HF1: Home companion robot

What is HF1?

HF1 is the first AI robot companion of the HF series. With your support, we will turn the prototype you see here into a product that you and your family can use too to learn robotics, play games, have fun together and... other exciting stuff that's still cooking. Think of it as a fun pet minus the... inconvenience (yes, that meant "poop").

By joining the waitlist with the form above, you will get important project updates in your inbox: new features, launch dates, calls for pre-orders and crowdfunding campaigns, key milestones... I won't email you too often, I promise. In addition, you can follow me on X or Bluesky for more frequent updates on the project.

We have big plans for HF1, but here are some things that it can do today:

HF1 can follow voice commands without sharing your data

As you've seen in the video above, the onboard AI models enable HF1 to understand you without jeopardizing your privacy. None of your data gets sent to the cloud. No monthly cloud fees.

HF1 can be remotely controlled from your phone

HF1 can follow your pre-recorded paths

HF1 can... act weird

HF1 is not exactly a printer person robot

HF1 is not always fond of strangers

Especially, on Halloween. We shot this music video to show you.

HF1 works with ROS2

Since it's ROS2-compatible, it has access to a huge ecosystem of robotics tech.

Part of HF1 is open-source

The motion control and communication stack on HF1 are now open! Check them out here.

The AI stack is closed for now. I will notify everyone on the waitlist if other project parts are open-sourced.

How the project started

In 2020, I was working at The Everyday Robot Project (later called Everyday Robots), a Google X project whose goal was to develop robots that could learn to help with everyday life. COVID was hitting the world hard, and kids and adults got to spend more time together at home. One night, my then 6-year-old son Nico asked: "dad, can we build a robot?". He wanted to explore what I already loved with all my heart. I was ecstatic.

We started putting together a few parts we bought online. At one point, I asked Nico what should we name the robot. Without thinking twice, he said "Hotdog Fernando". He's always been very good at naming things, but that was next level naming. The perfect marriage of our American and Spanish cultures. The HF project was born.

We worked on the robot in our spare time, intermittently throughout the years, just for the fun of it. It was not until February 2024 that I saw that Hotdog Fernando could become something else with the new AI technology. A learning experience for the coming world and, more importantly, 10x the fun. Why not share it with everybody else? I quit my job and started working full-time to turn our little robot into a companion for everyone.