Tesla is expanding its teleoperation equipment for its robotaxis and humanoid robots. The information comes from a job offer where the company indicates that it is looking for a software engineer to lead the development of the virtual reality application used by the remote operators.
The job advertisement offers other data that allows us to glimpse where the electric vehicle manufacturer is aiming. This is interesting information that comes after the ‘We, Robot’ event where the firm showed several Optimus and Cybercab units, but it was not clear if they really moved autonomously.
A teleoperation team at Tesla
When we saw the latest version of Tesla’s humanoid robot in October serving drinks in a bar and dancing to music, we thought we were seeing the future. Later we found out that that “magic” had been possible thanks to what the company itself called human assistance.
The reason for not deploying fully autonomous robots into the crowd seems to be obvious: this type of technology still needs to mature. Tesla’s goal, however, is for both this product and its robotaxi to work autonomously, although teleoperation is very important.
Training tasks with human teleoperation
In the job offer they explain that there will be scenarios in which operators will have to connect to their cars and robots. “Our remote operators are transported to the world of the device using a virtual reality platform of the latest generation that allows them to perform complex tasks,” they point out.
Optimus at the October ‘We, Robot’ event
We’ll have to wait to find out how present operators will be in Tesla’s fully autonomous products. In the meantime we can see what happens with other players in this industry. Cruise, one of the companies that currently has a robotaxis service, often uses teleoperators.
As confirmed by its CEO, Kyle Vogt, company personnel connect to the vehicles in the event of very complex maneuvers. In addition, teleoperators can also take control of the car at police checkpoints. At the moment, autonomous technology is not as autonomous as many believe. Although this should change over time.
As a curious fact, Tesla offers a salary of between $120,000 and $318,00 per year, plus a compensation package, stock and benefits for its future software engineer specialized in C++. If you are interested in signing up, this is a full-time position in Palo Alto, California.
Images | tesla
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