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Robot Helpers Coming Soon?

In the future, this humanoid robot could be helpful around the house.

A man in a baseball cap poses next to a humanoid robot in a gray cloth suit.

© 1X Technologies

Bernt Bornich, head of 1X Technologies, with his company’s robot, NEO Beta.

If you could have a robot helper, what would you want it to do? A company called 1X hopes its new robot will eventually be able to help a lot of people in their own homes.

The robot, called NEO Beta, is humanoid, which means it has the shape of a human. 1X says it believes this will make people more comfortable having NEO Beta in their homes. 1X made a video showing some of what NEO Beta can do. In the video, the robot faces a woman and gestures to a backpack that’s sitting on the floor. When the woman nods, the robot picks up the backpack and gives it to her.

NEO Beta runs on artificial intelligence (AI), a type of technology that lets computers (like robots) perform advanced functions, or tasks. With AI, computers can even “learn” new information that they can use to perform new functions.

1X is working on further developing NEO Beta’s functions. The company wants NEO Beta to be able to bring objects to people, organize household items, do household chores like cleaning, and keep people company. 

NEO Beta isn’t for sale just yet. 1X is testing the robot inside some homes to see how it does around people in their living spaces. But the company is planning to make NEO Beta available to buyers in the next few years and says the robot will probably cost about the same as a car.

Check out the video to see NEO Beta in action.

© 1X Technologies

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Did You Know?

A Chinese company called Unitree Robotics claims that its humanoid robot, called H1, can run at speeds of up to 11 miles per hour (18 kilometers per hour). That’s slower than a human but still speedy for a machine on two legs!

The video below shows what else H1 can do.

© Unitree

Robot Hotel

A dinosaur robot wears a uniform and stands behind a hotel reception desk.

© Kazuhiro Nogi—AFP/Getty Images

At Henn na Hotel, you might be greeted by a dinosaur robot.

In 2015, Henn na Hotel in Nagasaki, Japan, became the first hotel in which the workers are robots. Some of the robots look like people. Others look like dinosaurs!

Today, there are Henn na Hotels in New York City; Seoul, South Korea; and, of course, Japan.

Why fill a hotel with robots? The company behind Henn na Hotels says it’s cheaper to operate robots than to pay more human employees. The company claims this makes it less expensive for guests to book a stay at one of the hotels. Plus, robots are just fun!

Robots Everywhere!

A collage shows robots serving food, dancing, and harvesting vegetables, as well as a furry therapy robot and a dog robot.

© Yoshikazu Tsuno—AFP,  Teera Konakan—Moment, Kazuhiro Nogi—AFP/Getty Images, © Kawee Wateesatogkij, Irina Velichkina/Dreamstime.com

People might soon be able to buy humanoid robots to help around their homes. But robots of all shapes and sizes are already doing many jobs in factories, laboratories, and more.

Find out how robots work at Britannica.

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Word of the Day

android

Part of speech:

noun

Definition:

: a robot that looks like a person

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