Japan’s Torobo humanoid robot is moving toward full autonomy with its new legs.
Tokyo Robotics just shared footage of its flagship humanoid robot demonstrating its humanlike walking gait. The next-generation prototype is the result of more than a decade of research and development from the robotics firm. Launched in 2015, it’s a spinoff from Waseda University, the institution that developed WABOT-1, widely considered the world’s first full-scale biped, in the 1970s.
The company, which was acquired by the Japanese industrial automation leader Yaskawa Electric Corporation in 2025, says it’s developing the bipedal humanoid to be more stable and reliable like its wheeled predecessor.
The latest design inherits the fine manipulation skills that Torobo was already known for like handling tools, controlling force, and interacting with objects safely. According to its developers, the new and improved Torobo has enhanced AI so it can learn to perform tasks on its own.