"We, Robots" – Tesla's Optimus is very human
Elon Musk hosted the "We, Robot" event. However, the Optimus robots shown there were remote-controlled – and did not act autonomously.
Robots dance at Elon Musk's "We, Robots" event.
(Image: [Tesla])
Tesla presented two autonomous cars last week. At the accompanying party – entitled "We, Robot" –, Optimus robots entertained the audience. But their behavior was a little too human. They promised themselves, spoke without delay and moved very safely in the dark room. Humans controlled the robots from a distance, it now turns out. The Dailymail has retrieved a video from Tesla from the year 2023 that shows how the control system works.
(Image:Â Tesla)
Tesla boss Elon Musk envisions the Optimuses moving into every household in the future and becoming a great help there. However, they were also initially intended to be the big attraction at the event on the Warner Bros. film studio's premises in Burbank, California. Musk had actually presented a robot cab there, the Cybercab, as well as a transporter, the Robovan. As the event took place on private property, no further permission was required for Musk to drive a cab. Elsewhere, a driver's license for the new cars would have been missing.
Drinks and conversations with robots
The guests were served their drinks by the Optimus robots, and there are videos of someone playing pantomime with them and them chatting. It is immediately noticeable that there is virtually no latency. The robots respond without delay and very smoothly. This is not possible even with the best AI model; they all need a certain amount of time to calculate the response. Also striking: a robot that responds using a language model would not get confused when the word "autonomous" is used, although this can be seen in a video. At the very least, it cannot be assumed that exactly this slip of the tongue was built in, like breathing in OpenAI's Voice Mode. Robots would also not be able to perform as well in such a dark environment as at the event.
Videos by heise
The robot attraction also included a rehearsed dance by the Optimuses in a kind of glass box. The robots move extremely smoothly, but the extent to which they could do this without a human double in the background is completely unclear – and therefore also how far Musk's development in the field of humanoid robots has progressed.
Musk had already cheated during his very first presentation of an Optimus. Back then, there was even a human in the robot costume. According to The Verge, visitors to the Robotaxi event were unsurprised to learn that the robots were at least remote-controlled by humans.
(emw)
