Topics: Robotics, Technology, Social Media, Twitter, California, Artificial Intelligence
An autonomous AI-powered robot that can do all your house chores for $500 a month has been launched by a Californian tech company.
Named Neo, the five-foot-six, 30 kg humanoid launches in the US in early 2026, from Palo Alto-based firm 1X Technologies.
Ever wished there was someone else to sort those annoying, seemingly endless life tasks?
From doing the laundry, washing the dishes and even thinking up meal ideas to use up what's left in your fridge before it all ends up in the trash, life admin can be relentless.
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Well, enter Neo - the quiet, light-weight humanoid who's here to make everyday that little bit easier. It might set you back $499 for a monthly subscription, or $20,000 for full ownership, but it's admittedly pretty damn cool.
Available in three colors (tan, gray, and dark brown), the US will get their hands on Neo first, while the rest of the world will have to wait until 2027.
For certain tasks, Neo can be literally left to its own devices to sort. And when you're out the house, you can check in on it via an app on your phone.
For Neo to learn other tasks, though, a remote 1X expert may need to be drafted in to help train it. Using the robot's built-in facial camera, it will be able to get a scope of your house and aid it in completing unfamiliar tasks.
And in their frequently asked questions, 1X does warn users to ‘remain attentive during operation’ especially when ‘in the presence of children, vulnerable people or pets’.
Launching pre-orders on Tuesday (October 28), 1X also released a nine-minute long video explaining how Neo works. It's since racked up more than 18 million views over on X, formerly Twitter.
Naturally, people had a lot to say about Neo and how our reality is moving ever-closer to those dystopian robot movies we watched growing up.
Others were quick to comment on its appearance.
"Did you guys not watch iRobot?" one social media user said, as a second, sharing a screenshot from the movie, added: "It's time."
"It's hilarious we are literally moving in the direction of all the films we watch. iRobot etc," a third weighed in.
The 2004 Will Smith sci-fi, set 10 years from now, is of course about murderous robots rebelling against humanity under the guise of protecting them.
Somebody else, meanwhile, asked which episode of Black Mirror we were currently living in. It's a fair question!
"Good call making it 3/4 size. Easier to dominate when they inevitably start trying to kill us," another person commented.
"Will it nag my husband for me?" somebody else joked.
Others expressed their discomfort at the idea of teleoperators helping control the robot from inside your own home.
