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ZDNET’s key takeaways
- SwitchBot released details on a new household robot that can handle common chores.
- The SwitchBot Onero H1 uses an advanced AI algorithm to complete tasks in common household scenarios.
- The company also announced a new smart lock to its SwitchBot Lock Vision Series, an AI MindClip, a Weather Station, and an interactive light display.
It’s CES time, which means it’s also time to read about the latest innovations in robotics and see more futuristic robots on the news than are in the I, Robot movie. Most of the robots we see at CES, however, are prototypes and unlikely to make it into consumer hands. Yet SwitchBot is working on one that may actually turn smart home enthusiasts onto the robot market.
The SwitchBot Onero H1 is an embodied AI robot — that is, a humanoid robot meant to eliminate the need for humans to do housework. Think of Rosie the Robot from The Jetsons — the Onero H1 is like a tall, less tinny version of that: a wheeled robot that can do anything from laundry to dishes to picking up your kids’ toys.
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SwitchBot shared a video of the Onero H1 in action, and it’s quite enthralling. The robot can be seen navigating a home, preparing coffee, cooking breakfast, loading the dishwasher, and washing the windows. It even asks like a butler to receive a jacket someone throws at it when they come home.
It sounds too good to be true, right? That remains to be seen, since SwitchBot said the Onero H1 is coming to the market “soon,” though no specific date has been announced.
How does the Onero H1 robot work?
In terms of functionality, the Onero H1 features an on-device OmniSense VLA model and 22 degrees of freedom. It’s capable of learning and adapting to various tasks, while also working in coordination with existing SwitchBot devices. The robot learns and reacts to its environment using visual perception and tactile feedback to perform tasks such as grasping, pushing, and opening, which are necessary for household chores.
Is an affordable household robot possible right now?
Having a robot that can wash and fold your laundry, bring you food and drinks, and pick up after everyone at home sounds like a dream, precisely because such a thing is extremely difficult to create. Many of us with robot vacuums at home know how far those devices have to go to clean like a person, so creating a robot that can handle all housework currently done by humans is a huge ask.
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I’m no robotics expert, but I believe a household robot needs a very high degree of intelligence to perform changing household tasks effectively. I can’t imagine a robot coming to my home and going straight to the kitchen to load the dishwasher without at least some learning process or involvement from me. Using AI and visual learning algorithms, robots can learn and adapt to varying scenarios in real-time, but we’re not yet at the point of having an affordable robot that can react and adapt like a human.
Here’s the thing, though: SwitchBot has been perfecting multiple different technologies to automate household tasks over the years, so if there’s a company that can actually deliver a functional household robot, SwitchBot may be it. The company already has the SwitchBot K20+ Pro, a multitasking robot that goes over the K10+ robot vacuum and can transport anything from cameras to air purifiers around your home.
I’m excited to test the SwitchBot Onero H1 at CES, and will continue to update this story as I gain more experience with it.
More SwitchBot CES 2026 launches
- SwitchBot Lock Vision: The new SwitchBot smart lock features 3D facial recognition with over 2,000 infrared projection points for millimeter-level biometric accuracy. Using 3D technology eliminates the risk of someone trying to spoof the lock with photos or videos, offering a more secure passage. SwitchBot says that the user information is all stored locally on the lock.
- SwitchBot Lock Vision Pro: A SwitchBot Lock Vision Pro supports palm-vein recognition as an alternative biometric unlocking option, which is more accurate than fingerprint reading.
- SwitchBot AI MindClip: SwitchBot is joining the portable AI recorder market with the MindClip, a compact audio recorder that can process and transcribe recordings and offer AI insights on them. It’s lightweight, at only 18 grams, and supports over 100 languages.
- SwitchBot Weather Station: A 7.5-inch E-Ink display, this panel shows you the date, time, and info on local weather. This includes sunrises and sunsets, air quality, current weather, a six-day forecast, and indoor temperature and humidity data.
- SwitchBot Obboto: The Obboto is a small, globe light for a desk or tabletop that has over 2,900 LEDs to display preset patterns, music visuals, time and weather, and ambient light.
Source: Networking - zdnet.com
