Tesla Optimus (robot)

2024: Video of robot folding shirts turned out to be fake

In mid-January 2024, Elon Musk posted a video on social network X demonstrating how the humanoid Tesla Optimus robot neatly folds a T-shirt after washing. However, later the head of Tesla admitted that the car is not able to perform such operations completely independently.

The video shows Optimus taking the shirt out of the laundry basket, laying it out on the table and then folding it several times. In this case, the robot alternately uses the right and left hands. As a result, the car manages to fold the T-shirt into a small rectangle.

Tesla Optimus

But observant Internet users noticed that the operator's hand in a special glove periodically appears in the side of the frame. Musk confirmed that in this case, Optimus functioned in "avatar" mode, copying the actions of a person. In other words, we are talking about the use of telepresence technology. In addition, special conditions were created for shooting the video: this is a table with a certain height and only one item of clothing in the basket.

Optimus cannot yet fold the shirt autonomously, but it will surely be able to do it in the future in an arbitrary environment, "Musk said.

From a technical point of view, Optimus is capable of a variety of actions - from dancing to tying laces. But this requires a human operator. As the New Atlas resource notes, Tesla has significant opportunities in the field of artificial intelligence and automation, and therefore, in the future, the robot will theoretically be able to perform such operations completely independently - without any interference from the outside. It is assumed that Optimus and other similar robots equipped with complex self-government systems based on AI will be able to solve various problems in production, in offices and in everyday life.^[1]

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