Referreport
There are already a few little helpers in the home: vacuum and mop robots that clean floors and windows. These things are usually round or square, flat and crawl across the floor or window. But how about a full-grown robot that walks and stands upright like a human and constantly learns with the help of artificial intelligence (AI)? The company 1X Technologies has designed such a humanoid robot called Neo. The Norwegian AI robot start-up received Bloomberg 100 million US dollars (around 91 million euros) from the US software company and ChatGPT-Creator OpenAI.
Robots with human characteristics
The basic data is the same as that of a human: 165 centimeters tall, five fingers, two legs. Neo walks at a speed of 4 km/h and when he runs he reaches 12 km/h. Now it gets really scary: “Neo’s body was developed with a muscle-like anatomy instead of rigid hydraulics,” says the Manufacturer. After all, he differs from us in one important respect – he weighs only 30 kilograms. He can carry almost as much as he weighs. He can carry 20 kilograms without any difficulty. The use of AI allows Neo to gain in performance over time. Neo is based on the general knowledge of Eve, 1X’s first robot.
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Video shows Neo in action
A YouTube video impressively shows how easy communication with Neo should be. He points to a backpack while a woman is tying her shoes. She nods and Neo hands it to her. 1X says it tests Neo in real-life scenes before it is used in your home. 1X says: “1X combines robotics and artificial intelligence to create a new branch of innovation known as ’embodied learning.’ We’re designing Neo to understand both natural language and physical space, so it can perform real-world tasks in your workplace and in your world.”
When will Neo be available?
The aim is to achieve large-scale production and “produce humanoids in sufficient quantities”. The aim is to make Neo available primarily as a household helper. According to 1X, he could then take on tasks such as cleaning and tidying up. Bernt Børnich, CEO of 1X, immediately gives a forecast for 2024: “This year we will deploy a limited number of NEO units in selected households for research and development purposes. This is another step towards our mission.”
Human or robot?
Will there soon be a risk of confusion between humans and robots? There is at least one funny comment under the video: “Plot twist: The one that looks like a robot is just a human in a robot suit. The real robot is the one on the left.” Why is there this similarity at all? 1X provides a detailed answer to this: “Humanoids are designed to look like humans for a variety of reasons. First, humans are flexible and can move in all sorts of ways. By copying our shape and movements, 1X’s robots can complete complex tasks and move around easily. Second, we are really good at understanding each other without words, for example through expressions and gestures, and if robots look like us, they can use these familiar ways to communicate and collaborate with humans.” You can sign up for the waiting list on the 1X website and be one of the first to hear about Neo’s market launch.
Source: German