Watch Tesla’s Optimus tumble as it traverses new terrain
Tesla’s Optimus robot can now traverse tough terrain like mulchy ground as well as muddy inclines and declines.
Image by Cybernews
Tesla’s Optimus robot can now traverse tough terrain like mulchy ground as well as muddy inclines and declines.
The latest video posted on the Tesla Optimus X account shows the bi-pedal humanoid robot doing just that – walking up and down hills, presumably near the compound where the bots are developed.
The post, captioned “Daily walks help clear your mind” shows Optimus speedily, albeit a bit drunkenly, staggering down a hill.
Another shot shows Optimus recovering from a fall as it slipped on a muddy hill, demonstrating improved agility.
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undefined Milan Kovac (@milankovac) December 9, 2024
These runs are on mulched ground, where I’ve myself slipped before. What’s really crazy here is that for these, Optimus is actually blind! Keeping its balance without video (yet), only other on-board sensors consumed by a neural net… https://t.co/T2DHeWrCew
Milan Kovac, vice president of Optimus, said that he himself slipped on the ground, where Optimus could be seen walking on, but what’s more remarkable than its swift recovery is the fact that Optimus is navigating itself blindly.
The post, first discovered by Digital Trends, said that Optimus is “Keeping its balance without video (yet), only other on-board sensors consumed by a neural net running in ~2-3ms on its embedded computer.”
Kovac mentioned the “more exciting work” that’s happening regarding the Tesla Optimus bot.
This includes adding vision, making the robot's walk appear more natural, teaching the robot how to respond to velocity and direction commands, and teaching it how to fall so it minimizes damage.
Optimus gets an upgrade
A recent video uploaded to Optimus’ X account reveals a new and improved hand with 22 degrees of freedom.
In the video, Optimus is seen holding its hand up and swiftly catching a ball in what appears to be a new and improved hand. The video’s caption reads, “Got a new hand for Black Friday.”
Kovac explained the upgraded features that come with the humanoid android’s new arm.
Optimus’s new hand and forearm have double the number of degrees of freedom than previous robots. “There’s 22 degrees of freedom on the hand and three on the wrist/forearm,” Kovac said in a post on X.
In the context of hands, degrees of freedom refer to joint movement. For example, a human hand has 27 degrees of freedom, which means that Optimus may be close to matching human dexterity.
Achieving 22 degrees of freedom is also a major upgrade from Optimus, as its previous hand had only 11 degrees of freedom.