Revealed at GTC 2025 in San Jose, Groot N1 is a "generalist" model trained on both synthetic and real data. According to Nvidia, it features a "dual-system architecture" designed for "thinking fast and slow," drawing inspiration from human cognitive processes.

Figure 1. Nvidia Introduces Groot N1: AI Model for Humanoid Robots.

Building on last year’s Project Groot, which targeted industrial applications, Nvidia’s Groot N1 expands its focus to humanoid robots of various form factors. Figure 1 shows Nvidia Introduces Groot N1: AI Model for Humanoid Robots.

According to Nvidia, Groot N1’s "slow-thinking" system enables robots to perceive, reason, and plan actions based on their environment and instructions. Meanwhile, its "fast-thinking" system translates these plans into real-time robotic movements, including complex object manipulation across multiple steps.

Groot N1 is available as an open-source model, accompanied by simulation frameworks and blueprints for generating synthetic training data.

Humanoid robots have gained significant attention in recent years, with companies like X1 and Figure striving to develop general-purpose robots that mimic human movement. While technological advancements bring mass-produced humanoid robots closer to reality, past setbacks in robotics suggest the road ahead will be challenging.

GR00T N1 Advances Humanoid Robotics with Adaptive AI

The GR00T N1 foundation model features a dual-system architecture inspired by human cognition. “System 1” acts as a fast-thinking model for reflexive actions, while “System 2” enables deliberate decision-making.

Powered by a vision language model, System 2 interprets its environment and instructions to plan tasks, which System 1 then executes through precise robotic movements. Trained on human demonstrations and synthetic data from the NVIDIA Omniverse™ platform, GR00T N1 generalizes across common tasks like grasping, object manipulation, and multi-step actions applicable to material handling, packaging, and inspection.

At GTC, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang showcased 1X’s humanoid robot autonomously performing household tidying using GR00T N1. 1X Technologies CEO Bernt Børnich praised its adaptability, stating, “With minimal post-training data, we fully deployed on NEO Gamma—advancing our mission to create robots that are not just tools, but companions.”

Leading robotics firms, including Agility Robotics, Boston Dynamics, Mentee Robotics, and NEURA Robotics, are among those with early access to GR00T N1.

NVIDIA, Google DeepMind, and Disney Research Collaborate on Advanced Robotics Physics Engine

NVIDIA has partnered with Google DeepMind and Disney Research to develop Newton, an open-source physics engine designed to enhance robotic precision in complex tasks.

Built on the NVIDIA Warp framework, Newton will integrate with simulation platforms like Google DeepMind’s MuJoCo and NVIDIA Isaac™ Lab. The companies also plan to incorporate Disney’s physics engine into Newton.

As part of this effort, Google DeepMind and NVIDIA are developing MuJoCo-Warp, which is expected to accelerate robotics machine learning by over 70x. It will be available via Google DeepMind’s MJX open-source library and Newton.

Disney Research will use Newton to advance its robotic character platform, which powers next-generation entertainment robots, including the expressive BDX droids—featured alongside NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang at GTC.

“The BDX droids are just the beginning,” said Kyle Laughlin, SVP at Walt Disney Imagineering R&D. “This collaboration will enable us to create a new generation of robotic characters that are more expressive and engaging than ever before.”

Additionally, NVIDIA, Disney Research, and Intrinsic are collaborating on Open USD pipelines and best practices for robotics data workflows.

reference:

1. https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/18/nvidia-debuts-groot-n1-a-foundation-model-for-humanoid-robotics/
2. https://nvidianews.nvidia.com/news/nvidia-isaac-gr00t-n1-open-humanoid-robot-foundation-model-simulation-frameworks

Cite this article:

Priyadharshini S (2025),”Nvidia Unveils Groot N1: A Foundation Model for Humanoid Robotics" , AnaTechMaz, pp.144