Tesla has pushed its humanoid robot project into new territory this week, showing off capabilities that suggest the company isn’t just building another mechanical novelty. In a newly released video, Optimus completes everyday household tasks entirely on its own – from taking out garbage to stirring a pot on the stove.
The most striking aspect isn’t just what Optimus can do, but how it learns. According to Milan Kovac, VP of Tesla Optimus, Tesla bot now learns directly from watching humans perform tasks rather than requiring extensive programming or physical demonstrations with the robot itself.
“One of our goals is to have Optimus learn straight from internet videos of humans doing tasks,” Kovac explained. Represents a fundamental shift in how robots acquire new skills – potentially allowing Tesla’s Optimus to scale its capabilities much faster than competitors.
The demonstration showcased the robot performing seven distinct tasks:
- Removing trash from a bin
- Sweeping with a dustpan
- Tearing paper towels
- Stirring contents in a cooking pot
- Operating a vacuum cleaner
- Selecting and placing a Model X component
- Operating cabinets and curtains
What’s remarkable is that these tasks weren’t individually programmed – they’re all handled by a single neural network that can respond to natural language commands.
The Tesla Optimus robot now operates using what the company calls “transfer learning” – essentially watching videos of humans performing tasks and then replicating those movements. While currently limited to first-person perspective videos, the technology represents a crucial step toward true automation.
This approach to machine learning drastically reduces the operational overhead typically associated with teaching robots new skills. Instead of engineers physically manipulating the robot through each movement, Optimus can now observe and learn.
“This allows us to bootstrap new tasks much faster compared to teleoperated bot data alone,” Kovac noted. The system’s ability to generalize from human demonstrations represents a significant advancement in Tesla’s robotics program.
Tesla’s robotics team isn’t stopping with these demonstrations. Their roadmap includes expanding the learning system to understand third-person videos – essentially any random video from the internet – which would exponentially increase the potential knowledge base.
The company also plans to improve reliability through what Kovac describes as “self-play” in both real-world settings and simulated environments. Suggests Tesla’s Optimus will soon begin learning not just by observation but through independent practice.
Tesla’s Optimus project has faced skepticism since its announcement, with many industry observers questioning whether the automotive company could successfully pivot into advanced robotics. These new demonstrations may not silence all critics, but they certainly show Tesla’s ambitions aren’t just optimistic talk.
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