In February, Norway’s 1X showed off progress with Eve, a pick-and-place humanoid robot. Now, the OpenAI-backed company has released footage of its latest prototype, a bipedal butler bot called Neo Beta.
Eve doesn’t walk on two legs, but instead turns wheels at up to 9 mph (14.5 km/h). It doesn’t have human-like hands, instead using claws to perform repetitive pick-and-place tasks. And its egg-shaped head features a very simple LED matrix face that obscures the AI-powered smarts inside. But since it’s likely to be deployed on a manufacturing line in a factory of the future, these are fit for purpose.
When designing general-purpose humanoids for household chores, bipedal walking seems to be the design of choice for butler bot development. The 1X is no exception, as the Neo Beta has been officially introduced (it appeared on stage with NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang in March).
Introducing NEO Beta | Home Humanoid Robot
Yes, it’s a very short video, and unlike other promos, it doesn’t show the humanoid helper doing everyday household chores. However, the Neo Beta bot is wearing a sporty fabric jumpsuit to hide its “muscular anatomy” and now features a more elongated face that shows multiple lines of animation. It also has a five-fingered hand that looks more robotic than human, but is clearly designed to grab and hold various objects.
Unlike previous demo videos, 1X doesn’t mention whether the several tasks shown are the result of remote operation, carefully choreographed routines, or fully autonomous behavior. However, the product page does say that it uses a combination of robotics and AI (called embodied learning) to help Neo become adept at various aspects of household tasks, and that the robot will “get smarter and more capable over time.”
1X
Users can interface with it using natural spoken language, and Neo is designed to understand its physical surroundings, allowing it to perform “real-world tasks in the workplace and around the world.” The company notes that a remote human operator can control the humanoid’s vision and movements if needed.
Thanks to Jason Carman’s post about the X in the S3 online documentary series, we’ve gotten a better feel for the Neo project and how far along its development is. The 1X CEO also estimates that a production unit will cost about the same as a “relatively inexpensive car.”
According to the specs on the product page, Neo is 5.41 feet (1.65 m) tall, slightly shorter than Eve, weighs 66 pounds (30 kg), and can carry 44 pounds (20 kg) of household items, groceries, or whatever. It can run up to 7.5 mph (12 km/h), but most of its time is spent walking at up to 2.5 mph (4 km/h). The onboard battery has a runtime of 2-4 hours per charge. More details will be released as the project progresses.
1X says the Neo humanoid is in development for mass production at the company’s own factory in Moss, Norway, but it has not yet confirmed whether the Eve humanoid will help with assembly. As the robot’s name suggests, the project is currently in beta development, but you can sign up for the waitlist now and 1X will let you know when it’s ready.
“Safety is our top priority,” said Bernt Børnich, 1X CEO. “Safety is the cornerstone that will allow us to confidently introduce Neo Beta into homes, where the device will gather essential feedback and demonstrate its capabilities in real-world settings. This year, we are deploying a limited number of Neo devices into select homes for research and development purposes. In doing so, we are taking another step toward achieving our mission.”
Source: 1X
