By Euronews
Published on
An American company says it has built the first consumer-ready humanoid robot that can do all sorts of home chores, such as folding laundry, organising shelves, and tidying spaces.
1X Home Robots unveiled the NEO Robot this week, which, at a click or verbal command, will become a personal housekeeper that will complete household tasks.
The robot is powered by a large language model (LLM), the basis of artificial intelligence (AI) models that learns and remember what the user’s preferences are and can make informed suggestions, like suggestions on what dishes to make or setting birthday reminders.
Anyone who buys the NEO robot can teach it any other chores that they want done with one of 1X’s employees, which will help with the necessary programming, the company said in a press release.
1X Home Robots said the NEO robot is also equipped with WiFi, Bluetooth and a “three-stage speaker,” which gives owners a mobile home entertainment system.
“[Our company] brings the science-fiction idea of robots from the movie screen into reality, creating space for us to enjoy our time at home, instead of coming home just to do more work,” the company said.
However, according to The Wall Street Journal, which tested the robot, it may need to be controlled by a human, and a company representative may need to peer into the home through the robot’s eyes to do chores.
The company’s CEO told the newspaper that the company needs user data to improve the robot.
The robot is able to use human-like hands to lift over 68 kilograms and carry 25 kilograms as it goes about its daily tasks.
The NEO robot will be available first in American homes in 2026 and will expand to other markets by 2027. It costs $20,000 (€17,060) or $499/month (€425.70) through a subscription.
The NEO robot launch comes shortly after a similar robot was released earlier this month by Figure AI, which launched a home robot Figure 03. However, Figure AI’s model is not yet available for presale.
There are other non-humanoid robots that are also being worked on, such as the SwitchBot K20+ Pro, a smart vacuum that sweeps and cleans your floors while also keeping an eye on your pets.