- The 1X robot production plant is now building the Neo robot
- A factory worker will look especially familiar.
- The company says it is on track to bring the humanoid to homes this year.
It is still difficult to buy your own home robot. Humanoids like Tesla Optimus and Figure AI haven’t gone on sale yet, and the $20,000 1X Neo Home Robot is still in reserve. But at least Neo is doing his best to move the operation forward, as, according to a recently released video, he helps with his own production.
1X on Thursday released a nearly three-minute-long video showing virtually the entire production process of the Neo robot, from machining key components to weaving touchable or huggable fabric to attaching an Nvidia GPU.
The video shows close-ups of lathes, CNC systems and aerial shots of a large factory where a legion of workers are assembling the robot. However, at all times there are 1X Neo robots helping; In essence, they are building on each other.
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While most robots do not appear to be operating heavy machinery, they are seen transporting, sorting, and assembling parts. One has to wonder, as they collect gears and pulleys from these blue bins, if they ever recognize the pieces as fragments of themselves.
1X has been working with Nvidia for more than a year, using its silicon models and artificial intelligence to train the Neo robot in basic home care tasks, such as removing a mug from the dishwasher and putting it away. There’s obviously been a lot of training and simulation since then, which is probably what made Neo’s new factory worker role possible.
Look
The other surprising aspect of the video is the magnitude of the operation. 1X says in the video description that they have 200 employees working out of a 58,000-square-foot facility based in Hayward, California. In one room, they appear to be building dozens of Neo robots at once. They are all hanging from racks, usually with their heads in place, but their limbs in the process of being inserted.
1X’s goal here seems to be not so much to show that their robots are part of the operation (it’s done casually) but rather the experience and care that goes into each build. At one point, we see someone carefully adding the robot’s mouthless face as if handling fine porcelain.
But we also see various components undergoing stress tests in plastic cages. If a Neo arrives at your home, it will not enjoy the delicate care of these engineers. Family life can be hard; The stress tests are clearly designed to ensure that Neo is up to the task.
Is a fully robotic production facility next?
It’s fun to see Neo’s cloth skin on, but the final step, where a lone engineer checks the tolerances, seems obviously staged, especially since it’s in such a beautiful room and the engineer rolls around in his own custom light wall.
One wonders if, as the production process ramps up and 1X starts selling hundreds (or more) of these robots, the Neo robot will take on more critical production tasks. At what point are we looking at a fully robotic production facility that produces nothing but robots that look like all the workers in a factory? Humans are more likely to stay in the loop for a long time, which is probably what we all like.
Regardless, the video marks a possible turning point for humanoid robots and, more specifically, the 1X Neo home robot, which the company promises is now on track to start shipping to the first customers this year. As for how many people have pre-ordered the $20,000 robot or signed up for a $499-a-month subscription plan, no one knows. Just know that if you do, there’s a good chance a neohumanoid helped build your robot.
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