'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
An early prototype of Tesla Inc.'s proposed Optimus humanoid robot slowly and awkwardly walked onto a stage, turned, and waved to a cheering crowd at the company's artificial intelligence event Friday.
But the basic tasks by the robot with exposed wires and electronics -- as well as a later, next generation version that had to be carried onstage by three men -- was a long way from CEO Elon Musk's vision of a human-like robot that can change the world.
Musk told the crowd, many of whom might be hired by Tesla, that the robot can do much more than the audience saw Friday. He said it is also delicate and "we just didn't want it to fall on its face."
Musk suggested that the problem with flashy robot demonstrations is that the robots are "missing a brain" and don't have the intelligence to navigate themselves, but he gave little evidence Friday that Optimus was any more intelligent than robots developed by other companies and researchers.
The demo didn't impress AI researcher Filip Piekniewski, who tweeted it was "next level cringeworthy" and a "complete and utter scam." He said it would be "good to test falling, as this thing will be falling a lot."
"None of this is cutting edge," tweeted robotics expert Cynthia Yeung. "Hire some PhDs and go to some robotics conferences @Tesla."
Yeung also questioned why Tesla opted for its robot to have a human-like hand with five fingers, noting "there's a reason why" warehouse robots developed by startup firms use pinchers with two or three fingers or vacuum-based grippers.
Musk said that Friday night was the first time the early robot walked onstage without a tether. Tesla's goal, he said, is to make an "extremely capable" robot in high volumes -- possibly millions of them -- at a cost that could be less than a car, that he guessed would be less than US$20,000.
Tesla showed a video of the robot, which uses artificial intelligence that Tesla is testing in its "Full Self-Driving" vehicles, carrying boxes and placing a metal bar into what appeared to be a factory machine. But there was no live demonstration of the robot completing the tasks.
Employees told the crowd in Palo Alto, California, as well as those watching via livestream, that they have been working on Optimus for six to eight months. People can probably buy an Optimus "within three to five years," Musk said.
Employees said Optimus robots would have four fingers and a thumb with a tendon-like system so they could have the dexterity of humans.
The robot is backed by giant artificial intelligence computers that track millions of video frames from "Full Self-Driving" autos. Similar computers would be used to teach tasks to the robots, they said.
Experts in the robotics field were skeptical that Tesla is anywhere near close to rolling out legions of human-like home robots that can do the "useful things" Musk wants them to do -- say, make dinner, mow the lawn, keep watch on an aging grandmother.
"When you're trying to develop a robot that is both affordable and useful, a humanoid kind of shape and size is not necessarily the best way," said Tom Ryden, executive director of the nonprofit startup incubator Mass Robotics.
Tesla isn't the first car company to experiment with humanoid robots.
Honda more than two decades ago unveiled Asimo, which resembled a life-size space suit and was shown in a carefully-orchestrated demonstration to be able to pour liquid into a cup. Hyundai also owns a collection of humanoid and animal-like robots through its 2021 acquisition of robotics firm Boston Dynamics. Ford has partnered with Oregon startup Agility Robotics, which makes robots with two legs and two arms that can walk and lift packages.
Ryden said carmakers' research into humanoid robotics can potentially lead to machines that can walk, climb and get over obstacles, but impressive demos of the past haven't led to an "actual use scenario" that lives up to the hype.
"There's a lot of learning that they're getting from understanding the way humanoids function," he said. "But in terms of directly having a humanoid as a product, I'm not sure that that's going to be coming out anytime soon."
Critics also said years ago that Musk and Tesla wouldn't be able to build a profitable new car company that used batteries for power rather than gasoline.
Tesla is testing "Full Self-Driving" vehicles on public roads, but they have to be monitored by selected owners who must be ready to intervene at all times. The company says it has about 160,000 vehicles equipped with the test software on the road today.
Critics have said the Teslas, which rely on cameras and powerful computers to drive by themselves, don't have enough sensors to drive safely. Tesla's less capable Autopilot driver-assist system, with the same camera sensors, is under investigation by U.S. safety regulators for braking for no reason and repeatedly running into emergency vehicles with flashing lights parked along freeways.
In 2019, Musk promised a fleet of autonomous robotaxis would be in use by the end of 2020. They are still being tested.
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.
English, history, entertainment, math and geography: high school trivia teams could be quizzed on any of it when they compete at the Reach for the Top Nationals in Ottawa in June.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.