When Tesla first announced plans to launch a humanoid robot nicknamed “Optimus” at the Tesla AI Day in August 2021, many didn’t take it seriously. After all, the presentation started with an actual human being pretending to be a humanoid robot and making robot moves and dance routines. Awkward debut aside, the Tesla Bot – also known as Optimus – has made significant progress since then, as showcased in a short video released by the company yesterday at the annual shareholder meeting in Austin, Texas. Titled "Tesla Bot Update," the video shows five actual humanoid robots performing tasks like walking slowly together, discovering new environments and memorising them, picking up things and dropping them off, and more. The footage also reveals that the AI powering the robots is trained via human demonstrations to perform various mundane tasks. One such example shown in the video is a Tesla Bot picking up objects from one tray and putting them in a second container. The … [Read more...] about Watch improved Tesla Optimus robot walk, pick up stuff without help
Eod robotics
Tesla expects thousands of humanoid robots to work in its factories
Tesla has unexpectedly changed course recently, putting some of its upcoming projects on hold and directing a surprising amount of resources towards the development of its humanoid Bot. The company is serious about this and is hiring specifically for this programme, hoping that in the future it will have thousands of these bipedal machines working in its factories. The manufacturer didn’t say exactly when it expects this to happen, but in a new job listing on its official site where it is looking for experienced programmers to develop software for the Optimus robot , it openly admitted that it plans to use them in their thousands. In the ad, Tesla notes that it is On a path to build humanoid bipedal robots at scale to automate repetitive and boring tasks. Core to the Tesla Bot, the motion planning stack presents a unique opportunity to work on state-of-the-art algorithms for motion planning and navigation culminating in their deployment to real world production applications. … [Read more...] about Tesla expects thousands of humanoid robots to work in its factories
Tesla humanoid robot prototype walks onto the stage at AI Day 2022
Tesla has revealed a working prototype of its Optimus humanoid robot during its AI Day 2022 event, and it’s certainly not a guy in a robot suit any more. It looks far from agile or stable, but the bot can walk on its own and wave to the crowd, and it certainly shows the progress that has been made over the past year. The bot that Tesla showed walking on stage is called Bumble C, and according to Elon Musk and his team, it was built with off-the-shelf actuators and components, so it’s not representative of the look of the finished bot. After Bumble C walks off stage, Tesla wheels in an actual Optimus prototype that can’t walk on its own. This second bot featured Tesla’s own components, like the battery, actuators and electronics, and even though it didn’t have complete functionality, it showed what the finished version was going to look like, as well as some of its functionality. Apparently, they have almost finished the process of getting it to walk - that’s just weeks away … [Read more...] about Tesla humanoid robot prototype walks onto the stage at AI Day 2022
Tesla Optimus humanoid robot teased during shareholder meeting
Tesla showed a teaser photo for its humanoid robot, now known as Tesla Optimus, during its recent shareholders’ meeting, with Elon Musk announcing that the company intends to show a working prototype at the end of next month. The teaser shot shows Optimus’ robotic hands forming a heart shape and we can just about make out the intricacies of how they work. When the Tesla bot was announced, at last year’s Tesla AI Day event , the manufacturer actually had a human dressed up in a costume appear on stage, and even though this was clearly meant as a humorous appearance, it actually drew criticism from those who said the project was not feasible. But the negative reception didn’t stop Elon Musk from pushing for this project and now, just over 12 months since the original AI Day, we are one month away from seeing a working prototype. The second ever Tesla AI Day was also pushed back from its original date of August 19 to September 30, specifically to give the manufacturer time to … [Read more...] about Tesla Optimus humanoid robot teased during shareholder meeting
F1 Fanatic round-up: 1/10/2010 · RaceFans
Got a fun article coming up later today for those of you who enjoy the post-Grand Prix “rate the race” polls. In the meantime, here’s the round-up: Links Some hope for France? (Joe Saward) “The French Grand Prix might be back on the F1 agenda in the years ahead. It is not yet clear where such a race could be held but it seems that Bernie Ecclestone has been discussing possibilities with Claude Michy, a sports promoter, who has enjoyed much success with the motorcycle Grand Prix de France, which is held at Le Mans.” At Singapore the gamble did not pay off (Ferrari) “In the end, I made up a few more places thanks to a couple of stewards’ decisions after the race and although personally, it does not mean much to me, given that obviously my own hopes in the drivers?������ championship have gone, it did mean I got a couple more important points for Ferrari in the constructors?������ classification.” Branson confirms Virgin backing for ’11 (Autosport) “We didn’t … [Read more...] about F1 Fanatic round-up: 1/10/2010 · RaceFans
