WABIAN-2

What it's for

WABIAN-2 is not a robot for work but for understanding how humans walk. It was built in the Takanishi laboratory at Waseda University in Tokyo and serves researchers as a platform for testing near-human gait. It stands 148 cm tall, weighs 64 kg and has as many as 41 mechanical degrees of freedom (DOF): seven in each arm, six in each leg, three in the neck, and each hand has six degrees of freedom. Humanoids usually walk with bent knees, which gives stability but does not resemble a human stride. WABIAN-2 straightens its knees, lands on the heel and pushes off from the toes, made possible by a hip mechanism imitating pelvic movement and a passive toe joint.

What is it for in practice? First, gait research: scientists compare the robot's movement with human movement and learn what happens in steps that cannot be safely performed on a patient. Second, developing knowledge useful for prostheses and exoskeletons, described in “Exoskeletons”. Third, teaching: the robot is a living argument in biomechanics and control classes, for example in universities.

It must be said plainly what WABIAN-2 is not. It has no commercial version, price or distribution, and its use is as a scientific platform. We do not know its payload, runtime or walking speed, so we do not compare it with industrial robots. It does, however, show how far imitation of the human body can go. The fundamentals of the field are covered in “How Does a Humanoid Robot Work”.

Who it's for

A good fit: students, doctoral candidates and researchers who want to understand the biomechanics of bipedal gait. Lecturers looking for an example of a robot with a near-human gait. Journalists and robotics history enthusiasts, because WABIAN-2 shows a line of research that influenced later humanoids.

Not a good choice for: anyone looking for a robot to buy. It is purely a scientific platform of Waseda University, with no commercial version, price or distribution, including in Poland. It is not suited to work in a company or to service applications. If you are looking for a humanoid for a university that you can actually order, look at the alternatives below or at the educational robots section.

Deployments

WABIAN-2 is purely a scientific platform of Waseda University, with no commercial version.

What is realistic in this category in Poland? Universities and schools use available research humanoids and educational robots, described in “Educational Robots for Schools and Universities”. You can read about local companies and projects in “Polish Robotics Companies”. Walking like a human also matters in rehabilitation, so it is worth turning to “Exoskeletons in Rehabilitation and Industry”.

Closest in spirit, but available to order, is Unitree G1 EDU: a research humanoid in many configurations, sold in Poland, with an open SDK for university teams.

If you are interested in a research biped from Europe, take a look at PAL Robotics TALOS, a PAL Robotics platform used in laboratories.

Another Japanese direction, this time from a government institute, is represented by HRP-5P: an AIST humanoid shown performing construction tasks such as installing plasterboard.

Want to compare with a German project? Look at LOLA from the Technical University of Munich, developed as a platform for gait research.

From the American side, Valkyrie is interesting, created by NASA for work in difficult terrain.

When comparing against WABIAN-2, remember that 41 degrees of freedom do not make a robot useful for work; in practice the task and the availability of support matter.

WABIAN-2 comes from the WABIAN family of robots, developed in the Takanishi laboratory at Waseda University in Tokyo. The presentation date of this model is not given, so we do not name years. From the technical description we know that the project focused on a gait close to a human's: straight knees, heel contact and toe-off, achieved through a hip mechanism imitating pelvic movement. We describe the university in the profile Waseda University. The broader Japanese context can be seen at Honda Motor Co. and in the design of HRP-5P.