Because the washing machine and dryer had been invented, people have dreamed about offloading all the opposite chores concerned with laundry, together with sorting, loading and folding. I watched Switchbot’s Onero H1 try the primary two of those duties, and I wasn’t impressed, particularly since, in contrast to most different humanoid robots we have seen at CES 2026, you would possibly really have the ability to purchase this one.
A not-so-capable robotic
The Onero H1 is one other one of many many vaguely humanoid cleansing and sorting robots that popped up at CES. The H1 is designed to be a general-purpose chore robotic, able to not solely doing laundry but in addition loading a dishwasher and organizing gadgets. The promotional video Switchbot posted means that it might do primarily something a human can, together with serving meals and drinks, just like LG’s CLOiD robot.
For the demo, the robotic picked up a single merchandise of clothes off a sofa separately to load it.
After seeing it in motion at Switchbot’s sales space at CES, I do not suppose it is one you need to contemplate preordering, because it nonetheless feels very very similar to a proof of idea and never a shopper product. It took the H1 practically a full two minutes to very slowly transfer to a sofa, choose up a single merchandise of clothes and put it into the washer, making it even slower than LG’s model that David Watsky, CNET managing editor, saw.
The model I noticed for the demo did not have a totally articulated five-fingered hand, just like the one proven within the demo video. It appears there can be not less than two fashions. I would prefer to assume that it is able to carrying a couple of merchandise of clothes through a basket, however even on the most optimistic degree, you are doubtless taking a look at an hour for it to load a single load of laundry — and even longer for a bigger family.
The demo I noticed confirmed the robotic with extra of a claw than totally articulated fingers.
Notably, it additionally needed to bodily bump its physique towards the washer door in an effort to push it open, regardless of initially reaching out to open it with its arms. Between the demo classes, I additionally watched a sales space consultant need to go in and manually change the battery. I assume it’s because it is a prototype and the longer term shopper mannequin could have a docking station that expenses it.
{Hardware} and software program
It appears to be like cute and pleasant, however I’m wondering how lengthy the battery will final.
However this additionally raises the query of battery life. Whereas a robot vacuum can final for an hour or extra of cleansing, how lengthy does a totally humanoid robotic final with no need a cost? If the reply is any shorter than that of a robotic vacuum, then this is not a sensible product, because it’ll continually be working again to the dock to recharge relatively than getting something accomplished, which is one in every of shoppers’ greatest gripes about robotic vacuums.
As an individual with three cats who’re none too vivid, I even have issues about how nicely it might acknowledge and keep away from pets. A robotic vacuum’s potential to keep away from a cat or a canine is not practically as important a deal. It is unlikely that it could have the ability to do a lot harm to them. The H1 is a a lot greater and heavier system. If it runs over or ideas over on a pet or a toddler, it might very nicely trigger severe harm or loss of life.
It took about two minutes for the H1 to load this washer with only a few gadgets, loading separately.
That mentioned, I do not need to be unrelentingly damaging in regards to the H1. To its credit score, it did work within the demo, and it managed to load the washer a number of occasions. Switchbot has additionally created a wide range of robotic vacuums and good house gadgets that work fairly nicely, together with the Switchbot S20 Auto Fill & Drain, which had one of many better object avoidance capabilities we have examined.
By way of {hardware}, it options RealSense cameras for imaginative and prescient and navigation, and an AI mannequin is built-in below the hood, as anticipated. At the moment, we have no concrete details about pricing, availability or different {hardware} particulars. Nonetheless, it is rumored that the system can be priced below $10,000 and can be obtainable in 2026, which nonetheless locations it within the luxurious vary relatively than the reasonably priced shopper equipment vary.
