1X Technologies Unveils NEO's 25-DoF Hands API for Advanced Humanoid Manipulation

1X Technologies has unveiled its next-generation NEO Hands, a 25-degree-of-freedom (DoF) tendon-driven robotic hand engineered to deliver near human-level dexterity, strength, safety, and reliability for its NEO humanoid platform.

The company describes the system as an API to the physical world, enabling AI models to interact with objects more naturally while removing the hardware limitations that have traditionally constrained humanoid robots.

Developed entirely in-house, the new hands are designed to make data—not mechanical capability—the primary factor limiting future robotic intelligence. According to 1X, every future NEO humanoid will ship with the new hands, providing developers with a platform capable of performing a far broader range of real-world manipulation tasks.

Bernt Børnich, CEO and Founder of 1X Technologies, stated:

"Our goal was never a hand that just looks impressive on paper. These hands are the culmination of intensive engineering focused on making humanoids truly useful. We built them to match or surpass human capability across every dimension that matters. With these hands, NEO crosses a critical threshold. The robot can now do the things humans do with their hands, every day. This is what the industry has been waiting for."

The NEO Hands feature 25 total degrees of freedom, including 22 fully actuated joints in the fingers and palm and three wrist joints. Powered by proprietary tendon-drive technology, the hands are natively force-controlled and fully backdrivable, providing force transparency, proprioception, high-resolution tactile sensing, IP68 waterproof construction, food-safe materials, and ±0.2 mm positioning accuracy.

The platform enables fine manipulation tasks such as assembling small components, using tools, inserting USB-C connectors, handling delicate objects, and performing complex in-hand manipulation.

1X Technologies added:

"A humanoid is a computer whose API is its hands."

The company has established a dedicated manufacturing line capable of producing up to 10,000 hands annually. Through vertical integration of motors, tendon systems, electronics, tactile sensing, firmware, and manufacturing, 1X aims to accelerate embodied AI development by scaling both deployment and data collection across future generations of NEO humanoid robots.