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| Photo Credit: AP. |
DETROIT (AP) — An early prototype of Tesla Inc.’s proposed Optimus humanoid robot slowly and awkwardly walked onto a stage, turned, and waved to a cheering crowd at the company’s artificial intelligence event Friday.
But the
basic tasks by the robot with exposed wires and electronics — as well as a
later, next generation version that had to be carried onstage by three men —
was a long way from CEO Elon Musk’s vision of a human-like robot that can
change the world.
Musk told
the crowd, many of whom might be hired by Tesla, that the robot can do much
more than the audience saw Friday. He said it is also delicate and “we just
didn’t want it to fall on its face.”
Musk
suggested that the problem with flashy robot demonstrations is that the robots
are “missing a brain” and don’t have the intelligence to navigate themselves,
but he gave little evidence Friday that Optimus was any more intelligent than
robots developed by other companies and researchers.
The demo
didn’t impress AI researcher Filip Piekniewski, who tweeted it was “next level
cringeworthy” and a “complete and utter scam.” He said it would be “good to
test falling, as this thing will be falling a lot.”
“None of
this is cutting edge,” tweeted robotics expert Cynthia Yeung. “Hire some PhDs
and go to some robotics conferences @Tesla.”
Yeung also
questioned why Tesla opted for its robot to have a human-like hand with five
fingers, noting “there’s a reason why” warehouse robots developed by startup
firms use pinchers with two or three fingers or vacuum-based grippers.
Musk said
that Friday night was the first time the early robot walked onstage without a
tether. Tesla’s goal, he said, is to make an “extremely capable” robot in high
volumes — possibly millions of them — at a cost that could be less than a car,
that he guessed would be less than $20,000.
Tesla showed
a video of the robot, which uses artificial intelligence that Tesla is testing
in its “Full Self-Driving” vehicles, carrying boxes and placing a metal bar
into what appeared to be a factory machine. But there was no live demonstration
of the robot completing the tasks.
Employees
told the crowd in Palo Alto, California, as well as those watching via
livestream, that they have been working on Optimus for six to eight months.
People can probably buy an Optimus “within three to five years,” Musk said.
Employees
said Optimus robots would have four fingers and a thumb with a tendon-like
system so they could have the dexterity of humans.
The robot is
backed by giant artificial intelligence computers that track millions of video
frames from “Full Self-Driving” autos. Similar computers would be used to teach
tasks to the robots, they said.
Experts in
the robotics field were skeptical that Tesla is anywhere near close to rolling
out legions of human-like home robots that can do the “useful things” Musk
wants them to do — say, make dinner, mow the lawn, keep watch on an aging
grandmother.
“When you’re
trying to develop a robot that is both affordable and useful, a humanoid kind
of shape and size is not necessarily the best way,” said Tom Ryden, executive
director of the nonprofit startup incubator Mass Robotics.
Tesla isn’t
the first car company to experiment with humanoid robots.
Honda more
than two decades ago unveiled Asimo, which resembled a life-size space suit and
was shown in a carefully-orchestrated demonstration to be able to pour liquid
into a cup. Hyundai also owns a collection of humanoid and animal-like robots
through its 2021 acquisition of robotics firm Boston Dynamics. Ford has
partnered with Oregon startup Agility Robotics, which makes robots with two
legs and two arms that can walk and lift packages.
Ryden said
carmakers’ research into humanoid robotics can potentially lead to machines
that can walk, climb and get over obstacles, but impressive demos of the past
haven’t led to an “actual use scenario” that lives up to the hype.
“There’s a
lot of learning that they’re getting from understanding the way humanoids
function,” he said. “But in terms of directly having a humanoid as a product,
I’m not sure that that’s going to be coming out anytime soon.”
Critics also
said years ago that Musk and Tesla wouldn’t be able to build a profitable new
car company that used batteries for power rather than gasoline.
Tesla is
testing “Full Self-Driving” vehicles on public roads, but they have to be
monitored by selected owners who must be ready to intervene at all times. The
company says it has about 160,000 vehicles equipped with the test software on
the road today.
Critics have
said the Teslas, which rely on cameras and powerful computers to drive by
themselves, don’t have enough sensors to drive safely. Tesla’s less capable
Autopilot driver-assist system, with the same camera sensors, is under
investigation by U.S. safety regulators for braking for no reason and
repeatedly running into emergency vehicles with flashing lights parked along
freeways.
In 2019,
Musk promised a fleet of autonomous robotaxis would be in use by the end of 2020.
They are still being tested.
O’Brien
reported from Providence, Rhode Island.