The company's previous demo had involved marching a human out in a robot-like bodysuit, so when Optimus walked slowly around the stage, it was met with delight from the cheering crowd. Despite the show's futuristic framing, robotics experts were mostly underwhelmed by the reveal. Optimus' clunky attempts at something like a dance seemed less advanced than other humanoid robots, such as Honda's ASIMO, which played soccer with former President Barack Obama back in 2014. Tesla engineers boasted that Optimus' hand had as many as 11 degrees of freedom (that's to say, all the ways in which robotic parts can bend). In comparison, a robotic hand designed by a Japanese engineer back in 1963 had 27. What is it about Optimus that makes us feel threatened?

The company's previous demo had involved marching a human out in a robot-like body suit, so when Optimus walked slowly around the stage, it was met with delight from the cheering crowd. Despite the show's futuristic framing, robotics experts were mostly underwhelmed by the reveal. Optimus' clunky attempts at something like a dance seemed less advanced than other humanoid robots, such as Honda's Asimo, which played soccer with former President Barack Obama back in 2014. Tesla engineers boasted that Optimus' hand had as many as 11 degrees of freedom (that's to say, all the ways in which robotic parts can bend). In comparison, a robotic hand designed by a Japanese engineer back in 1963 had 27. What is it about Optimus that makes us feel threatened?

A comic pair of googly eyes on the front of a self-driving car could reduce traffic accidents, a new study suggests. Researchers in Japan fitted a golf cart with two large, remote-controlled robotic eyes, making it look like the beloved children's TV character'Brum'. In experiments in virtual reality (VR), they found pedestrians were able to make'safer or more efficient choices' when the eyes were fitted than when they weren't. According to the researchers, pedestrians generally like to look at vehicle drivers to know that they've registered their presence. But in a future where self-driving cars are commonplace, pedestrians won't be able to do this as the driver's seat will be empty.

It is well-known nowadays that robots do much of the work making a car, their giant arms swinging in precise motion to bolt on doors and weld metal. Less well-known is one of the major figures behind that assembly-line transformation, a Japanese engineer who built an empire at the base of Mount Fuji where his own robots churned out robots for the world's factories. Seiuemon Inaba, who died at age 95 on Oct. 2, led robot maker Fanuc Corp. from its start as a Fujitsu Ltd. spinoff in 1972. Today it is one of the principal industrial-robot makers in the world with a market value of some $40 billion, helping make products as diverse as cars and smartphones. Born March 5, 1925, in Chikusei, a small city some 50 miles north of Tokyo, Mr. Inaba was the son of a local landowner.