Elon Musk Celebrates Progress as Tesla’s Humanoid Robot Demonstrates Yoga Moves
2023 has been a big year for generative AI, and it’s only going to get bigger. More and more companies are beginning to reveal their long-term plans for AI, and some experts are concerned about AI’s potential to replace jobs and even make sense. While this may sound like something out of a sci-fi movie, Elon Musk’s Tesla recently unveiled a video of its AI-based humanoid robot – Optimus – performing various tasks on X (formerly Twitter).
In the viral video, we see the humanoid robot performing a variety of tasks, such as sorting colored blocks by color and even correcting itself if it misplaces something using its autonomous repair capabilities. But one standout ability is the ability to stretch its robotic limbs and do yoga.
The video, which lasts more than a minute, shows Optimus the robot stretching and practicing yoga. It balances on one leg while extending one of its legs back in the air while the other arm goes forward. The video ends with the robot bringing its hands together to make a “namaste” and adopting a yoga pose.
How is this possible?
Tesla points out that the robot can make these movements and form these poses because it can now self-calibrate its arms and legs. Additionally, Tesla notes that “using only vision and joint codes, it can precisely locate its limbs in space.” After precise calibration, Optimus “learns” different tasks more efficiently.
Tesla also said that Optimus’ neural network works entirely internally and uses only vision.
Elon Musk says this is ‘progress’
Responding to Tesla’s message with an Optimus video on the X, Elon Musk said, “Progress” — meaning the robot has indeed improved from previous iterations.
Having said that, Elon Musk has previously expressed concern about generative AI in general and even signed an open letter asking leading AI companies, including OpenAI, to suspend development for six months. The letter described “the profound risks posed by artificial intelligence to society and humanity”.
It remains to be seen how generative AI will integrate with robotics and automation in general, and if or when we’ll see autonomous humanoid robots enter the mainstream.
