touch of his most recent design.
This comes after a new generation of giant shape-shifting robots designed to work on building sites and disaster zones were unveiled in Japan.
The Transformer-style bots, dubbed the Archax, can grow to nearly three times the height of a man on their four-wheeled legs and can be controlled by a human pilot sitting inside the machine's body.
