Tesla Bot: The robot can now walk, navigate and pick up items

During Tesla's shareholder event on 16 May, Elon Musk presented a new video showcasing the progress of Tesla's humanoid robot prototype, known as Tesla Bot or Optimus. The video revealed that the robot can walk smoothly and demonstrate relative ease in recognising and picking up objects.

In contrast to last year's lacklustre demonstration at Tesla's AI Day event, where employees simply held the bot on a stand and programmed it to wave, the new video displayed a significant improvement. The faceless robots moved through the Tesla office in a pack, giving off an uncanny valley vibe. This advancement in their capabilities was quite impressive.

The video highlighted features of the Tesla Bot, such as "motor torque control" and "environment discovery and memorisation", indicating that the robots can use cameras and sensors to map their surroundings. It also showcased the robot's ability to manipulate objects skillfully. Tesla stated that the robot's AI system can learn new tasks from human demonstrations, showing an employee wearing a futuristic suit and headpiece placing items in boxes while a 3D model replicated their movements.

Tesla's ultimate goal for the humanoid bot is to enable it to perform increasingly complex tasks. This suggests that the robot could potentially be capable of sorting objects into boxes, which would be a valuable skill in a factory production line.

Elon Musk has previously expressed his belief that the Tesla Bot could address the human labour crisis and even surpass the company's vehicle business. In the past, he estimated that each robot could cost "probably less than $20,000."

Although Tesla has not provided a clear timeline for production, the company had previously indicated that things could commence this year. However, it appears that engineers are still refining the prototype, and it may take several years before these humanoids begin working alongside Teslas in the factories of the future.

Firm steps forward

Elon Musk first unveiled the Tesla Bot during the Tesla AI Day in August 2021. Almost a year later, at the Cyber Rodeo event in Texas, Musk mentioned the robot again, this time calling it the Optimus and expressing the project's high priority. He confidently predicted that the robot would be ready for production by 2023. 

However, it is not.

Now, in 2023, while the Tesla Bot is not yet fully prepared for production, recent updates indicate significant advancements. In the footage, the robots can be seen walking with an installed chassis, displaying improved stability compared to their initial reveal, albeit at a slow pace. The video also highlights the robots' newfound abilities to pick up items and identify objects, successfully performing increasingly complex daily tasks without any assistance.

The video demonstrates notable developments in the Tesla Bot project, encompassing various noteworthy updates. These updates include motor torque control, enhanced environmental perception and memorization, AI training utilising human-tracked movements, and improved object manipulation. 

Of particular interest is a demonstration in which a Tesla Bot retrieves items from one container and transfers them to another, showcasing the AI training process derived from human demonstrations. These advancements signify significant progress in the Tesla Bot project.