Latest news with #MilanKovac
Economic Times
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Economic Times
Is this robot your future housemate? Tesla's Optimus robot cooks, cleans, and leaves the internet torn between awe and alarm
Tesla's humanoid robot Optimus is turning heads after a new video showed it cooking, cleaning, and handling household chores with surprising finesse. The future of home help just took a giant humanoid step forward—straight into your kitchen. Tesla's Optimus robot, once dismissed as a dancing novelty, is back with a compelling new demo: cooking dinner, cleaning up, and even vacuuming the floor. The recently released video, captioned 'I'm not just dancing all day, ok,' showcases the android performing multiple domestic tasks with smooth, calculated precision. And yes, it's stirring a pot of food like a true home chef. Just a week ago, social media users poked fun at Optimus for showing off dance moves that felt more gimmicky than groundbreaking. But this latest reel has flipped the script. In it, Optimus is seen doing household chores—from dumping trash and wiping down a table to carefully tearing off a paper towel sheet. All these tasks, Tesla claims, are learned using natural language instructions. What's more, the robot is reportedly training to mimic human actions by watching everyday internet videos. — Tesla_Optimus (@Tesla_Optimus) According to Milan Kovac, head of the Optimus project, the team has hit a 'significant breakthrough' in training the bot directly from third-person videos found online. That means your robot assistant might soon learn how to make pancakes simply by watching your favorite Sunday brunch vlogger. Kovac suggests this new method could fast-track Optimus's learning curve, allowing it to master tasks without requiring manual programming or teleoperation. Back in 2021, Elon Musk made big promises when unveiling Optimus—envisioning a robot that could babysit, fetch groceries, and even become your companion. While we aren't quite there yet, this recent display has made that sci-fi scenario feel slightly more plausible. Priced at around $20,000, Optimus won't be entering the average home soon, though Musk has hinted at rental options in the future. Predictably, Optimus's new skill set has sparked intense reactions online. Some are hailing it as a technological marvel, writing, 'Amazing! Love these updates. Keep them coming.' Others see it as a revolution in robotics and AI, warning competitors: 'Imagine competing with Tesla on both manufacturing and AI—the bot is a race to both.' Yet, a different camp isn't entirely at ease, with one user summing up the sentiment: 'This is exciting and terrifying at the same time.' Whether Optimus becomes your next sous-chef or sparks a robot uprising remains to be seen. But one thing is clear—Tesla isn't just building cars anymore; it's quietly ushering in a future where your next roommate might be a robot who does the dishes and never complains.
Time of India
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Is this robot your future housemate? Tesla's Optimus robot cooks, cleans, and leaves the internet torn between awe and alarm
The future of home help just took a giant humanoid step forward—straight into your kitchen. Tesla's Optimus robot, once dismissed as a dancing novelty, is back with a compelling new demo: cooking dinner, cleaning up, and even vacuuming the floor. The recently released video, captioned 'I'm not just dancing all day, ok,' showcases the android performing multiple domestic tasks with smooth, calculated precision. And yes, it's stirring a pot of food like a true home chef. From meme material to potential must-have Just a week ago, social media users poked fun at Optimus for showing off dance moves that felt more gimmicky than groundbreaking. But this latest reel has flipped the script. In it, Optimus is seen doing household chores—from dumping trash and wiping down a table to carefully tearing off a paper towel sheet. All these tasks, Tesla claims, are learned using natural language instructions. What's more, the robot is reportedly training to mimic human actions by watching everyday internet videos. — Tesla_Optimus (@Tesla_Optimus) Robots that learn from YouTube According to Milan Kovac, head of the Optimus project, the team has hit a 'significant breakthrough' in training the bot directly from third-person videos found online. That means your robot assistant might soon learn how to make pancakes simply by watching your favorite Sunday brunch vlogger. Kovac suggests this new method could fast-track Optimus's learning curve, allowing it to master tasks without requiring manual programming or teleoperation. Elon Musk's vision: Babysitter, dog-walker, best friend Back in 2021, Elon Musk made big promises when unveiling Optimus—envisioning a robot that could babysit, fetch groceries, and even become your companion. While we aren't quite there yet, this recent display has made that sci-fi scenario feel slightly more plausible. Priced at around $20,000, Optimus won't be entering the average home soon, though Musk has hinted at rental options in the future. The internet reacts: From admiration to existential dread Predictably, Optimus's new skill set has sparked intense reactions online. Some are hailing it as a technological marvel, writing, 'Amazing! Love these updates. Keep them coming.' Others see it as a revolution in robotics and AI, warning competitors: 'Imagine competing with Tesla on both manufacturing and AI—the bot is a race to both.' Yet, a different camp isn't entirely at ease, with one user summing up the sentiment: 'This is exciting and terrifying at the same time.' You Might Also Like: Espresso on autopilot: Elon Musk cheers Tesla owner brewing coffee while car drives itself Whether Optimus becomes your next sous-chef or sparks a robot uprising remains to be seen. But one thing is clear—Tesla isn't just building cars anymore; it's quietly ushering in a future where your next roommate might be a robot who does the dishes and never complains. You Might Also Like: Was Elon Musk really a Tesla co-founder? How he became synonymous with the brand
