This robot may be ready to give you a hug at home, but no one is ready for this
Sometimes a robot just wants a hug. That, I think, is the message of the very short introduction video for the 1X Neo Beta home robot. The Norwegian robotics company used the short video to unveil its new tracksuit-clad humanoid robot on August 30 and show how it can safely function in your home.
1X has been working on humanoid robotics for a decade, originally intending to bring them to factories and other commercial facilities. The turning point to a more consumer-focused approach may have been its partnership with OpenAI in 2022, which led to generative AI integration into 1X’s line of robots. Earlier this year, the company began posting videos of its 1X A1 Robota humanoid robot with gripping hands and wheels for feet. In those clips, the robots were seen poor cleaning of tablesslowly fold the laundry and respond to commands such as, “Can you please pick up the cup?”
Neo Beta, however, seems to be a significant step forward. The somewhat cartoonish face is gone, replaced by what appears to be a blank black glass. Instead of wheels, the robot has feet, and the grippers have been replaced by expressive, 10-fingered hands.
The video offers little detail about the robot and its workings, but it does tell a touching story. The robot is in a living room with a young woman. As she sits on the couch tying her shoes, the robot points to her backpack and shrugs. The woman says, “Yes,” and the robot picks up the backpack and gently hands it to her.
The woman leaves the room and Neo Beta appears, desperate, looking at his hands and then at the woman leaving. The robot gestures for her to come back and when she returns, the girl puts her arm around the robot’s shoulders and the robot puts a hand around her waist.
It’s not often we see a real human/robot hug, and for good reason. Does a robot know how not to squeeze her too hard?
In a press release about the home test, Bernt Børnich, CEO at 1X, said: “Our priority is safety. Safety is the cornerstone that allows us to confidently introduce NEO Beta into homes, where it will gather essential feedback and demonstrate its capabilities in real-world situations.”
Børnich doesn’t explain how this security is achieved, although it appears that 1X will gain some of the knowledge about this implementation through trial and error in a carefully controlled beta test at “selected properties for research and development purposes.”
Other questions remain, such as price, battery life, availability and whether the robot walk? In the video he is seen in various positions, but we never see Neo Beta walking from one place to another.
Still, the looks and movement have led to online assumption that this is nothing more than a person in a costumeAdmittedly, it’s hard to gauge how the robot works beneath its fashionable black-and-gray tracksuit, and some of its movements are eerily human.
On the other hand, with the recent explosion in the development of humanoid robots, we see more and more fluid movements and conversational interaction. Especially the OpenAI-powered Figure 01 robots offer stunning movements and interactive capabilities. However, you can see how Figure AI robots work very clearly.
Maybe 1X can post a follow up video where Neo Beta is shown without his tracksuit. That might be a little awkward for the robot’s blonde girlfriend, so maybe we’ll just leave her out of it.