teleoperation

The 1X NEO launch sparked debate over its use of teleoperation. But for 1X, this 'Expert Mode' isn't a bug—it's the core of a long-held strategy built on a foundation of passive safety and data diversity.

The $20,000 NEO humanoid robot pre-order has drawn massive online attention, but it has also polarized the tech community, pitting proponents of its transparent, human-in-the-loop strategy against critics—including rival CEOs—who label it an unfinished ''hype reel''.

Speaking at an NVIDIA GTC panel, Figure CEO Brett Adcock dismissed teleoperation as "soy stuff" and claimed the real race is for general-purpose AI, not manufacturing, in the US vs. China competition.

With pre-orders for its $20,000 NEO robot open, 1X is transparent about its strategy: early adopters will use a human-piloted "Expert Mode" to help train the robot's AI, a "social contract" built on a surprisingly lightweight, tendon-driven body.

On the eve of its highly anticipated October 28 reveal, 1X hosted a pre-launch event at its Palo Alto HQ, offering hands-on teleoperation demos to tech figures like Andrej Karpathy, Carl Pei, and Robert Scoble. Details from the event reinforce speculation that the company is launching a home-based, teleoperated early adopter program.