Digital Trends
21-05-2025
- Digital Trends
The Tesla bot isn't superhuman yet, but it can make dinner
A week ago we saw Tesla's Optimus robot showing off some nifty dance moves. This week, you can watch it performing a bunch of mundane tasks, though admittedly with a great deal of skill — for a humanoid robot. Instructed via natural language prompts, the so-called 'Tesla bot' is shown in a new video dumping trash in a bin, cleaning food off a table with a dustpan and brush, tearing off a sheet of paper towel, stirring a pot of food, and vacuuming the floor, among other tasks. I'm not just dancing all day, ok — Tesla Optimus (@Tesla_Optimus) May 21, 2025 The performance may not shake the world of humanoid robotics to its core, but it nevertheless shows the kind of steady progress that Tesla engineers are making, with the bot's actions and movements becoming evermore complex. Recommended Videos Commenting on the latest clip, Optimus team boss Milan Kovac said in a post on X: 'One of our goals is to have Optimus learn straight from internet videos of humans doing tasks.' Just to be clear, that doesn't mean the robot will literally watch videos like a human. Instead, it suggests that the robot will learn from the vast amount of data available in those videos, such as demonstrations of tasks, movements, or behaviors. Kovac said that his team recently had a 'significant breakthrough' that means it can now transfer 'a big chunk of the learning directly from human videos to the bots (1st- person views for now),' explaining that this allows his team to bootstrap new tasks much more quickly compared to using teleoperated bot data alone. Next, the plan is to make Optimus more reliable by getting it to practice tasks on its own — either in the real world or in simulations — using reinforcement learning, a method that improves actions through trial and error. Tesla boss Elon Musk, who has spoken enthusiastically of Optimus ever since the company first announced it in 2021, has claimed that 'thousands' of the robots may one day be deployed alongside human staff at Tesla factories, taking care of 'dangerous, repetitive, [and] boring tasks.' The company, better known for making electric cars than humanoid robots, is racing against a growing number of tech firms globally that are intent on commercializing their humanoid robots, whether for the workplace, home, or perhaps some entirely new human-robot ecosystems yet to be imagined.
Digital Trends
14-05-2025
- Automotive
- Digital Trends
Watch Tesla's humanoid robot pulling some snappy dance moves
Tesla has shared a new video showing its Optimus humanoid robot pulling some rather impressive dance moves. While the nifty footwork might not be much use for the industrial settings that the robot is destined for, the 60-second clip effectively showcases its increasing agility and lifelike range of motion. The clip comes a day after Optimus boss Milan Kovac said in an online post that his robotics team 'has been working very hard in the background.' Recommended Videos Kovac added that for the dancing, Optimus, also known as the Tesla Bot, was trained entirely in simulation, with reinforcement learning. He also noted that the cable in the second clip was in place 'in case of a fall' and was not actually holding the robot. The third generation of the Tesla Bot was unveiled in March 2025. It features significant design and functional upgrades that include a 22-degree-of-freedom hand (up from 11 in previous versions), self-recharging capability, and advanced AI that allows the robot to learn tasks like a human rather than relying on traditional programming. Tesla chief Elon Musk has previously said that 'thousands' of the robots could one day work alongside human staff at Tesla factories in the next year or two, taking care of 'dangerous, repetitive, [and] boring tasks.' There are also plans for a commercial launch, with Musk claiming that Optimus could one day potter around the home as a household helper, or even 'babysit your kid, walk your dog, mow your lawn, get the groceries, just be your friend, serve drinks.' At $20,000 a pop, it won't come cheap, though there's also been talk of offering a more affordable rental service. For decades we've been promised advanced, intelligent, and truly useful humanoid robots, and now the technology appears to be finally delivering. Tesla is now in a rapidly developing global race to build a practical humanoid robot, with major players such as Tesla, Figure AI, Apptronik, and Boston Dynamics competing alongside a string of impressive Chinese rivals. Companies in the sector are keen to move toward mass production in a bid to address labor shortages and automate repetitive or dangerous tasks. While challenges like cost, safety, and real-world complexity remain, there's a growing possibility that in the next few years, humanoid robots could enter the workplace — and even everyday life — at an unprecedented scale.
