Quick wins for a faster PC:
Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →iTechGuides is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Learn more
On October 5, 2026, Reka announced Rho-1, a 19-billion-parameter model trained from scratch. Reka says a single network can understand and generate text, images and video, reason over them, and output robot actions. It is a research preview, not a consumer product. Everything below about what it does comes from Reka’s own announcement, and the demos have not been independently tested.
What Rho-1 is
Reka’s announcement opens with this statement: “Today, we are releasing a research preview of Rho-1, our 19B omni-reasoning model trained from scratch.” That is company-authored, not an outside assessment. No independent expert commentary on Rho-1 was available at the time of writing.
The pitch is unification. Many systems split these jobs across separate models: a language model for reasoning, a diffusion model for images and video, and a policy model for robots. Reka says Rho-1 handles all of them in one model with shared context. That is an architecture claim, not an established general capability.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
How Reka says it works
Two expert streams, one attention space
Reka describes two expert weight streams inside the transformer blocks:
#1 Best Overall
- BUILD, CODE & DRIVE YOUR OWN ROBOT CAR: Turn coding, electronics and engineering into a working programmable robot car you can assemble, program and drive; ideal for weekend family projects, STEM classrooms, coding clubs, robotics lessons and maker challenges
- EXPLORE FPV, LINE TRACKING & OBSTACLE AVOIDANCE: Control the robot with the ELEGOO app or IR remote, view live FPV video through the onboard camera, follow black lines, avoid obstacles with the ultrasonic sensor and explore multiple interactive driving modes
- BEGINNER-FRIENDLY BUILD WITH GUIDED WIRING: Keyed XH2.54 connectors help reduce wiring mistakes, while the illustrated tutorial and example programs guide beginners step by step from chassis assembly and module connection to programming and the first successful run
- GO BEYOND ASSEMBLY WITH CREATIVE CODING: Program with Arduino IDE to explore movement, sensors and control logic, then modify example code to create custom routes, reactions and robotics experiments that develop coding, problem-solving and engineering skills
- COMPLETE RECHARGEABLE STEM ROBOTICS KIT: Includes an ELEGOO UNO R3 controller board, ESP32-WROVER-based camera and Wi-Fi module, line-tracking and ultrasonic sensors, motors, IR remote and a 2000 mAh rechargeable lithium-ion battery; recommended for ages 8+ with adult guidance for first-time builders
- Understanding stream: handles language and parsing of visual input.
- Generation stream: denoises image and video latents.
The two streams share attention and a KV cache. In Reka’s account, this is how state passes between understanding and generation without handing work to a separate model.
Discrete and continuous tokens
| Token type | Used for (per Reka) | Training objective (per Reka) |
|---|---|---|
| Discrete | Text, symbolic reasoning, high-level commands | Next-token prediction |
| Continuous | Image latents, video frames, robot actions, proprioception | Flow matching |
What the demos show
Five-turn multimodal assistant
Across five turns, the demo creates an image, locates an object in it, animates the scene into video, edits that video, and explains the change. Reka says the shared context carries state between turns, including the representation used to generate the image and video.
Rank #2
- 35+ Guided Electronics Projects: Progress from LEDs and buttons to RFID access, real-time clocks, motion and distance sensing, environmental monitoring, motor control and interactive displays for STEM learning, coding clubs and maker projects
- More I/O and Memory for Larger Builds: The MEGA 2560 R3 provides 54 digital I/O pins, including 15 PWM outputs, 16 analog inputs, 4 hardware serial ports and 256 KB flash for projects that combine more sensors, controls and displays
- 200+ Components for Prototyping: Includes LCD1602, RC522 RFID, RTC, DHT11, HC-SR501 PIR, ultrasonic and water-level sensors, GY-521, MAX7219, keypad, joystick, rotary encoder, relay, SG90 servo, stepper motor, DC motor, breadboard and more
- Learn, Modify and Create: Follow 35+ guided lessons with example code, then adjust sensor thresholds, timing, display text, motor behavior and control logic to turn structured exercises into access systems, monitors, alarms and interactive projects
- Organized for Repeatable Learning: Pre-soldered modules, a solderless breadboard, storage case and small-parts box reduce setup time and keep sensors, LEDs, ICs, wires and other components easy to find between projects
Simulated robotics episode
Reka also shows a simulated LIBERO robotics episode with observations, a predicted view and seven action channels. This is a simulation, and it shows what Reka chose to present. It does not establish real-world robot reliability.
