1X unveils new 25-degree-of-freedom tendon-driven hands for its NEO home humanoid

In humanoid robotics the bottleneck is not walking: it is grasping. A wet glass, an egg, an oven handle all require a hand that feels what it is touching and adjusts force within milliseconds, the way we do without thinking. On July 9 the Norwegian-American company 1X, among the first manufacturers promising a humanoid in homes, presented its answer: fully redesigned hands for the NEO robot.

The engineering choice mimics anatomy: as in the human hand, the muscles are not in the fingers but further up. The motors sit in the forearm and move the fingers through artificial tendons, which keeps the hand light, slim, and more robust to knocks. In total, 25 degrees of freedom — 25 independent axes of movement, in the ballpark of a real hand's mobility.

The most interesting part is touch: the fingertips sense how hard they are pressing, where contact happens, and whether the object is slipping. If a glass starts to slide, the robot feels it and tightens its grip before the fall, in real time. The hands are water-resistant (they can be washed) and use food-safe materials — details that reveal the domestic ambition, between sink and kitchen counter.

The new hands will ship on the first NEO units delivered to homes, expected by the end of the year, at unchanged pricing: 20,000 dollars or 499 per month. The industry has heard such promises before, but this time they come with verifiable specifications and a declared production target: 10,000 hands in 2026.