When Will Robots Finally Be Good Enough to Do Our Household Chores?

Neo The Humanoid Robot Attempting Household Chores

For decades, sci-fi promised us tireless robot helpers tidying our homes while we relax. Yet here we are in 2025, still washing dishes and folding laundry ourselves.But that might not be true for much longer. The latest wave of humanoid robots — powered by advances in AI, sensors, and machine learning — suggests we’re entering the first real era of household robotics.

🤖 Meet NEO: The First “Almost There” Home Robot

The most talked-about newcomer is NEO, developed by 1X Technologies, a Norwegian-American robotics company backed by OpenAI investors.

NEO is a humanoid-style robot about 5′6″ tall and weighing roughly 30 kg (66 lb). It’s designed to handle real household tasks — from loading a dishwasher to wiping a counter or carrying groceries.

Early demonstrations show NEO deftly grasping utensils, opening drawers, and interacting with common household appliances. It’s equipped with:

• AI vision-language models that help it “see and understand” objects

• Cameras and microphones for contextual awareness

• A teleoperation system, meaning a human can step in remotely if it gets stuck

  
  

However, NEO has been released in what 1X calls a “not-quite-ready” stage. This is intentional — the company wants real homes, environments, and user feedback to train its AI systems and gather data.

That real-world learning will make future generations of NEO smarter, safer, and more autonomous.

Reviewers describe the current version as “impressive hardware with partial independence” — promising, but not yet the household miracle we’ve all been waiting for.

Pricing today:

• Up-front purchase: US $20,000

• Subscription: US $499/month

• General release expected: 2026

The Chores Neo Can Currently Do...Kind of.

🧠 Why It’s So Hard to Automate a Home

A factory robot thrives in a predictable environment — flat floors, identical parts, perfect lighting. A home, on the other hand, is chaos: cluttered rooms, random layouts, pets, and unpredictable people.

For a robot to truly replace a human at chores, it needs:

1. General intelligence — understanding vague commands like “clean the kitchen” as a sequence of smart actions.

2. Dexterity — handling delicate or oddly shaped items without breaking them.

3. Safety — operating around humans and pets without accidents.

   
   

While AI is improving rapidly thanks to multimodal models (the same kind powering GPT-5), “common-sense physics” and “spatial intuition” remain tough problems to crack.

📅 The Road to True Household Autonomy — and Pricing Forecasts

2025–2030:

Capability: Semi-autonomous robots (like NEO) that assist with simple chores — wiping, fetching, sorting. Often need remote human help.

Human-equivalent skill: ~60–70%

Pricing:

• Current pricing around $20,000

• Expected to fall to $12,000–15,000 by 2028 as production scales

• Subscription models around $400–500/month

2030–2035:

Capability: Smarter robots that can plan and complete most chores unsupervised; integrate with smart homes and appliances.

Human-equivalent skill: ~80–90%

Pricing:

• Purchase: $8,000–12,000

• Subscription/lease: $300–400/month

• Add-on modules (e.g., kitchen cooking or laundry folding) may add extra cost

2035–2045:

Capability: Fully autonomous “general-purpose home robots” that can clean, cook, and repair small issues.

Human-equivalent skill: 95–100%

Pricing:

• Purchase: $5,000–10,000 (mass-market affordability)

• Subscription/lease: $150–300/month

• Optional modular upgrades for specialized tasks (gardening, garage, elderly care)

Bottom line: Human-level household robots are expected by the early-to-mid 2040s — costing about the same as a mid-range car or premium home appliance.

🏭 Who Might Get There First?

1X Technologies (NEO)

• Focus: Realistic humanoid home robot using AI-driven teleoperation.

• Strength: Deep AI integration and real-world learning through current release.

Tesla (Optimus)

• Focus: Factory and home robotics built on Tesla’s automation expertise.

• Strength: Scalable hardware production and massive data collection.

Figure AI (Figure 01)

• Focus: Lifelike humanoid motion and industrial-to-home adaptability.

• Strength: Cutting-edge engineering and top-tier AI talent.

Agility Robotics (Digit)

• Focus: Warehouse logistics, potentially adaptable for home environments.

• Strength: Proven physical reliability and mobility.

🏆 Front-runners: 1X Technologies and Tesla — both combining AI sophistication with real manufacturing power.

💭 Final Thoughts

We’re witnessing a shift from “robots as novelties” to “robots as helpers.”NEO represents the first credible step toward robots that can actually clean your kitchen rather than just map your floor.

Yes, it’s being released in a “not-quite-ready” phase, but that’s by design — to learn, improve, and accelerate the path to real household autonomy. Each NEO deployed today helps train the robots that will one day make housework obsolete.

So don’t fire your robot vacuum just yet… but maybe, start clearing some space in the kitchen for its smarter, taller cousin.