Palo Alto-based humanoid maker 1X Technologies has unveiled a new tendon-driven hand for its NEO robot that it says matches or surpasses human capability across nearly every dimension that matters for real-world manipulation. The hand will ship on the first NEO robots delivered to households later this year.
An API to the physical world
The redesigned hand carries 25 degrees of freedom — 22 in the fingers and palm plus three at the wrist — driven by proprietary quasi-direct-drive tendons at low 5:1 to 15:1 gear ratios. All joints are force-controlled and fully backdrivable, giving NEO what 1X calls "force transparency": push the finger and the motor reports exactly how hard.
Sensing that survives daily use
Fingertips carry high-resolution tactile sensors that read normal pressure, contact location and shear — letting NEO catch a slipping wine glass or grip an origami sheet without crushing it. Peak torques reach 3.5 Nm at the thumb CMC joint, distal flexion hits 45 N and the wrist delivers 17.75 Nm. Positioning accuracy is ±0.2 mm, and the whole hand is IP68 sealed and food-safe so NEO can wash itself under a tap.
Data at scale
Reliability was designed in from the start: components have been cycled millions of times, drive units tested at extreme temperatures, and wrist joints proven beyond 2 million cycles under load. 1X says it has already stood up a dedicated production line capable of 10,000 hands this year — the volume needed to gather manipulation data at the scale AI training demands. Related: 1X opens NEO factory in Hayward and MACHINA Physical AI Summit.
Reporting based on coverage from 1X Technologies, Forbes and Dezeen.