Sometimes a robot just wants a hug. That, I think, is the message of the short presentation video for the 1X Neo Beta home robot. The Norwegian robotics company used the short video to introduce its new humanoid robot dressed in a tracksuit on August 30 and show how it could safely operate in your home.
1X has been working on humanoid robots for a decade with the original intention of bringing them into factories and other commercial facilities. The tipping point toward a more consumer-oriented approach might have been its 2022 partnership with OpenAI, which led to the integration of generative AI into its 1X robot line. Earlier this year, the company began posting videos of its 1X A1 robot, a humanoid robot with gripper hands and wheels instead of feet. In those clips, the robots could be seen haphazardly wiping down tables, slowly folding laundry, and responding to commands like, “Can you please pick up the cup?”
Neo Beta, however, appears to be a major step forward. Gone is the somewhat cartoonish face, replaced by what appears to be an expressionless black crystal. Instead of wheels, the robot has feet, and the claws have been replaced by expressive ten-fingered hands.
The video offers virtually no details about the robot and how it works, but it tells a touching little story. In it, 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, “Yeah,” and the robot picks up the backpack and carefully hands it to her.
The woman leaves the room and Neo Beta looks puzzled, looking at his hands and then at the woman leaving. The robot gestures for him to come back and when he returns, the girl puts her arm around the robot's shoulders and the robot puts a hand around her waist.
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It's not often you see a hug between a human and a robot in the real world, and for good reason. Does a robot know how not to squeeze too hard?
In a statement about the home trial, Bernt Børnich, CEO of 1X, said: “Safety is our priority. 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 environments.”
Børnich doesn't explain how this security is achieved, though it seems that some of what 1X will learn about this implementation will be through trial and error in a carefully controlled beta test in “select homes for research and development purposes.”
Other questions remain, such as price, battery life, availability and whether the robot can… walkIn the video we see him in different positions, but we never see Neo Beta walking from one place to another.
Still, its appearance and movements have led to speculation on the Internet that it is nothing more than a person in disguise. Admittedly, it is difficult to assess how the robot functions beneath its sleek black and grey tracksuit, and some of its movements are eerily human-like.
On the other hand, with the recent explosion in humanoid robot development, we are seeing more and more fluid movements and conversational interactions. Figure 01 robots powered by OpenAI, in particular, offer mind-blowing interactive and movement capabilities. However, you can see quite clearly how Figure AI robots work.
Maybe 1X could post a follow-up video showing Neo Beta without his tracksuit. That might get a little awkward for the robot's blonde friend, so maybe we'll leave her out.
