"warmed up" for more than a year. On the morning of October 1, Beijing time, the Tesla humanoid robot prototype named Optimus was finally unveiled. Related news has also become a hot search!
From the appearance, Optimus Prime and Tesla CEO Elon Musk had a big difference: the prototype on the stage did not have a "skin" and the figure did not appear that slim.
For further practical functions, Musk first showed it through the demonstration video. Subsequently, Musk directly invited the next generation of products to the stage, but unfortunately, now requires 3 people to assist. (What about intelligence?)
This is the second time Tesla has held an AI Day event. On AI Day a year ago, Musk launched the Tesla robot concept for the first time. At that time, Optimus Prime was pretended to be a real person.
Musk said that in the future, Optimus Prime's production scale can reach millions of units and the price can be less than US$20,000. It is expected to be mass-produced and launched in 3 to 5 years.
Can water and deliver
What are the usage scenarios of Optimus Prime? In the office, it can flexibly lift the kettle to water the flowers, carry materials with both hands to the target position, accurately locate the surrounding people and actively avoid them.
In the Tesla Fremont factory, Optimus Prime has begun to invest in simple work, and the engineers have planned the corresponding action route for it.
Optimus Prime has a total of 28 degrees of freedom. Before that, the first robot released by Xiaomi had 21 degrees of freedom. Optimus' joints are designed with bionic joints, which simulate the shape of human joints and tendons, while the hands are designed with ergonomics, with 11 degrees of freedom.
Walking may be the simplest daily action for humans, but robots have huge challenges to achieve stable walking. "Robots also need to have a 'brain', that is, artificial intelligence ." Musk said. In the process of designing, training and manufacturing Optimus Prime, Tesla has applied artificial intelligence technology in a large number.
"wider application" is probably an important reason why Musk has a high interest in humanoid robots. According to Musk's vision, Tesla robots "take all" of industrial production and home services, and their future value is greater than that of cars, and it may even "will completely change the economy."
"2021 China Robot Industry Development Report" by the Chinese Society of Electronics shows that in 2021, the global robot market size is expected to reach US$33.58 billion, with an average growth rate from 2016 to 2021 being about 11.5%. Among them, industrial robots were US$14.49 billion, service robots were US$212.52 billion, and special robots were US$6.57 billion. As the epidemic is controlled globally, the robot market will gradually recover, and it is expected that by 2023, the global robot market size will exceed US$47.7 billion.
Exploration has never stopped
It can be said that humanoid robots are one of the earliest proposed directions in the robot industry, but the prospects are still the most uncertain.
As early as 1927, Westinghouse, the world's first humanoid robot, had already been manufactured by the world's first humanoid robot "Televox". Although this robot is essentially just a circuit board and can only perform extremely simple specific operations, it still opens up human imagination of humanoid robots.
In the next 100 years, companies have been trying to innovate technology and improve functions in order to create a "human stand-in".
In 2000, Honda launched the first generation of "real" humanoid robot Asimo. This robot has the ability to move normally and can complete movements such as walking, running and jumping. Although its significance lies in display and teaching, it cannot replace real people, it was already amazing at the time.
At the Xiaomi autumn new product launch conference in August this year, a full-size humanoid bionic robot CyberOne was officially unveiled, and Xiaomi's "creating people" plan also ignited the capital market in the short term.
As Musk said before, "If we want people to achieve the same popularity as mobile phones, its market share will be immeasurable." But the current fact is that even the humanoid robots that have been mass-produced have not been optimistic in sales and market prospects.
The most typical example is Boston Dynamics, their robot dog Spot, which is recognized by the industry for its flexibility and intelligence.
But as a purely technology-driven company, Boston Dynamics has experienced several "selling" times. The more advanced its technology, the less optimistic its commercial value is. In June this year, Hyundai Motor Group, Boston Dynamics and SoftBank Group announced that Hyundai Motor Group has completed the acquisition of its controlling stake in Boston Dynamics, a deal that valued the latter at $1.1 billion, down 66% from six years ago.
Shanghai News Broadcast Comprehensive from Shangguan News, Science and Technology Daily, Huxiu APP, Internet of Things Think Tank, etc.
Editor: Yan Ping
Editor: Xiang Xiaowei
Editor: Xiang Xiaowei
