WABOT-1
WABOT-1, built by Ichiro Kato's group at Waseda University between 1970 and 1973, is generally considered the world's first full-scale humanoid robot, combining walking, manipulation, vision and speech.
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
- 1973
- 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
- hydraulic legs, electric arms
- Units deployed (est.)
- not disclosed
- Teleoperation
- no
Where it stands
Completed 1973 at Waseda University; regarded as the first full-scale anthropomorphic robot.
What stands out
- First full-scale anthropomorphic robot
- Waseda University, 1973
Autonomy, observed
Could walk (about 45 seconds per step), grasp objects and converse in Japanese; estimated mental capacity of a one and a half year old child.
Hands, sensors, brain
- Hands: hands with tactile sensors
- Sensors: camera eyes, ears (microphones), tactile sensors
- Compute: external computer
- AI stack: limb control, vision and Japanese speech systems
Price and volume
Research robot.
Milestones.
Waseda University completes WABOT-1, the first full scale anthropomorphic robot
Ichiro Kato's group at Waseda University completes WABOT-1, with limb control, a vision system and a conversation system in Japanese. It walked with a static gait and is widely regarded as the first full scale humanoid robot.
How a humanoid robot works: actuators, compute, sensors and the model
Of 182 humanoids on record, 178 say what moves the joints and 43 say what computer is inside. The further a layer sits from the metal, the less the maker tells you about it.
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 Waseda University.
WABIAN-2R
WABIAN (WAseda BIpedal humANoid) is Waseda's series of walking research humanoids started in 1996. WABIAN-2R, 150 cm and 64 kg with 41 DOF, was used to study human-like gait.
WABOT-2
WABOT-2 was Waseda's specialist musician robot, able to read a score and play a keyboard, presented at the 1985 Tsukuba science expo.
Sources
- 01WABOT, Waseda Humanoid Robotics InstituteWaseda University
- 02WABOT, WikipediaWikipedia
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