Robotics Professors Criticize Tesla’s Humanoid Robot

Tesla, one of the largest technology companies in the world, recently launched the first prototype of the highly anticipated humanoid robot Optimus. showed it live. The owner of the company, Elon Musk, said that Optimus is not ready yet, but the upcoming It will be on the market in 3-5 years had explained.

After Tesla’s presentation, many world-renowned robotics experts and professors made comments about Optimus. They all made one point, “Not that impressive”.

“How is it different from Asimo?”

Professor of robotics at Florida State University, who constantly makes important statements about robots. Christian Hubicki, in a statement on his Twitter account, said that it was amazing that the US technology giant was able to design a robot in such a short time. But the way the Optimus walks and moves is the same as Honda introduced in 2000. same as Asimo He claimed. Although it is not confirmed that this system, known as Zero Moment Point, was used in Optimus, their movement patterns really resemble each other.

Hubicki also states that no information was given in the presentation about how often the robot fell to the ground. Professor of Robotics, manufactured on earth that every robot seldom falls to the ground and data on how often a robot announced to work at the factory crashes. that it is vital stated. Hubicki said in a statement:While what the robot can do is great, it is not a revolutionary technology by 2022” he said.

“A bold presentation but far from innovation”

Will Jackson, founder of Engineering Arts, said that introducing an off-the-shelf version of Optimus took guts, but that both the introduction and the robot were “successful”.outdated and old-fashioned” he stated. This robot, which is quite similar to Asimo, which attracted attention for a while due to its interior design, movements and abilities. The only reason it looks more aesthetic than it is because some parts used in robots today are smaller. Jackson also criticized the robot’s most striking part, its hands.

According to Jackson, although the robot’s “hands” look like human hands, they are actually it really can’t move like a hand. With the logic of the clamp, these equipments that only serve to squeeze the joys It is very difficult to grasp like a real human hand. states. Jackson also said,Elon Musk introduces the robots he will run in his factories, and audiences are applauding a robot whose sole function is to carry pipes in the future?” by saying that the robot is only used in the factory. it’s silly expressed.

“Features added for convenience”

Cynthia Yeung, the production chief of the robotics company Plus One, was among those who shared her criticisms about Optimus. According to Yeung, although Tesla has produced a successful robot in a short time, this robot will be in the future, It won’t be much different from what it is now.

Yeung said in a statement, “Tesla’s robotics engineer Felix talks about the robot walking. Yes, walking function is important, but Are you adding other features just for the sake of it or to fix problems?” by saying that systems such as walking, hands, viewing angle, object detection added to Optimus thought it would have no function in real-life uses. explained.

The famous engineer also stated that Tesla’s preference for the 5-finger system was a mistake. Yeung stated that many robotic companies prefer systems with 2 or 3 fingers or suction cups in their first robots. would create problems rather than functionality without improved joint angles. stated.

In addition to Cynthia Yeung’s criticisms, Musk said that instead of presenting the robot, he also mentioned the team behind the robot, highlighting the main heroes of the project, and that the actuators and simulators made by the team could one day be revolutionary. Elon Musk and Optimus congratulated his team.

To summarize, many robotics engineers, Tesla’s humanoid robot Although Optimus is a nice project, it is far from innovation. is thinking. So what do you think about Optimus?