Tesla posted a video on X, formerly TwitterThe company introduces the second generation of the Optimus Bot robot. Tesla made some improvements to the robot: the movements became more fluid, the running speed was higher, and it now had more “feel” in its fingers.
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In September, Tesla introduced the Bumblebee version of its multi-purpose humanoid robot, followed in March 2023 by the first generation Optimus Bot. After another nine months, Tesla is now launching the second version of the robot. It has some major improvements on board. The entire upper body moves more smoothly thanks to new motors and sensors developed by Tesla. In particular, the head, which is moved by an actuator with two degrees of freedom, gives it increasingly human-like movements.
Walking also improved. Optimus Bot is now about 30 percent faster than the first generation, as can be seen in the video. Here, too, advances in actuators and sensors play a role. Tesla uses torque-controlled actuators, which also provide feedback about the forces occurring to the control unit. The structure of the foot is based on that of a human. However, the human gait is not yet as smooth and flexible as that of humans. However, the improvement over the Bumblebee version is huge. The robot was swinging quite clumsily.
Lighter and more mobile
According to Tesla, the weight should be about 10 percent less, which also improves overall mobility. Speaking of mobility: Tesla worked on body control through Optimus Bot and took the entire body into account when achieving balance. For example, it is now possible to do squats without the robot losing its balance.
However, the biggest innovation is in his hands: they move faster and more agile with eleven degrees of freedom. In terms of movement, they are becoming more and more similar to human hands. Sensors are now also integrated into the fingers to measure the force exerted on them. This allows the robot to reach more sensitively as well as handle sensitive objects. An example of this is shown in the video with a raw egg that Tesla’s Optimus robot grabs, passes from one hand to the other and then sets aside.
Optimus Bot becomes more and more human-like as he improves. Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s vision of a multi-purpose robot that works alongside people in factories is getting closer. Musk said the robot will ultimately cost less than $20,000.
(OLB)
