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Honda Motor Co., Ltd. · research humanoid

P2

Honda's surprise December 1996 reveal: a 1.82 m, 210 kg walking humanoid that could climb stairs and push a cart without any cable.

Price: —Not published
Height: 182 cmTaller than 91%
Weight: 210 kgHeavier than 98%
Payload: —Not published
Speed: —Not published
Battery: —Not published

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Why it matters

First self-contained (untethered) two-legged humanoid robot: computer, batteries and motor drives were all inside the body.

Real-world use

No customers or deployments reported yet.

Timeline

First shown: 1996-12
Released: Not yet

Honda announcement, Japan

Maker

Honda Motor Co., Ltd.Company · founded 1948 · Tokyo, Japan

public company (TYO: 7267; NYSE: HMC)

How it stacks up

Against other humanoids that publish the figure. Pick a measure.

P2 is taller than 91% of the 305 other humanoids that publish a height. Bars show the 7 closest in date.

Height 182 cm 34 cm213 cm #24 of 306 · taller than 91%

Not published by the maker: speed, payload, joints, battery, price.

Public attention

A historic robot: no longer sold or in use, so it is not ranked against current humanoids.

No Wikipedia article of its own yet
1 news story from reputable press listed on this page

Measures how much people read and write about a robot, not how good it is. Measured 2026-10-14; same method for every robot. How it is measured

What’s inside

The parts the company has talked about publicly.

Hands: simple
Movement: Walks on legs
Compute: Computers, motor drives and wireless equipment were all carried in the torso, the first time Honda made a walking humanoid self-contained.
Battery & power: Batteries carried inside the torso for wireless operation (Honda, History of robotics development).
Other details: 30 degrees of freedom; 182 cm and 210 kg; about 2 kg payload per hand; walked at 2 km/h, climbed stairs and pushed carts without a cable.

Lineage

Every Honda humanoid in order.

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. also makes 1 machine. See every Honda Motor Co., Ltd. robot

Made, sold and where

Unit counts are usually company figures; analysts often disagree.

Price: Not published
How to get one: No official buying page found
Where it is sold or used: Japan (Honda R&D only)

News

The latest 1, newest first. Summaries are ours; tap through for the original.

1996-12
Honda stuns robotics world with P2
Honda announced P2, the first self-contained, wireless two-legged humanoid walker.
Honda

Side by side with its peers

Picked by the same rules for every humanoid: another maker’s robot that moves the same way, is at the same stage and does at least one of the same main jobs, first shown within two years. Closer size and price rank higher. Few robots match closely, so these are the nearest matches. How we choose

Full comparison

Measure	P2Honda	No public photo yetWe only show photos we're allowed to useWABIANWaseda UniversitySame job: research · Both walk · Both past robots	No public photo yetWe only show photos we're allowed to useXianxingzhe (Pioneer)National University of Defense Technology (NUDT)Same job: research · Both walk · Both past robots	H6University of Tokyo JSK Lab, built by Kawada IndustriesSame job: research · Both walk · Both past robots
First shown	1996-12	1997	2000-11-29	2000-06
Status	Retired	Retired	Retired	Retired
Height	182 cm	—	140 cm	—
Weight	210 kg	—	20 kg	—
Joints	—	—	—	—
Speed	—	—	—	—
Payload	—	—	—	—
Battery	—	—	—	—
Price	—	—	—	—

Sources

Figures come from the maker. Every link below backs something on this page.

Honda History of Robotics Development

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