Nvidia Introduces GR00T N1 Foundation Model for Humanoid Robots

Nvidia has made a major announcement regarding the availability of its Isaac GR00T N1 model. This open-source, customizable foundation model is designed to significantly enhance the development and capabilities of humanoid robots. According to Jensen Huang, Nvidia's founder and CEO, "The age of generalist robotics is here." He believes that with the introduction of the Nvidia Isaac GR00T N1 model and new frameworks for data generation and robot learning, developers worldwide will be able to explore the next frontier in AI.

Demonstration at GTC 2025

During his keynote at GTC 2025, Huang showcased the capabilities of 1X's NEO Gamma humanoid robot, which was able to carry out autonomous tidying tasks using a post-trained policy based on the GR00T N1 model. Bernt Børnich, CEO of 1X Technologies, commented on the remarkable potential of the GR00T N1 model in advancing robot reasoning and skills. He stated, "The future of humanoids is about adaptability and learning." Børnich added that with a minimal amount of post-training data, they successfully deployed the model on NEO Gamma, enhancing their goal of creating robots that function as companions rather than mere tools.

Robotics Development and Innovations

The GR00T N1 model, which was initially introduced as Project GR00T a year ago, features a dual-system architecture inspired by human cognitive processes. The first system, referred to as System 1, serves as a "fast-thinking action model" akin to human reflexes. It has been trained using data obtained through human demonstrations, as well as synthetic data generated by Nvidia’s Omniverse platform. The second system, System 2, operates as a "slow-thinking model" powered by a vision language model. This system is designed to reason about its surroundings and the instructions it has received before planning actions. Those plans are then executed by System 1, resulting in precise and smooth robot movements, including tasks that require complex multistep operations.

Customization and Accessibility

While the GR00T N1 foundation model is pretrained with generalized humanoid reasoning and skills, developers have the opportunity to tailor its behavior and capabilities to meet specific needs. This can be accomplished through post-training using data obtained from human demonstrations or simulations. To support developers, Nvidia has made the GR00T N1 training data and task evaluation scenarios available for download via platforms such as GitHub.

Collaborations with Other Companies

Several companies working on humanoid robotics have had early access to the GR00T N1 model. These include notable names such as Boston Dynamics, creators of the Atlas robot; Agility Robotics; Mentee Robotics; and Neura Robotics. This collaboration demonstrates the growing impact of the GR00T N1 model in the robotics industry.

Nvidia, Robotics, Humanoid