Waseda University / JST Moonshot program · research humanoid
WABOT-1
Built from 1970 to 1973 by combining Waseda's WL-5 walking legs and WAM-4 arms with vision and hearing, so it could judge distances and talk in simple Japanese. It is displayed in Building 63 on Waseda's Nishi-Waseda campus.
- Price
- —Not published
- Height
- —Not published
- Weight
- —Not published
- Payload
- —Not published
- Speed
- —Not published
- Battery
- —Not published
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Why it matters
Widely described as the world's first full-scale humanoid robot: it walked on two legs, gripped objects and spoke simple Japanese.
Real-world use
Displayed in Building 63, Nishi-Waseda campus, Waseda University
Maker
Waseda University / JST Moonshot programUniversity lab · founded 1882 · Tokyo, JapanGovernment research funding through the JST Moonshot programme (amount not stated).
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.
- Movement
- Walks on legs
- Actuators & motors
- Leg system was Waseda's WL-5 biped and arm system its WAM-4 arms; the lab booklet does not state the drive type.
- Hands
- WAM-4 artificial hands with tactile sensors for gripping and carrying objects.
- Sensors & vision
- Artificial eyes and external receptors to judge distance and direction to objects; artificial ears for hearing.
- AI & software
- Separate limb-control, vision and conversation systems; it could converse in simple Japanese through an artificial mouth. Waseda likened its mental ability to a child of about 18 months.
Lineage
Every Waseda University (Ichiro Kato lab) humanoid in order.
- WABOT-11973Retired
WABOT-21984Retired- No public photo yetWe only show photos we're allowed to useHadaly-21997Retired
- No public photo yetWe only show photos we're allowed to useWABIAN1997Retired
- No public photo yetWe only show photos we're allowed to useWE-4RII2004Retired
WABIAN-22006Retired
TWENDY-ONE2007Research
KOBIAN2009Research- No public photo yetWe only show photos we're allowed to useWaseda Flutist Robot WF-4RVI2011Retired
- No public photo yetWe only show photos we're allowed to useAIREC (Dry-AIREC)2025Research
Watch WABOT-1
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
- Built
- 1 (research prototype)
- Sold or delivered
- never sold
- Where it is sold or used
- Japan
- Customers and pilots
- Displayed in Building 63, Nishi-Waseda campus, Waseda University
News
The latest 1, newest first. Summaries are ours; tap through for the original.
- WABOT-1 completed
Prof. Ichiro Kato's group finished WABOT-1 after a project begun in 1970, combining walking legs, arms, vision and speech.
Waseda University Humanoid Robotics Institute
Sources
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