Tesla has posted a video demonstrating the abilities of its modernized Optimus robot lineup. The second generation primarily gets motion-related improvements, such as more dexterous hands, and weighs less than the first one.
All systems now rely exclusively on the sensors and servomotors designed in-house by Tesla. The Optimus Mk2 weighs 10 kg (22 lbs) less and walks 30% faster than before. Its leg movements now look more natural and human-like, and the lower appendages themselves look like they could use a pair of normal human boots.
With its heightened sense of balance, the Optimus can now squat without falling over. The video also shows how the robot picks up a chicken egg with its hands using optimized tactile sensors on its artificial fingers. The motions have become so smooth overall that Tesla couldn’t resist including a ‘robot disco’ scene at the end of the video.
According to Elon Musk, the Optimus project may be one of the company’s most ambitious projects, but it also promises to become one of its most lucrative ones, too. Tesla Inc. hopes to sell a total of 10–20 billion examples in the coming decades. Before that happens, the company will try integrating its robot workforce into its own industrial processes. This means we may see these robots actually working at assembly lines, conveyor belts and the like in the not-so-distant future.