Tesla goes up a gear on its Optimus humanoid robot project. In order for these machines to be able to perform tasks in its factories, the manufacturer hires “data collection operators”. The job? Wear a motion-capeting combination and a virtual reality headset to perform movements that robots will learn to reproduce.
Humans to teach robots
These positions, offered on LinkedIn and other platforms, are paid between 23 and 44 euros per hour. But beware, it is not an office work! Applicants must be able to walk for more than seven hours a day while supporting the VR helmet, with its possible side effects as dizziness. Another criterion: measure between 1.70 m and 1.80 m, almost the size of Optimus, so that the combinations work properly.
A video shared by Tesla showed these operators in action: equipped with their equipment, they imitate simple tasks like lifting objects or folding linen, while robots try to reproduce these gestures. For the moment, Optimus is still in the learning phase, but Tesla is clearly determined to make it a key element of its factories.
https://X.com/Tesla_Optimus/status/1658576897490530305
Announced in 2021, the Optimus robot first sparked mixed reactions. During its first presentation in 2022, robotics experts judged the prototype not impressive. But Tesla persists. Last year, the Optimus robots carried out their first autonomous task by handling batteries in a Tesla factory. Elon Musk now provides internal production from 2025, and marketing for other companies from 2026.
The stake is enormous. Elon Musk claims that Optimus could explode the valuation of Tesla, going from $ 600 billion currently to more than 20,000 billion (!) In the future. He even imagines producing billions of robots, believing that each person on the planet will want one.
But all of this has a cost. According to Animesh Garg, professor of robotics at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Tesla will have to collect hundreds of thousands of data to train its robots. He estimates that this process could cost more than $ 400 million, without any guarantee of success. “” Even if you invest all this money, nothing says it will work He warns.
Tesla is not alone on this market. Competition is tough, especially with Figure, another company specializing in humanoid robots. Supported by giants like Microsoft and Nvidia, Figure has already signed an agreement with BMW to integrate its robots into a factory in the United States.
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