Honda E series (E0 to E6)
Honda's E series were seven legged research machines developed in secret between 1986 and 1993, progressing from static to dynamic walking and stair climbing. They were revealed publicly only when P2 was announced in 1996.
We have not sat down with this one. The score below is computed from the data we hold, and the facts on this page are sourced. It is not on sale, so there is nothing to recommend.
How the score is built
Capability is what the machine physically does. Value compares it with others at a similar price, not with the whole market. Buyability asks whether you can really order one. Ecosystem is the software and community around it. Proof is what it has done in the field, which is where most humanoids score badly and should.
- Status
- Retired
- Category
- historic
- First revealed
- 1996
- Form
- bipedal
- Height
- n/a
- Weight
- n/a
- Payload
- n/a
- Degrees of freedom
- n/a
- Battery
- n/a
- Runtime
- n/a
- Walking speed
- n/a
- Actuation
- electric
- Units deployed (est.)
- not disclosed
- Teleoperation
- no
Where it stands
Experimental walking legs built 1986 to 1993, the secret precursors of P2 and ASIMO.
What stands out
- Secret Honda program 1986 to 1993
- Foundation of ASIMO
Autonomy, observed
E0 took one step every five seconds in 1986; E2 walked dynamically at 1.2 km/h in 1987; E6 handled stairs and slopes by 1993.
Hands, sensors, brain
- Hands: none, legs only
Price and volume
Research robots.
Milestones.
Honda builds E0, the start of its humanoid program
Honda's secret research program produces E0, a pair of legs that takes about five seconds per step with static walking. The E series (E0 to E6, 1986 to 1993) leads to the P series and eventually ASIMO.
Japan built the first humanoids, then stopped shipping them
Japan has 24 humanoids and 12 makers in our record, more than any country except China and the United States. Two of the 24 can be ordered today, and both were first shown in 2009.
A short history of the humanoid, from Elektro to the order button
Our record holds 111 dated milestones since 1939. Sixty-eight of them are from this decade, and what changed was not the walking. It was the price tag.
Other robots by Honda.
ASIMO
ASIMO, unveiled by Honda on 31 October 2000, was the best known humanoid of its era, evolving through several versions until the 2011 model that ran at 9 km/h. Honda ended development in 2018 and retired the robot from public shows in 2022.
Honda P2
P2 was the first humanoid to carry its own power and computing while walking, an achievement that surprised the robotics community when Honda revealed it in December 1996.
Honda P3
P3 reduced P2's size and weight to 160 cm and 130 kg and became the basis of the Japanese government's HRP-1 platform.
Sources
- 01
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