Watch the 1x NEO household robot attempt to do chores

A robotics company 1X has officially launched! his human form NEO Home Robot: this week, opening pre-orders for customers who want to live in a robot-assisted future.

“Humanoids have long been science fiction…then they were the subject of research, but today, with the launch of NEO, humanoid robots are becoming a product. Something that you and I can reach out to and touch,” 1X CEO and Founder Bernt Bornich. said the blog post announcing the launch of NEO.

Understandably, people are a bit skeptical that $20,000 robot will actually help them. (To be fair, the company also says there will be a $500-a-month subscription option for the robot.)

The videos seen so far have shown, shall we say, mixed results.

Here’s 1x’s own video of the robot doing things like opening a door or doing laundry.

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The reality of the NEO robot, however, is that it struggles to do basic things on its own. It Wall Street Journal posted a video testing itand almost everything required a skilled, remote operator to control the robot. So that means the robot, as it stands, is often a remote, human-controlled attendant with someone who needs to look into your home to complete tasks.

On its own, it took the robot five minutes, including some ridiculously awkward bending, to poorly load the three items into the dishwasher.

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Here it is in full WSJ video that discusses the NEO robot testing experience in more depth.

Here is the robot doing the 6-7 trend – will it ever die? — when controlled by a human.

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Here it is dancing, again controlled by a human.

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So yes, you can buy a humanoid assistant like it’s the future. But it’s not the fully autonomous robot you might expect.