Watch Tesla’s humanoid robot recover after tripping

Tesla posted a video (below) of her humanoid robot Optimus taking a leisurely stroll. 38-second images show the possibilities robot for working on soft and uneven terrain, and most of the time the bipedal robot looks quite comfortable when walking.

However, the most impressive part comes at the end of the video, when Optimus recovers quite gracefully from an awkward slide while going down a small but steep slope. This recovery requires a lot of complex, super-fast computing power, so the robot clearly manages to stay upright.

Daily walks help clear your mind pic.twitter.com/dUsW58trS6

—Tesla Optimus (@Tesla_Optimus) December 9, 2024

In an online post about the video, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said: “Optimus can now walk across highly variable terrain using neural networks to control his electric limbs.”

Milan Kovacs, vice president of Optimus, provided more details in his own post, noting that Optimus was seen walking on mulch-covered ground where he once slipped.

Kovacs said, “What’s really crazy is that for these [caminatas]”Optimus is actually blind,” adding that the robot maintains its balance without any camera to guide it, instead relying on built-in sensors integrated with its on-board computer.

To allow Optimus to plan its walk in advance, the executive said his team intends to implement computer vision, a complex system that will allow the robot to perceive and interact with its environment. They also want to improve the robot’s walking style so it looks more natural, and in cases where a fall is unavoidable, they want to develop a safe way for it to fall to minimize damage.

After watching a video of the bipedal robot Atlas from Boston Dynamics During his development, we see that he walked much like Optimus did in 2016. A year later he was doing backflips and soon after he could jog. We look forward to seeing Optimus make rapid progress in the coming years.

Musk unveiled Optimus in 2021. At the presentation, Tesla didn’t have a working prototype ready, so instead it brought someone on stage in a tight suit. It’s fair to say that the robot has come a long way since then.

Tesla’s CEO said that next year we will see “thousands” of robots working alongside humans in Tesla factories, performing “dangerous, repetitive and boring tasks.” But Musk’s target dates have been known to slip, so don’t be surprised if that doesn’t happen.

Plans for a commercial launch are also in the works, but not until 2026. Musk claims that Optimus, which costs up to $30,000, could one day function as a home assistant, capable of performing a variety of tasks such as “taking care of your baby, walking the dog, mowing the lawn, grocery shopping, being your friend, serving drinks.”