Self-driving rideshare company Cruise expands to Houston this month
Many Houstonian could enjoy the pleasure of being driven over the city's infamous potholes this summer by a robotic chauffeur, albeit pending the arrival of Cruise, an autonomous vehicle company that this week announced plans to begin operations in Texas. Cruise Chief Executive Kyle Vogt tweeted the news on Wednesday, stating the company will begin offering rides to passengers in Houston and (at later date) Dallas pending the completion of a series of human-monitored pilot drives in the respective Texas towns. Cruise began operating its driver-less rideshares in San Francisco last summer and promotes itself as a "safe way to travel at night." Twitter — kvogt Twitter "It's not secret that night can range from being an intimidating to deadly time to get around," VP of Product Oliver Cameron wrote in a March blog post . "Whether it’s finding a ride at all, sharing the road with dangerous drivers, or safely getting to your doorstep, nighttime transportation needs … [Read more...] about Self-driving rideshare company Cruise expands to Houston this month
The rise and fall of the BlackBerry makes for a wildly entertaining movie
History is written by the victors. But where's the fun in only hearing their side? To the losers belong the better stories. BlackBerry , a low-budget, high-energy docudrama, covers the lifespan of the pioneering smartphone for which it's named, from creation to extinction. Once the dominant product of its kind on the market, the BlackBerry quickly became a footnote, completely wiped out by the competition. That makes the film about it a sort of rejoinder to the Silicon Valley creation myths of the late-20th century: It captures the dawn of the Internet Age through the lens of a company that helped usher it in, before being left behind. Maybe that sounds impossibly wonkish, like inside baseball for Wired subscribers. But BlackBerry turns out to be something more nimble and entertaining, a comedy of entrepreneurial chaos. It's directed and co-written by Matt Johnson, the Canadian filmmaker behind the we-faked-the-moon-landing curiosity Operation Avalanche . Here, Johnson … [Read more...] about The rise and fall of the BlackBerry makes for a wildly entertaining movie
Just How Bad is Nickel Mining for the Environment?
First things first: driving an electric vehicle is better for the environment than driving a gas-powered one. That doesn’t mean that electric vehicles are perfect for the environment, however. Lowering emissions is a necessary and worthy goal for automakers to have — but the current process by which electric vehicles’ batteries are made involves nickel, and that, in turn, involves mining nickel. And that’s where things get a little complicated. The Guardian in 2017, Max Opray noted that the process of mining nickel “comes at an environmental and health cost.” The same news outlet conducted an investigation into the effects of nickel mining on both the environment and on the health of people who lived near the mines; it was published last year , and described high levels of pollutants found on Obi Island (also known as Obira Island), where nickel mining has abounded. investigation conducted by The Washington Post — specifically, writers Rebecca Tan and Dera Menra Sijabat and … [Read more...] about Just How Bad is Nickel Mining for the Environment?
Porsche 911 Stars In Latest Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Promo
Porsche throws its weight behind Transformers: Rise of the Beasts in a new promo video highlighting the character Mirage who has Pete Davidson as a voice actor. When in car mode, this Autobot is a 964-generation 911 Carrera RS 3.8. The promo clip showcases a scene in some earlier trailers. Actor Anthony Ramos playing the character Noah Diaz is in the car, but he's not in control of the vehicle. The Porsche is running away from the police, including jumping off a ramp. The 911 slides into a warehouse and reveals Mirage's robot identity. In other scenes, the silver-and-blue Carrera RS 3.8 drives through a mountain road during an avalanche. Meanwhile, other bots are chasing it, including the peregrine falcon Airazor. Mirage does some cool stuff in this clip. At one point, Noah steps out of the Porsche while it transforms into a robot around him. In another bit, three versions of the robot form jump out of the car. This suggests only one might be real, and the rest are … [Read more...] about Porsche 911 Stars In Latest Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Promo