One year ago we first saw EVE, the moderately creepy humanoid robot designed by Norwegian company 1X.

Whereas EVE was designed for industrial and commercial environments, the company has since rolled out NEO Gamma, their wheels-free 'bot designed for performing menial tasks in a domestic environment.

"Our conviction is that humanoid robots need to live and learn among us," the company writes, "in order to both grow in intelligence and understand the nuances of our lived experience." The company envisions "Building a world where we do more of what we love, while our humanoid companions handle the rest."

While I am impressed with the company's technical accomplishments, I find the demo video unsettling enough that I don't want these things living and learning among us:

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Something about its humanoid form, its bland fashion sense and its motion style is unnerving. At first I thought it was its dispirited shuffling gait, but upon reflection, I wouldn't feel any better about it if it strode with confidence. It may just be that I'm middle-class and uneasy with the idea of having humanoid servants.

It also seems very weird to me that they let the thing sit on the couch. However, as with its gait, the alternative seems no better; what are they supposed to do, have the thing stand facing the corner? If I was forced to live with one of these, I think I'd want a dedicated closet to park the thing in. I can't imagine sitting down on a sofa to watch TV with this thing right next to me.

That said, NEO Gamma is still in its testing phases. The company hasn't yet announced a release date or a price.