Friendly home robots have been the dream of sci-fi for a long time. Docile, helpful machines that do your laundry, take out the trash, maybe make dinner, and clean up afterward too. But if robots are going to do all that, they’re going to need some hands to make all that happen.
1X, a Norwegian-American robotics company, today revealed details about the five-finger hands attached to its soft, helpful robot companion, Neo.
The hands are built with actuators designed to replicate how tendons in the arms move human hands. 1X says this gives Neo’s hands 25 degrees of freedom of movement, which is just a little less than the 27 degrees of freedom human hands usually have. Cameras and AI smarts help sort out the broader context of what the fingers are trying to grab. It’s a dexterous mix that gives the Neo bot a very broad range of motion. 1X says the hands can grip odd shapes and detect when something is slipping out of its grip. The fingers can also move extremely quickly and hyperextend in directions human digits can’t. They also have an IP68 waterproof rating, meaning the robot can wash its own hands.
Courtesy of 1X
It’s a range that the engineers have aimed to dial in to align with what a human can actually do. Jonathan Terfurth, 1X’s director of actuators and hands, says the range of motion might even be better than a human’s, enabling it to open doors, lift heavy objects, and even plug itself in when its battery starts to die.
“You want to be able to operate with a human who has never worked or interfaced with a robot, and you still want it to be safe and compliant and soft,” Terfurth says. “Range of motion can be a bit extreme, but we try to be very close to what humans can do so that we can live in the world.”
Together, this is part of a growing ChatGPT-esque moment for robotics, where bots have gone from clumsy claw machines to capable handlers, able to gently carry fragile objects and become increasingly helpful for managing menial daily tasks and boring office chores.
The humanoid robot market tends to be dominated by tough, hulking Terminators meant to be paraded out for some defense industry contract or another. 1X is taking a different tack for its robot. The Neo is a soft, supple robot wrapped in a 3D lattice shell. Its design is inspired by characters like Baymax, the affable robot from the Disney movie Big Hero 6. In limited quantities, early access pricing is $20,000 or $500 per month to have it in your home, though the lump sum will prioritize delivery for 2026.
