Major Vendors in the Global Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) Lithography Market:
Optimus, also known as Tesla Bot, is a conceptual general-purpose robotic humanoid under development by Tesla, Inc.[1] It was announced at the company's Artificial Intelligence (AI) Day event on August 19, 2021.[1] CEO Elon Musk claimed during the event that Tesla would likely build a prototype by 2022.[2] Musk is on record having said that he thinks Optimus "has the potential to be more significant than [Tesla's] vehicle business over time."[3][4]
History[edit]On April 7, 2022, a display for the product was featured at the Tesla Giga Texas manufacturing facility during the Cyber Rodeo event. Musk said that he hoped to have the robot production ready by 2023 and claimed Optimus will eventually be able to do "anything that humans don’t want to do."[3]
In June 2022, Musk announced the first prototype that Tesla hoped to unveil later in 2022 at the second AI Day event and stated on Twitter that it would not look anything like the model displayed at the Cyber Rodeo event.[5]
In September 2022, semi-functional prototypes of Optimus were displayed at Tesla's second AI Day.[6][7] One prototype was able to walk about the stage and another, sleeker version could move its arms.[8][9]
In September 2023, Tesla released a video of Optimus demonstrating how it could perform new activities including sorting colored blocks by color, locate its limbs in space, and had increased flexibility as it could maintain a yoga pose.[10]
Gen 2[edit]On December 13, 2023, Musk's X page released a video titled "Optimus" in which it shows Optimus Generation 2 walking and showing new features, such as dancing and poaching an egg.[11][12] The Optimus Generation 2 features a slimmer figure with improved hands and movements.[13]
Specifications[edit]Two people in front of an Optimus displayTesla Bot is planned to measure 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) tall and weigh 125 lb (57 kg). According to the presentation made during the first AI Day event, a Tesla Bot will be "controlled by the same AI system Tesla is developing for the advanced driver-assistance system used in its cars" and have a carrying capacity of 45 lb (20 kg).[14] Proposed tasks for the product are ones that are "dangerous, repetitive and boring", such as providing manufacturing assistance.[15]
Reception[edit]Initial reactions[edit]Soon after the first AI Day event, many publications reacted with skepticism about the proposed product. Bloomberg News claimed that such a product constituted "mission creep" and stood outside "the company’s clean-energy initiatives."[16] The Washington Post argued that "Tesla has a history of exaggerating timelines and overpromising at its product unveilings and investor presentations."[1] The Verge similarly noted that "Tesla’s history is littered with fanciful ideas that never panned out... it’s anyone’s guess as to whether a working Tesla Bot will ever see the light of day"[17] and, in an editorial, described the Tesla Bot reveal as a "bizarre and brilliant bit of tomfoolery".[18]
The progress made with the prototypes shown at the second AI Day was praised by some commentators.[19] Other commentators stipulated that all that was shown in these latest presentations had already been accomplished by other robotics programs,[20] and that there appears to be little to suggest Tesla could "outpace other companies working on similar things."[21]
Expert opinions[edit]Reactions across the robotics community to Optimus and its prototypes have been "diverse", with many experts commending the venture while describing early demonstrations as less than impressive.[22]
Carl Berry, a lecturer of robotics engineering, described the 2021 AI Day presentation as "the usual overblown hype."[18] Following the Tesla Bot display at the Cyber Rodeo event, researcher Gary Marcus stated he would "bet that no robot will be able to do all human tasks by the end of 2023."[3]
Regarding the second AI Day presentation, Deutsche Welle cited experts – AI researcher Filip Piekniewski, robotics expert Cynthia Yeung, and executive director of Mass Robotics Tom Ryden – calling the project a "complete and utter scam", questioning how advanced it really was, and criticizing the choice of a humanoid form.[23]
ASML Holding N.V. (commonly shortened to ASML, originally standing for Advanced Semiconductor Materials Lithography) is a Dutch multinational corporation founded in 1984. ASML specializes in the development and manufacturing of photolithography machines which are used to produce computer chips.
As of 2023 it is the largest supplier for the semiconductor industry and the sole supplier in the world of extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) photolithography machines that are required to manufacture the most advanced chips.[2] As of June 2023, ASML was the most highly valued European tech company, with a market capitalization of about US$280 billion
Carl Zeiss AG (/zaɪs/ ZYSE, German: [kaʁl ˈtsaɪs]),[3][4] branded as ZEISS, is a German manufacturer of optical systems and optoelectronics, founded in Jena, Germany in 1846 by optician Carl Zeiss. Together with Ernst Abbe (joined 1866) and Otto Schott (joined 1884) he laid the foundation for today's multinational company. The current company emerged from a reunification of Carl Zeiss companies in East and West Germany with a consolidation phase in the 1990s.[5] ZEISS is active in four business segments with approximately equal revenue (Industrial Quality and Research, Medical Technology, Consumer Markets and Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology) in almost 50 countries, has 30 production sites and around 25 development sites worldwide.[6]
Carl Zeiss AG is the holding of all subsidiaries within Zeiss Group, of which Carl Zeiss Meditec AG is the only one that is traded at the stock market. Carl Zeiss AG is owned by the foundation Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung. The Zeiss Group has its headquarters in southern Germany, in the small town of Oberkochen, with its second largest, and founding site, being Jena in eastern Germany. Also controlled by the Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung is the glass manufacturer Schott AG, located in Mainz and Jena. Carl Zeiss is one of the oldest existing optics manufacturers in the world.[7]
As of March 2013, the company has 169 subsidiary and affiliate companies. Toppan is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the Nikkei 225 stock index.[5]
In December 2020, Toppan acquired Taiwanese software company iDGate in order to integrate iDGate's electronic know your customer (eKYC) technology into its identity card business.[6]
Business segments and products[edit]Information and Networks[edit]Ushio, Inc., was established in 1964 from the electric lighting department of Ushio Industrial, Inc., which had grown in 1916 as Himeji Electric Bulb Company, out of a department of Chūgoku Gōdō Denki, owned jointly by the predecessor companies of Kansai Electric Power and Chūgoku Electric Power. Ushio moved its headquarters from Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture, to Tokyo in 1971, while retaining its main research & development center in Himeji.
Ushio, Inc. is headed by its Chairman Jirō Ushio (牛尾治朗, 1931- ), who was the chairman of the influential Japan Association of Corporate Executives between 1995 and 1999,[5] and was the president of Japan Productivity Center (日本生産性本部) between 2003 and 2014. Ushio Industrial, Inc., was named after his father, Kenji Ushio (牛尾健治, 1898-1958),[6] a native of Himeji like his son.
Ushio was listed in the Second Section of Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1970, and in the First Section in 1980.[7]
Ushio entered the European market in 1985, with the foundation of Ushio Europe B.V., which is located in Oude Meer, the Netherlands.[8]
Suss Microtec is a supplier of equipment and process solutions for the semiconductor, nano and microsystems technology and related markets with headquarters in Garching near Munich.
The company’s microstructuring machines, equipment, and systems, such as photolithographic devices, are used in the manufacture of processors, memory chips, MEMS, LEDs, and other microsystems technology components. The portfolio includes products for back-end lithography, wafer bonding, and photomask cleaning, complemented by micro-optical components. The company is a supplier for large-scale industrial production and for research and development facilities.
SUSS MicroTec is headquartered in Garching bei München, Germany.
Suss Microtec is a supplier of equipment and process solutions for the semiconductor, nano and microsystems technology and related markets with headquarters in Garching near Munich.