At a recent public demonstration at 1X’s headquarters, NEO, the domestic robot, demonstrated his amazing household skillset. These skills could truly revolutionize the smart home. The event featured a live performance of NEO brewing coffee and cleaning his dishes. It even showed NEO watering plants as a method of showing how robots could help us with routine activities. 1X, the company behind NEO, hopes to release the robot in homes next year. After successfully finishing rigorous testing and development, they are taking the first steps toward commercial deployment.
NEO’s capabilities were on display as it carried out an array of tasks throughout the demonstration. It was the same challenge we had years ago — the robot made its first cup of coffee conveniently. It then crushed socks and wiped a table strewn with wine glasses, demonstrating its wide range of capabilities. NEO encountered significant difficulties as they feverishly attempted to clear a table. On its initial practice run, it botched the corking and smashed a wine glass.
The robot’s performance is enhanced by a sophisticated control system that utilizes virtual reality (VR) headsets and sensors, enabling it to follow human movements closely. This technology is meant to bring human-like qualities to interactions between humans and robots. As Bipasha Sen from 1X remarked, “Today people have two aspirations – a car and a house. In the future they’ll have three aspirations – a car and house and a robot.”
The 1X development team has their hands full with exciting improvements. They’re adding a specialized robot glove to increase NEO’s dexterity and precision when it comes to handling various objects. This type of extension is intended to help improve the robot’s ability to carry out complex home activities.
Throughout the demonstration, NEO demonstrated its flexibility by retrieving drinks for guests and sorting plates and cups. The robot’s ability to water your plants adds to this multi-functional thinking, showing off the household helper nature of the product. Chelsea Finn of 1X expressed the company’s vision: “We want to be able to breathe intelligence into any sort of physical embodiment, whether that’s a humanoid robot or even something that looks closer to an appliance.”
As stunning and artistic as its propelled accomplishments may have been, the proof of concept was not devoid of bumps. On its initial attempt to clear a table of wine glasses, NEO shattered one in the process. This botch underlined the critical need for continuous testing and refinement. The crew at 1X is making good on that requirement as seen in all the repairs and improvements taking put at their HQ.
Bernt Børnich, one of the developers who helped create NEO, underscored the value of having robust data available in order to automate what we do in our homes. “We have a lot of data so a lot of the stuff in my home can get automated but periodically someone kind of steps in and helps,” he stated, reflecting on the balance between automation and human intervention.
As the launch date nears, 1X is continuing to iterate to get NEO’s capabilities just right. This massive financial support fuels the development of this ambitious project largely thanks to backing from tech giants such as Nvidia. Having already taken major strides towards automating tasks around the house, NEO is about to transform how homes handle everyday tasks.