1X, a California-based company specializing in artificial intelligence and robotics, has opened pre-orders for its new humanoid robot, NEO, designed to assist with daily tasks and provide personal help. Users will be able to operate NEO via an app or voice command, and it will be able to perform basic actions such as opening doors, fetching items, or turning lights on and off. However, anyone wishing to teach the robot more complex tasks will need to agree that a human operator can control it remotely—which also allows them to see what is happening in the home through its cameras.
In an interview with Joanna Stern of the Wall Street Journal, 1X CEO Brent Bournik explained that the neural network powering NEO still needs to learn from real-world experiences. According to him, anyone who pre-orders the robot for next year will be asked to agree that human operators can look into their home, to allow the company to collect training data and improve the robot’s independence in the future. “If we don’t have your data, we won’t be able to make the product better,” Bournik said.
Bournik admitted that in the initial stage, most of the work will be performed by human operators remotely. Robot owners will have access to an app that allows them to determine when the operator can take control of NEO and to specify the tasks it will perform. The company emphasizes that control will remain with the users as much as possible to protect their privacy: Figures can be blurred so the operator cannot see them, no-go zones can be defined, and any control can be blocked without the homeowner’s approval. However, Bournik acknowledged that there is always a risk of security breaches, even though the company claims it has integrated multiple layers of protection to prevent harm to people.
The NEO robot is available in three colors—beige, gray, and dark brown—and can be pre-ordered now on the company’s website with a deposit of NIS 200. Those interested in early access can purchase it for NIS 20,000 or choose a monthly subscription costing NIS 499.