Tesla has given its first demonstration of its newly upgraded Optimus hand, showcasing its ability to catch a tennis ball.
The demonstration, shared on the Tesla Optimus account on X (formerly Twitter), was captioned with “Got a new hand for Black Friday.” The brief video showed Optimus effortlessly catching two tennis balls with precision and smooth movements.
Got a new hand for Black Friday pic.twitter.com/x3gQrsbYAQ
— Tesla Optimus (@Tesla_Optimus) November 28, 2024
This demonstration was made possible by significant upgrades to the robot’s hand, which now boasts 22 degrees of freedom (DoF), compared to the 11 DoF in the previous Optimus hand. This improvement allows for a level of dexterity previously unseen in humanoid robots.
Tesla Senior Staff Software Engineer Julian Ibarz confirmed in a follow-up post that the demonstration was teleoperated. While some might view this negatively, the near-zero latency exhibited during the teleoperated catch highlights a major technical accomplishment. Achieving such seamless coordination between a human operator and a robot in real time requires advanced software and hardware integration, underscoring the capabilities of Tesla’s robotics team. In fact, the near-zero latency is by itself a significant use case for a humanoid robot.
The new hand design represents a leap forward in mimicking human anatomy, featuring tendons that enable finer control and enhanced tactile sensing. This dexterity opens doors to tasks that were previously unattainable, such as catching a ball, which Ibarz noted was nearly impossible with earlier versions of Optimus. The hand’s compact form factor, housing numerous motors within a slim forearm with 3 DoF itself, is another testament to Tesla’s innovative approach to robotics design.
This is the first demonstration of the new Optimus hand, but not the first time we have seen it. The upgraded hand was first showcased in October at Tesla’s “We, Robot” event.
Tesla’s Optimus units are already being utilized in its factories for tasks requiring precision and repeatability. The introduction of more tactile and responsive hands will undoubtedly expand the scope of these applications.
Hope ya’ll enjoyed all the new announcements and reveals!
— Perry Jia (@perryzjia) October 11, 2024
For folks online, here’s one more new item that is at the event but not presented on the live broadcast
Next generation Optimus hand! pic.twitter.com/AAN9fjdSUJ
