Elon Musk’s Robot Tricks Were Used on Soviets in the 1950s Too

Elon Musk was showered with praise connected societal media during his large robotaxi unveiling connected Thursday, adjacent if the Tesla CEO’s Cybercab is inactive conscionable a prototype that whitethorn never get released. But it was Musk’s humanoid robots that arguably received the astir attraction successful videos posted during the event, arsenic Optimus bots were seen dancing, talking with guests, playing paper-rock-scissors, and adjacent pouring drinks.

There’s conscionable 1 problem: The robots weren’t operating arsenic autonomously arsenic astir radical had initially assumed. The Optimus robots were nether the power of unseen humans, according to 1 idiosyncratic who spoke with a Tesla technologist at the event, but Musk didn’t archer radical that directly.

“This is not wholly AI. A quality is distant assisting,” tech evangelist Robert Scoble tweeted, on with a video from the lawsuit astatine Warner Bros. studios successful Burbank connected Thursday night.

Optimus marque maine a drink, please.

This is not wholly AI. A quality is distant assisting.

Which means AI time adjacent twelvemonth wherever we volition spot however accelerated Optimus is learning. pic.twitter.com/CE2bEA2uQD

— Robert Scoble (@Scobleizer) October 11, 2024

Scoble was inactive intelligibly impressed with the robots. But it gave the full spectacle a precise antithetic vibe erstwhile you cognize determination are humans disconnected successful a country determination doing astatine slightest immoderate of the work. We’ve had tele-operation of robots (sometimes called a Waldo) since at slightest the 1940s, though admittedly successful a much primitive form. Walt Disney utilized teleoperation to execute life-like robotics successful the 1960s for his attractions astatine the World’s Fair and Disneyland.

The large quality betwixt Musk and Disney is that Disney wasn’t trying to usage tele-ops to instrumentality anyone. The full intent was to make a show, not dissimilar Musk’s extremity Thursday night. The billionaire did signifier everything astatine a movie studio, aft all. But by not disclosing up beforehand that his robots were getting quality assistance, much than a fewer radical connected societal media said they felt deceived.

Musk is acold from the archetypal idiosyncratic to usage fume and mirrors to marque robots look similar they’re susceptible of astonishing feats portion really being little than transparent astir however the exertion works. The Tesla CEO’s changeless hype of products that don’t really beryllium yet (remember the Optimus debut successful 2021 that was conscionable a quality successful a robot suit?) reminds maine of RCA-Whirlpool’s alleged Miracle Kitchen from the precocious 1950s. Especially due to the fact that the room show had a robot that was really being distant controlled by a quality successful the adjacent room, contempt telling viewers it was moving by itself.

The Miracle Kitchen was the crown jewel of the 1959 just successful Russia held during a precise little effort astatine friendlier relations betwixt the U.S. and Soviet Union during the Cold War. It was a benignant of taste exchange, with the Soviets putting connected a tech just successful New York portion the Americans enactment connected a amusement successful Moscow. You whitethorn adjacent retrieve learning astir the “kitchen debate” betwixt then-Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet person Nikita Khrushchev. Yep, that was the kitchen.

The American National Exhibition had everything from a manner amusement to films astir beingness successful the U.S. But it was the room that truly impressed people, arsenic it seemingly showed disconnected precocious technologies, including a cardinal machine with push-button controls and an autonomous robot that looked similar a proto-Roomba. But the Americans lone said it was autonomous.

Someone has uploaded a 13-minute promotional movie for the room to YouTube, but a one-minute clip astir the vacuum is beneath to springiness you an thought of what the Russians saw backmost successful 1959.

“What you spot coming retired of the partition is simply a self-propelled level cleaner. It’s wholly self-contained and it tin beryllium directed to immoderate portion of the kitchen,” the film’s big says.

“This level cleaner is operated by a self-charging battery. It controls itself by sensing an electrical way successful the floor,” the big continues. “As it passes implicit the floor, it vacuums up escaped particles. And if the level needs washing, the level cleaner volition lavation it with a rotary brushwood scrubbing action. It volition travel up washing with a thorough rinsing.”

This unthinkable robot vacuum wasn’t conscionable going to get each the floor-cleaning done, it was going to bash it without being told to instrumentality for charging.

“And erstwhile the full occupation is done, the level cleaner returns to its determination beneath the furniture wherever it empties the discarded and is automatically recharged to beryllium acceptable for the adjacent operation,” the big claimed.

In reality, the robot wasn’t moving independently astatine all. Back successful 2015, I spoke with a antheral named Joe Maxwell, past successful his 80s, who helped plan the room backmost successful the 1950s. Maxwell was moving for the plan steadfast Sundberg-Ferar successful Detroit and gave maine immoderate behind-the-scenes info astir the room that had ne'er been written astir before.

“They had a two-way reflector with a idiosyncratic sitting down it that could spot the room,” Maxwell told maine over the phone. “And they radio-controlled the vacuum cleaner and the dishwasher.”

“They said it was sniffing a ligament successful the floor, which it could person been,” Maxwell told me. “But it was easier conscionable to person a idiosyncratic down this reflector that could marque each the things happen—from opening the doors and lowering the shelves and each of those antithetic things.”

Having idiosyncratic conscionable secretly sitting successful the adjacent country was overmuch easier and little costly than utilizing precocious sensors.

“It was easier to bash that than to enactment successful each of those sensors each implicit the place, and bash what the push-button said to do. It was simpler conscionable to person a idiosyncratic operating that worldly remotely,” said Maxwell. “That was for expediency much than it was for deficiency of technology.”

Maxwell past paused to clarify. “But determination was a deficiency of technology. We did not person thing adjacent what we person today. We had computers, but they were large boxes.”

You tin spot wherefore Musk’s robot objection yesterday reminded maine of this tech just from the precocious 1950s. The extremity of the Americans was to person Soviets that U.S.-style capitalism was the superior system, delivering astonishing user products that adjacent included computers and precocious robotics. But it was each a amusement for propaganda purposes, assisted by the CIA and the Rand Corporation on with large business.

Some investors called Thursday’s Tesla lawsuit “underwhelming” fixed its deficiency of specifics and ridiculously agelong time-frame for transportation of the Cybercab and Optimus robot. But Musk often does this schtick of hyping up tech that doesn’t beryllium yet. Then erstwhile radical yet travel backmost to Earth and recognize helium hasn’t delivered thing awesome helium finds different agleam shiny entity to shingle successful beforehand of Wall Street.

Remember the hyper-fast Loop that Musk was going to bring to cities similar Chicago and Las Vegas? It was expected to diagnostic autonomous 16-passenger vehicles gliding on astatine 150 miles per hour. The billionaire yet delivered regular Teslas operated by quality drivers going 35 miles per hour successful a passageway nether Las Vegas.

At slightest we tin accidental Musk’s robots aren’t shouting slurs. Well, not yet.