Gary Zhou 
Tesla AI Day is only hours away!
The Texas-based company tweeted a teaser of the Optimus Bot recently, building up anticipation for this year’s AI Day. The lucky few who receive a ticket to the event are likely already in Texas, preparing for it. For the rest of us, Tesla posted a livestream link of the event.
To watch Tesla’s AI Day online, click here. Viewers can also watch the event live on Tesla’s official YouTube channel.
Tesla also recently posted a short clip of what appears to be a prototype of its humanoid robot’s hands. Tesla has nicknamed its humanoid robot Optimus. The brief video Tesla posted on Twitter shows Optimus making a heart sign with its hands.
The teaser Tesla recently posted shows the company’s progress with the design of Optimus’ hands and hints at the design of the entire robot. The teaser poster of this year’s AI Day also features robot hands—and arms—forming a heart shape. Compared to the AI Day 2022 teaser poster, the hands featured in the video seem more refined.
The robot’s hands in the video appear to have at least four individual fingers, whereas the one in the teaser poster looks like it only has three fingers. A few people also noticed that the pad of each fingertip looked like they were made of soft material. The Optimus hands in the teaser poster appear to be made of all metal.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF OUR HANDS
Optimus’s hands will play a critical role in the purpose Tesla’s humanoid robots have in society, whether used for hard labor or caring for humans.
“Tesla Bots are initially positioned to replace people in repetitive, boring, and dangerous tasks. But the vision is for them to serve millions of households, such as cooking, mowing lawns, and caring for the elderly,” explained Elon Musk in an essay published in China Cyberspace magazine.
In a 2014 BBC article, Dr. George McGavin explained that human hands evolved into the five-digit pattern we see today. Our hands’ design allows for a powerful grip. However, they are also agile enough to manipulate small objects precisely.
The strength and flexibility of human hands helps us accomplish various tasks. The same idea applies to Optimus, given the myriad of potential tasks Tesla’s humanoid robots might perform in the future.
Optimus will likely be the most anticipated product Tesla plans to discuss during AI Day 2022. Elon Musk noted that Tesla has a lot of hardware demos planned for the event. During AI Day, Tesla may also discuss its progress with FSD Beta and its chip design.
