🤖 What Is the Neo Home Robot Already Able to Do?
The Norwegian startup 1X has been working on the AI-powered humanoid robot Neo for several years. The company has attracted more than $125 million in investment, including from OpenAI and the Tiger Global fund.
In February, the developers showed off a new home robot named Neo Gamma. The robot is about 170 centimeters tall and "wears" knitted nylon—the soft material reduces the risk of damage from human contact.
🦾 When will robots do our household chores?
So far, Neo can't do much autonomously—he walks completely on his own, opens doors, sits and stands up, and keeps his balance even if pushed. He learned basic movements by himself, repeating them in a virtual simulation many times.
Neo is gradually learning to perform more complex tasks. In the future, he will be able to do all the housework: cleaning, watering flowers, washing dishes, making tea, doing laundry, and so on.
However, such processes are difficult to simulate in a virtual environment, so developers are collecting data to train AI in real homes. An operator uses a VR headset to control the robot, showing him how to perform actions correctly. Then, during reinforcement learning, the AI brain is rewarded for correct repetitions and penalized for mistakes. This approach helps the robots gradually achieve highly realistic movements. By the end of the year, the company will start testing Neo in several hundred volunteer homes.
In the not-too-distant future, every home will have a robot helper, according to 1X CEO Bernt Børnich. Still, in order for humanoids to integrate into everyday life, they must learn alongside humans.
"The home provides real-world context and the diversity of data needed for humanoids to grow in intelligence and autonomy. It also teaches them the nuances of human life—how to open the door for the elderly, move carefully around pets, or adapt to the unpredictability of the surrounding world," he explains.
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🤖 Will Robots Replace Waiters, Bartenders, and Baristas?
