Folding piles of laundry, unloading the dishwasher and picking up toys in the living room — it's easy to think of countless chores we'd happily hand over to a robot. Companies such as Tesla, 1X and Figure are trying to make that dream a reality with humanoid robots that can move around the house and do some of the work for us. But there is still a considerable gap between the ambitious promises and what these robots can actually accomplish.
So what exactly is a humanoid robot? It is a robot with a body structure resembling that of a human, typically consisting of a torso, arms and legs. Ofir Ozeri, a computer engineer and robotics content creator, explains that the purpose of giving robots a humanlike form is to enable them to operate in environments designed for people.
1X's NEO. A potential market leader
(Photo: Courtesy of 1X/Cover Images via Reuters Connect)
"We've engineered the world around our needs and built it to suit the shape of our bodies. If you want to build a robot that can do everything a human can do, giving it a human form means it can use all the same tools. You don't need to reinvent Velcro or design a new car."
In the past, developing a robot required expertise in mechanics, electronics and software. Teaching a robot to navigate a room and avoid obstacles, for example, meant planning its movements, writing the appropriate software and selecting sensors to provide the necessary information.
But in recent years, the AI revolution has transformed the field, driving major advances in robotics. According to Ozeri, AI tools are making development easier and enabling robots to learn a wide variety of tasks, with further improvements expected.
"When everything comes together, matures and takes off, developing robots will become much easier, much like building apps today," he said.
So what is already available, and what remains little more than a promise? We examined five models taking different approaches to entering the home market, looking at what each can do, how much it is expected to cost, how it addresses safety concerns and when, if ever, it might make its way into people's homes.
1X's NEO
A household helper that still needs help
NEO is a humanoid robot developed by 1X, a robotics company that originated in Norway. The company develops robots designed to work alongside humans, and NEO is its model intended for household use.
According to 1X, users can give NEO voice commands to open doors, fetch objects and perform household chores such as tidying up and folding laundry. When NEO encounters a task it cannot perform, its owner can schedule a session in which a 1X employee connects to the robot remotely, guides it through the task and completes the job. The process is also intended to teach the robot how to perform the task independently in the future.
"When I think about which humanoid robot will dominate the market, NEO is definitely my favorite," Ozeri said.
One reason is its mechanical design. NEO moves using a system of motor-driven cables designed to enable gentle, controlled movements. In Ozeri's view, its combination of capabilities, price and safety-oriented design makes it a particularly promising candidate for household use.
When will it be available for home use? NEO is currently available for preorder, but customers cannot yet order one for immediate delivery. 1X plans to begin delivering its first robots to customers in the United States soon, although it has not provided an exact date.
Customers who purchase the robot outright for $20,000 will receive priority delivery. A subscription plan costing $499 a month is expected to launch later.
The company has said it plans to expand into additional markets beginning in 2027, but it has not announced a launch date for Israel.
Figure 03
Already making beds, but no word on when it will reach homes
Figure 03 is the third generation of a humanoid robot developed by U.S.-based Figure. The company presents it as a robot capable of doing laundry, cleaning and clearing dishes, although its capabilities have so far been demonstrated primarily through company-run trials.
In September, Figure reported testing the robot in 30 previously unfamiliar homes, where it picked up toys, folded towels and made beds. According to results published by the company, the robot completed its assigned tasks in full in 56% of attempts.
Ozeri considers Figure a serious competitor.
"You can't take away the engineers' innovation or the capabilities they've developed," he said, adding that he believes the company has "a strong chance of capturing a large share of the market."
Unlike NEO, Figure emphasizes the integration of visual and tactile sensors with its AI system, Helix, training it on large amounts of data so that the robot can perform tasks even in unfamiliar homes.
Ozeri believes this approach gives Figure the potential to tackle a broad range of activities.
“It’s generating a lot of hype and raising expectations. If Figure fails, it will be a major setback that could reshape the entire industry.”
However, Ozeri is less impressed with the company's safety measures.
“I don’t see any particularly noteworthy innovations in its safety features,” he said.
Figure has yet to announce a consumer price or a date for delivering Figure 03 to households.
Ozeri estimates that its production cost could reach approximately $300,000 per unit. Given that high cost, he believes the first way to bring the robot into homes may be through a service model. An operator, such as a property management company, could own the robot and send it to work in multiple households.
"I don't need to sell it to you. I can put it in a van, unload it at your home to do the work, then take it back to the factory or send it to the next customer," he explained.
Tesla's Optimus
The promise is still a long way from reality
Optimus is the humanoid robot Tesla is developing to perform repetitive tasks or jobs that are dangerous for humans.
