Humanoid robotics company 1X Technologies has taken a major step forward to make robots practical for everyday households with its next-generation dexterous tendon-driven hands for the NEO Home Robot. The new robotic hands are designed to dramatically improve the robot's ability to grasp, manipulate, and interact with everyday objects with movements that closely resemble those of a human hand.
The announcement is one of the biggest hardware enhancements for the NEO platform. It shows mounting competition among companies developing intelligent humanoid robots capable of working in homes.
Near Human-Level Dexterity
According to 1X Technologies, the new robotic hands possess 25 degrees of freedom with 22 fully actuated joints in fingers and palm, and three additional joints at the wrist. This enables a robot to make highly detailed hand movements that were previously difficult for household robots.
Unlike conventional robotic grippers that are mostly intended for industrial applications, NEO's hands are designed to handle delicate household objects with greater precision. As tendons are the major driver of movement in human hands, the system is tendon-driven.
Advanced Touch Sensing
The best part is that tactile sensing capabilities are implemented.
The robotic fingers can detect contact pressure, object slippage, and grip force, and NEO can automatically adjust its hold while handling a variety of items. The robot can respond dynamically to delicate objects, open doors, and organize household objects, instead of reacting to pre-programmed movements.
The hands are also designed to withstand extensive real-world use and are water-resistant, so that the robot can safely perform everyday household activities involving water.
Designed for Everyday Home Tasks
1X says the hand upgrade is central to its vision of creating a truly useful home assistant.
The company believes that a humanoid robot's usefulness is ultimately based on what its hands can do. NEO’s improved hardware enables NEO to perform more household tasks than ever before: organize things, carry groceries around, open cabinets, stuff things around, and assist users in the ordinary tasks of life.
The company added that these advanced hands would become a standard feature across future NEO robots.
Introducing NEO’s 25 Degrees of Freedom, tendon-driven hands — nearing or surpassing human-level dexterity, strength, speed, and reliability.
— Bernt Bornich (@BerntBornich) July 9, 2026
For seventy years, robotics worked around the hand problem. The humanoid bet is the reverse: it lives or dies at the fingertips. pic.twitter.com/Dz1KMykUCy
AI and Human Assistance Working Together
Though NEO is intended to work autonomously for many household tasks, the platform also supports an Expert Mode, where trained remote operators can assist the robot with new tasks. This interaction will help the AI system to master new skills as it goes along and gradually enhance its autonomous abilities.
We are able to use this hybrid approach in order to get the robot more powerful and reliable in the home.
In the Humanoid Robot Market Competition
The announcement comes as the global competition for humanoid robotics is on the rise. Tesla, Figure AI, Apptronik, Agility Robotics, and other Chinese robotics companies are working to create intelligent robots capable of performing useful household and industrial tasks.
With the safety, human-like movement, and AI-based learning, 1X Technologies is positioning NEO as a consumer-friendly home assistant instead of an industrial machine.
Future of Home Robotics
As artificial intelligence, computer vision, and robotic manipulation technologies continue to mature, experts think robots like NEO could eventually be integrated into homes, taking on routine chores, elderly care, and daily household management.
The introduction of these exceptionally dexterous robotic hands is another important step towards that future - and an essential step towards humanoid robots being able to perform tasks in a manner that is human-like and reliable.
