Humanoid robots in the household: expert warns of espionage

Purchasing a humanoid robot is no longer pure science fiction today and the price has moved into the region of a used car. The company 1X Technologies from Moss, Norway, has introduced the Neo model, an assistant that can already be pre-ordered.

Berlin researcher: “You’re not buying a friend – you’re buying a spy”

Joanna Bryson from the Berlin Hertie School views this development with great skepticism. As New Scientist magazine reports, the expert warns that buyers think they are buying a friend, but are actually letting a spy into their own four walls.

The built-in sensors and cameras are permanently active during operation to record the surroundings. This raises the urgent question of data sovereignty and the whereabouts of highly sensitive information from the private sector.

Lifting 70 kilos, but losing weight after two hours – the technical limits

Physically, the current models such as the Neo or the R1 from the company Unitree Robotics from Hangzhou, China, still have clear limits. While the Neo can lift 70 kilograms, the active payload when carried is, according to the manufacturer, only around 25 kilograms.

In addition, the battery life of one to four hours massively limits its usability in the home. The number of degrees of freedom, i.e. the mobility of the joints, also determines whether a robot can even handle complex tasks such as organizing cupboards.

Remotely controlled via VR headset: Who is really behind the robot’s eyes

A critical aspect of the current demonstrations is so-called teleoperation, in which people control the machines remotely using a VR headset. The company 1X Technologies admits that the robots will initially run in an expert mode to collect data for autonomy training.

Similar observations were already made with Tesla’s Optimus robot. So you should be aware that if in doubt, a person on the other side of the world will see through your robot’s eyes.

From 432 euros per month – and even a one percent error rate can be dangerous

The starting price for the Unitree R1 is around 4,000 British pounds (4,632 euros), while the Neo is offered for around 20,000 US dollars (17,327 euros) or a monthly subscription of 499 US dollars (432 euros). This subscription trend makes it clear that the hardware is unlikely to function long-term without constant software updates and cloud connections.

Experts such as Jonathan Aitken from the British University of Sheffield also point out that the error rate is a problem. Even a one percent error rate can result in property damage or injuries in a household with children or pets.

Whether humanoid robots are actually the most efficient solution for the household remains doubtful for the time being. Specialized devices such as vacuum robots often perform their tasks more reliably and cost-effectively than a machine that only has two legs to correspond to the human model.