The company has already demonstrated the robot handling battery cells, and this month it announced that initial production had begun at its California factory.
These are steps toward a commercial product, but Tesla has yet to demonstrate that Optimus can reliably and independently perform a range of household chores.
Elon Musk himself recently acknowledged that more work is needed on the AI system before the robot can become useful for tasks that have not been predefined.
Ozeri sees Tesla as a contender with significant advantages. The company has experience developing hardware, software and AI systems, as well as manufacturing products at scale.
"It's a company with all the elements needed to succeed," he said.
For that very reason, he finds the difficulties in developing Optimus particularly striking.
"Two years ago, I would have said it would win easily," he said. Today, however, he believes "Optimus is facing some very serious challenges."
And what about safety?
Ozeri raises concerns about the possibility of the robot falling if an electrical failure occurs. In October, Musk said Tesla still needed to improve the design to ensure the robot would be safe, reliable and durable over time.
The company has not published the results of safety tests for household use.
Tesla has also not announced a consumer price. Musk previously estimated that if Optimus were produced at scale, its price could fall to approximately $20,000 to $30,000.
According to Musk, Tesla hopes to begin supplying robots to companies outside Tesla toward the end of 2027, initially for industrial applications.
He has also discussed eventually selling the robots for household use but has not provided a timeline.
Unitree's G1
Available to order, but not yet useful around the house
The G1, developed by Chinese robotics company Unitree, can already be ordered, including for delivery to Israel. The base model costs $13,500 before shipping and taxes.
Unitree has demonstrated impressive movement capabilities, but the basic G1 still cannot respond to a general request and carry out a household chore.
"If you buy one, you can control it with a remote, tell it to dance or raise its hand, and it will do that. But if you tell it to fold laundry, it won't," Ozeri said.
He believes Unitree's manufacturing capabilities could become a major advantage if software is developed that enables the robot to perform such tasks. The company has not announced when the G1 might become suitable for use as a household assistant.
As for safety, Unitree itself warns users to maintain a safe distance between the robot and people while it is operating.
Ozeri said the G1 has mechanical safety features but believes that "safety in Unitree's robots will come primarily from the software side, rather than the hardware."
For now, those ordering the robot are doing so mainly for research purposes.
Sunday's Memo
A household helper on wheels
Memo, the household robot developed by U.S.-based Sunday, differs from the other models in this comparison. It has a humanlike torso and arms, but instead of legs, it moves on wheels, making it a semi-humanoid robot.
Sunday has demonstrated Memo clearing dishes from a table, loading and operating a dishwasher, making coffee and folding clothes.
In a trial published by the company in July, Memo successfully folded and stacked clothing in 778 out of 785 attempts, a success rate of 99.1%. The tests included homes the robot had never encountered before, without requiring special training for each home.
Ozeri is particularly impressed by Sunday's approach to training Memo.
People record themselves performing household tasks using a glove developed by the company, and those demonstrations are then used to train the robot.
According to Ozeri, this method could gradually expand the range of household chores Memo can perform.
Wheels offer both an advantage and a limitation in the home.
According to Sunday, the robot's stable wheeled base and low center of gravity are designed to prevent it from falling during a power outage.
Ozeri sees this as a safety advantage but points to the practical trade-off: Memo cannot climb stairs.
When will it go on sale, and how much will it cost? Memo is not yet available for purchase.
Sunday is accepting inquiries from families interested in participating in home trials but has not announced when sales will begin.
The company says it currently costs about $20,000 to build a single robot by hand. It expects to reduce production costs by at least half once manufacturing reaches larger volumes.
When will humanoid robots become commonplace in homes?
Ozeri believes the first robots to enter households will not yet be able to replace human help. In terms of cost, hiring a human cleaner or household assistant will probably remain cheaper initially.
"They might actually create more work for you. They're intended for enthusiasts and early adopters," he said.
Even if the robots manage to perform some chores, "you'll probably still have to finish every task you give them yourself."
Nevertheless, he believes this stage could be relatively short-lived. As more data is collected to train robots, their capabilities will improve.
"We may be right on the verge of a breakthrough."
Just how close is that breakthrough?
Ozeri predicts that robots capable of providing useful assistance with certain household chores could appear as early as the first half of 2027.
However, he distinguishes between developing a robot that can help around the house and making it widely available.
"This isn't software you can write and distribute to every computer. You have to establish factories and supply chains, raise money and build sales, maintenance and logistics operations."
By the time an effective household robot becomes affordable and accessible to the middle class, he estimates, it will still take "quite a few years."