Speed figures, with attribution
All of these numbers are reported by Reka and were not independently reproduced.
Rank #3
- 🎁Ideal Gift for Kids & Teens: Celebrate child’s growing skills and important milestones with this 5-in-1 Programmable robot set. Whether for birthdays, holidays, or achievements, it’s the perfect gift that encourages learning and hands-on fun—a gift that grows with them
- ✨STEM Educational Toys: The robot set for kids ages 8+ combines the fun of STEM learning. It encourages hands-on learning and early programming as they build, which can spark creativity and imagination and provide hours of screen-free play
- 📱Flexible Dual Control Modes: Control the Robotic kit with the intuitive app (Bluetooth) or remote. Enjoy fun features like basic programming, path, and precise movement, exploring endless interactive play
- 🔄 5-in-1 Buildable with Varying Difficulty: The Robot Kit with Progressive Difficulty! From simple robots to complex models, kids can build a robot, dinosaur, car, tank, and more. Adjustable head, arms, and tail allow for fun, playful poses. Perfect for kids 8-12 to develop skills step by step and ignite creativity
- 🛠️Clear & Detailed Build Instructions: This robot kit includes 488 pieces, with clear, colorful step-by-step instructions to make assembly easy. Kids can build their own robots independently or with family, enjoying quality time together and a confidence-boosting building experience
| Figure | What Reka reports | Caveat |
|---|---|---|
| 0.79× real time | Median video-generation speed of the base model | Below real time; test protocol not detailed in the summary available |
| About 6 seconds | Time until a watchable stream starts | Reka’s estimate (“roughly”) |
| 99 to 8 steps | Distilled variant shortens the denoising trajectory with minimal quality loss | No independent quality measurement available |
| 7.0 s vs 13.8 s | First clip from Rho-1 (measured) vs a multi-agent pipeline (illustrative) | Not a controlled benchmark; one side is labelled illustrative |
Availability, price and requirements
The announcement calls Rho-1 a research preview but does not state access conditions, pricing, public weights, a public API, or hardware requirements. Reka’s August 2026 article describes an earlier real-time video-generation offering as a closed beta. That is a separate product, so do not read it as Rho-1’s availability. Nothing in the announcement indicates a particular GPU, robot arm or accessory is needed.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Build your own awesome, wearable mechanical hand that you operate with your own fingers.
- No motors, no batteries — just the power of air pressure, water, and your own hands!
- Hydraulic pistons enable the mechanical fingers to open and close and grip objects with enough force to lift them. Every finger joint can be adjusted to different angles for precision movement.
- Three configurations: right hand, left hand, and claw-like; adjustable to fit virtually any human hand.
- Learn how pneumatic and hydraulic systems are used in industrial robots such as automobile components..2021 The Toy Association's STEAM Toy Of The Year Winner
Rank #4
- 🎁 Ideal Gift for Kids & Teens: This STEM solar robot kit celebrates child’s growing skills and important milestones. Whether for birthdays, holidays, it’s the perfect gift that grows with them and offers screen-free fun
- 📚 STEM Educational Toy: This solar educational toy brings science to life! The fun DIY building experience sparks children's curiosity in engineering and renewable energy, while nurturing their problem-solving skills
- ☀️ Powered by the Sun: Enjoy outdoor play with solar power or switch to a strong artificial light source indoors, such as a flashlight, ensuring uninterrupted play for children. This solar build bot toy encourages kids to have fun while exploring renewable energy
- ⚡ Upgraded Larger Solar Panel: Features a large sun-catching surface to harvest more sunlight and deliver stronger power output. Kids discover renewable energy principles through play - a fun educational toy for ages 8+
- 🤖 12-in-1 Buildable with Increasing Challenge: With 190 parts, kids can build 12 models like robots, cars, and more. From simple beginners to advanced builds, the varying difficulty levels allow it to grow with your child’s skills. Each robot sparks children’s creativity
How to read the claim
- Not yet established: independent benchmarks, reproduction of the demos, real-world robot performance, and production reliability.
- Comparisons: the announcement supports no head-to-head ranking against other models. Fair comparisons would need matching protocols for supported modalities, action output, latency, evaluation data and deployment requirements.
- What to watch: Reka’s documentation for access terms and any third-party evaluations. Performance figures may change, so check Reka’s current pages.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
