Wabot 2

A historical robot with a complex humanoid body and a 1980's era video camera for a head sits and plays the keyboards.
Wabot 2 had a CCD camera for a head. Photo: Waseda University

Wabot 2 was a humanoid robot that could read a musical score and play an electronic keyboard. It had a camera for a head and five-fingered hands capable of performing precise and delicate movements.

Creator

Waseda University

Year
1980
Country
Japan 🇯🇵
Categories
Features
Wabot 2 plays an electronic organ. Video: Pink Tentacle

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Appearance

Neutral

Did you know?

The keyboard Wabot 2 played was a Yamaha FX-1.

A historical robot with a complex humanoid body and a 1980's era video camera for a head sits and plays the keyboards.
It could read musical scores and play the keyboard. Photo: Waseda University

History

In 1970, four laboratories in Waseda University's School of Science and Engineering teamed up and started the Wabot project. The efforts were led by Professor Ichiro Kato, a pioneer in humanoid robotics who was known as the "father of Japanese robotics research." In 1973, the group unveiled the Wabot 1. It was the world's first full-scale anthropomorphic robot, capable of walking with a quasi-dynamic gait. It could also speak and grasp objects. In 1980, the group started working on a new robot. In 1984, they introduced Wabot 2, a 50-degrees-of-freedom humanoid that was able to read musical scores and play an electronic keyboard.

A complex looking humanoid with a metallic frame full of wires and electronics.
Wabot 1, built in 1973, was a full-scale humanoid robot. Photo: Waseda University

Specs

Overview

Anthropomorphic design. Equipped with 3-degrees-of-freedom fingers. Capable of playing in tune with a singer.

Status

Discontinued

Year

1980

Website
Weight
90 kg
Sensors

CCD camera, position sensors (potentiometers), DC tachometer generators, rotary encoders.

Actuators

DC motors and harmonic drive.

Degrees of Freedom (DoF)
50 (Hand: 14 DoF x 2; Arm: 7 DoF x 2; Leg: 4 DoF x 2)
Materials

Carbon fiber reinforced plastics

Compute

One Zilog 6MHz 16-bit Z8001 CPU (high-level limb control), two 4MHz 16-bit Z8002 CPUs (middle-level control during playing), and 50 4MHz 8-bit Z8094 CPUs (low-level motor control, one CPU per DOF).

Software

Unix OS and control system written in C and assembly code.

Power

External power supply