The dream of having a robot butler handle household chores is inching closer to reality as Silicon Valley prepares to launch the first multi-purpose domestic robots this year. Robots like Eggie, NEO, Isaac, and Memo are being trained to fold laundry, load dishwashers, water plants, and clean, promising to reduce daily household drudgery.

During a recent visit to robot start-ups, BBC reporter Joe Tidy observed Eggie of Tangible AI slowly hanging jackets, stripping beds, and wiping spills, while NEO from 1X watered plants, fetched drinks, and tidied kitchenware. Despite these capabilities, both bots relied heavily on human operators controlling them remotely, a detail often downplayed in promotional videos.

Bipasha Sen, founder of Tangible AI, expressed optimism about the technology’s pace of improvement, saying, “Today people aspire to own a car and a house. In the future, they’ll want a robot too.” Similarly, 1X CEO Bernt Børnich highlighted that NEO combines autonomous action with human assistance, with AI learning from extensive data to navigate complex home environments.

Other start-ups are also pushing the boundaries. Weave Robotics is testing Isaac in laundromats, folding clothes autonomously, while Sunday AI’s Memo robot demonstrated handling fragile items and preparing coffee, albeit slowly. Physical Intelligence, meanwhile, focuses on developing AI software that can give “intelligence” to any robot body, aiming for broader adaptability in households.

Experts note that cost and privacy could limit early adoption, with NEO priced around $20,000 or $500 a month. While domestic robots may initially appeal to wealthy early adopters, engineers remain confident that AI-driven household assistants could become a common sight in homes in the coming decades.

With inputs from BBC