The Tesla robot Optimus is 173 cm tall by 56.6 kg, but despite its compact size it can carry loads of 20 kg and walk at a speed 8 km / h, powered by 2.3 kWh batteries with sufficient autonomy for a whole working day. The hands are the most sophisticated part of the system, since they exactly reproduce the human ones with the opposable thumb to grasp objects delicately or with force and a total of 12 motors, the same ones that are also distributed on arms and legs, while there are two actuators that move the torso and neck. The head is a large display that shows information. Optimus moves around the world using an artificial intelligence based on that of Tesla's Autopilot cars using a chip designed with wi-fi and lte modules for wireless connection, a sound card and components for the necessary safety.
Optimus at work
The somewhat difficult steps on stage at AI Day 2022 were unscheduled, as by direct admission of Elon Musk he was certainly not ready to walk properly - "He'll do it in a few weeks" Tesla's number one said - but apparently a strong image of the project was needed by the public and press gathered at the event. Optimus will be able to assist humans in heavy, very repetitive work or in dangerous environments and is designed to reason in a similar way to our brain, therefore processing a large variety of data and inputs to make immediate decisions. "Our goal is to create a humanoid robot as quickly as possible - said Musk - and we designed it following the same discipline that we adopt in the automotive sector, therefore to produce at high volume and low cost and with maximum reliability". The final price once production has started will be less than 20,000 euros.