We thought we saw the future at the Tesla event. Now we have a lot of doubts about how Optimus works.

Optimus was one of the main characters at last week’s We Robot event, where we learned about the Tesla Cybercab and Cybervan. He humanoid robot He walked through the crowd, waited on guests, served drinks at the bar and danced on the lighted stage to remixes of “Release the Beast” and “What Is Love.” Some of what we saw that night may not have been so surprising.

Elon Musk has been highlighting the benefits of Optimus and its importance to the business model of the company he runs for some time now. We’ve heard that a robot can be a teacher, but also take care of children, walk pets, be a friend, mow the lawn, and even go shopping. During the last event, he also suggested that it could be available in the future for between $20,000 and $30,000.

Autonomous or remote controlled robots?

As we’ve seen on social media, some of We Robots’ visitors have quickly moved from surprise to skepticism. Did they interact with machines running on artificial intelligence (AI), or was there some kind of human invention? “I asked the waiter Optimus if it was remote controlled. “I think he basically confirmed it for me,” one visitor told X.

The robot responded in a non-artificial manner that it was “assisted by a human” and that it was “not yet fully autonomous.” Another guest came up with the idea of ​​finding out how much AI a unit has when walking among people. “I can’t say how much exactly, you’ll have to find out later,” was the answer. Famous YouTuber Marques Brownlee was also confused with Optimus.

Tasks as simple for humans as walking, manipulating objects, or holding a conversation are real challenges for robotics and artificial intelligence. The humanoid robot shown in the picture, one of the most advanced at the moment, works at the BMW plant in the USA, but its movements and speed They are very limited compared to people. Tesla seemed to have overcome this barrier.

What happened during last week’s event caught the attention of not only the public and the press, but also the investment world. Adam Jonas, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, was disappointed, noting that he believed the humanoid robberies were dependent on human intervention, so it didn’t really represent “significant progress.” Bloomberg also touched on this topic, receiving more responses.

An article published by economic media states that “Tesla used people remotely control some of the capabilities of its prototype Optimus robots.” In this sense, he added that there are employees in other places who oversee the interaction. This information has not been confirmed by Tesla and comes from sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.

At the time of publishing this article, it is unclear what level of support the Optimus robots would receive during the event. Within this discipline, the opportunities are numerous. We find everything from “total” remote control, where robots replicate what human operators do, to assistance with certain functions that does not necessarily result in full intervention. The details are a mystery.

It should be noted that the Musk-led company has chosen motion capture as one of the methods to improve the capabilities of its robots. In particular, it hires people with a salary of about 6,000 euros to perform work in special suits and provide assistance. collect data promotion of engineering projects.

Images | Tesla (1, 2)

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