On December 13, Tesla CEO Elon Musk released the introduction of the second-generation Optimus robot (Gen 2) without notice**. Compared with the first generation, the Optimus Gen 2 uses Tesla's self-developed actuators and sensors, and has significant performance improvements in walking speed, balance and body control, and fine hand manipulation.
The official social account of ChatGPT, owned by OpenAI, also **said**, "It's nice to meet you, Optimus. "Humanoid robots empowered by large models are an important trend in the industrial chain, and ChatGPT's move may hint at the possibility of cooperation between the two sides.
In terms of A-shares, the intraday performance of robot concept stocks was outstanding, Keli Sensing rose by the limit, Juneng shares rose by more than 12%, Dingzhi Technology rose by more than 10%, and Green Harmonic and Xinshida followed up.
Optimus Gen 2 is officially unveiled
The ** released by Musk this time is less than two minutes long, but the amount of information is extremely dense. In terms of components, the Optimus Gen 2 is equipped with Tesla's self-developed actuators and sensors, a 2-degree-of-freedom drive neck, an 11-degree-of-freedom dexterous hand, a tactile sensor (10 fingers), an actuator integrated electronics and wiring harness, a foot force torque sensor, and an articulated toe.
In terms of overall performance, the Optimus Gen 2 has a 30% increase in walking speed, a 10kg reduction in body weight, and improved balance and total body control.
Experts in the field of humanoid robots told the Shanghai Securities Daily reporter that the battery of humanoid robots should not only ensure small size, but also pursue long battery life, so the battery problem of humanoid robots is a major pain point in the industry. In the absence of a breakthrough in battery technology, Tesla's weight reduction of 10kg can help improve the battery life.
In addition, the performance of Optimus Gen 2 has been significantly improved in terms of movement and control, and it can complete squats and "move" closer to humans.
Tesla also highlighted the "dexterous hands" of the Optimus Gen 2. Thanks to the tactile sensor on the fingers, the Optimus Gen 2 can easily pinch eggs with two fingers.
The open source research report believes that the flexible tactile sensor (also known as "electronic" can realize the detection of contact force, temperature, humidity, vibration, material, soft and hard and other characteristics with the environment, and is an important sensor for the robot to directly perceive the role of the environment, which will help the intelligent humanoid robot to achieve industrialization, and material technology and processing technology are the key technologies of the flexible tactile sensor.
From the debut of the first generation of Optimus to the debut of the second generation, Tesla's progress in the field of humanoid robots is not unfast. At the "AI Day" artificial intelligence conference in September 2022, the Optimus prototype was officially unveiled at the conference. Musk said that the Optimus robotics project represents an expansion of Tesla's mission. Optimus Prime is designed to be based on the human body and will have the ability to converse, hoping that the way it behaves will be as close as possible to the behavior of a person.
At the 2023 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), Musk reiterated his high optimism about humanoid robots. He revealed that the final ** of Optimus may be less than $20,000 and is expected to be mass-produced within 3 to 5 years. Once the product matures, the mass production volume may reach 10 billion to 20 billion units, and the market size may exceed that of electric vehicles. "In the future, there will be more robots on the planet than humans, and everyone will have a robot. ”
The domestic industrial chain has accelerated breakthroughs
Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the "Guiding Opinions on the Innovation and Development of Humanoid Robots" (hereinafter referred to as the "Guiding Opinions"), pointing out that humanoid robots are expected to become disruptive products after computers, smart phones, and new energy vehicles, and clarifying the goals and time points of the development of humanoid robots.
In view of the long-term problems faced by the industry, the "Guiding Opinions" have clarified the development direction from multiple dimensions such as complete machines, components, and application scenarios. The "Guiding Opinions" proposes that by 2025, China's humanoid robot innovation system will be initially established, and a number of key technologies such as "brain, cerebellum, and limbs" will make breakthroughs to ensure the safe and effective supply of core components, and the whole machine products will reach the international advanced level, and realize mass production, and be demonstrated and applied in special, manufacturing, and people's livelihood services.
With the strong support of policies and the collective efforts of the industrial chain, the imagination space of humanoid robots has been continuously opened, and its industrialization progress has also been greatly accelerated. The relevant person in charge of Fourier Intelligence previously revealed to the reporter of the Shanghai Securities Daily that the Fourier general humanoid robot GR-1 has achieved mass production, and pre-sale will be opened in September, and it is now beginning to be delivered one after another. "GR-1 will be the first to be applied in people's livelihood scenarios such as escorting, which is also an area we are good at. ”
At the "1024 Developer Festival", iFLYTEK released the first "large model + embodied intelligence" humanoid robot. Liu Qingfeng, chairman of iFLYTEK, said that the launch of the Spark model has brought the development of AI bot-enabled robots to a new stage. The success rate of humanoid robots in dismantling complex tasks and finding objects in open scenes has been significantly improved, and the ability to move in complex terrain such as generalized grasping and humanoid walking in intensive chemical Xi has been significantly improved compared with mainstream systems.
However, many people in the industry chain believe that the current performance of domestic humanoid robot parts is still a big constraint. The relevant person in charge of some OEMs said that the performance of domestic parts is poor and they have to develop themselves or purchase them from abroad. A scientist from a leading OEM believes that the performance of the parts used by Tesla is significantly better, about 30% higher than the domestic level.
It should be pointed out that there is no unified solution for the selection of parts and components of humanoid robots, and OEMs are still exploring. Some people in the industry chain said that even Tesla is constantly changing its own plans, and the Optimus Gen 2 released by Tesla this time undoubtedly confirms this. For domestic parts manufacturers, this will be an important window period.
Original**: Shanghai **Daily.