1X to deliver humanoid household robot Neo to US customers in 2026

The robotics company 1X Technologies has fully commenced production of its particularly quietly operating humanoid Neo robots at the new factory in Hayward, California. 1X plans to deliver the first Neos to private customers by the end of 2026.

The factory facility, which 1X refers to as a “machinery park,” covers an area of 5388 m². The company relies on its own on-site manufacturing for many components rather than those from global suppliers.

For example, the self-developed motors with high torque density for the tendon-controlled robot actuators, the Tendo Drives, are produced there. They operate particularly quietly. As a result, a finished Neo robot should only produce a low operating noise of about 22 dB (not dB(a)), which is roughly equivalent to the level of a refrigerator in operation. This is because Neo robots are designed as household robots and are intended to operate as quietly as possible in private homes.

On-site component production

Other components of the robot are also manufactured in-house in the “machinery park.” Although not developed for this purpose, some early examples of the Neo robot also assist in production, for instance, in internal logistics by transporting and providing parts. This allows 1X to kill two birds with one stone: Neo robots relieve human employees by performing simple tasks. At the same time, it collects data in a real working environment, which can be used to advance Neo's “Cortex” brain and accelerate its further development. The primary goal is to improve collaboration between humans and robots, as Neo is soon to perform tasks in private households and live alongside humans. It is crucial that nothing goes wrong.

The artificial intelligence (AI) of the humanoid robot runs on Nvidia's Jetson Thor platform. The robot is trained using Nvidia Isaac as a training platform, through which it learns new skills, for example, in a simulated environment.

Neo is 1.65 m tall and weighs just under 30 kg. This is achieved by a grid-like structure of the body and limb components covered with soft fabric. Nevertheless, the robot can lift weights of up to around 70 kg and carry objects of up to about 25 kg. Its hands have five fingers, and each hand has 22 degrees of freedom. Thanks to the actuators that drive tendon-based gears, the movements are described as particularly “gentle” by 1X.

The first Neos are scheduled to go to private customers in the USA in 2026. These customers will have to pay at least 20,000 US dollars for the humanoid household robot or rent it for around 500 dollars per month. According to 1X, the production batch of 10,000 units for the first year was sold out within five days. Production is to be increased to 100,000 units by 2027. For this purpose, another plant is to be built in San Carlos. The production capacities at the Hayward factory are currently being used to manufacture robots for internal use and for research purposes.

(olb)