Optimus Gen 2

Just two years ago, Elon Musk announced that Tesla would make humanoid robots as soon as the first functional prototype appeared. At the time, few people outside of the company’s fans took him seriously because the first Optimus could barely walk and only knew how to wave his hand.

In March, Tesla showed a video of two robots assembling a third. This was already a foregone conclusion: after the meeting, all three androids walked around the room and showed photos of themselves. Elon Musk later said that the pace of development of Optimus, a robot to help with household chores, was moderately fast.

Another 10 months later, the company introduced a new structure and capabilities to the second generation:

• The robot’s neck gained two degrees of freedom of movement.
• New limbs appeared.
• The shape of the foot has become more human-like, with hinged toes and force and torque sensors.
• Hands now have 11 degrees of freedom, actuators work faster, and tactile sensors on all fingers enable more accurate and improved manipulation of objects.
• It’s much more fluid and human-like, it moves much more smoothly, it’s better balanced. Judging by the video, it is a bit clumsy and slow, but still dances have been added to the android’s skills.
• The new white body makes Optimus 2 look like the Model S. The previous model had a metallic finish and was 10% heavier.

Optimus Gen 2 Demo: Video

As New Atlas writes, Optimus 2 does not withstand comparisons with Boston Dynamics’ Atlas robot in terms of acrobatics and other motor functions, but he is not given such a task: he is designed to work in factories. So even if he is clumsy and learns to do the right job, he will achieve his goal.

Optimus robots have been promoting electric cars in Tesla showrooms since the middle of the year. This decision of the company is aimed at increasing the attractiveness and attendance of car showrooms, because humanoid robots at exhibitions and presentations aroused great interest among people.