DLR TORO

TORO, short for TOrque-controlled humanoid RObot, is a research humanoid from the German Aerospace Center (DLR). DLR's Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics uses it as a platform for bipedal movement and dynamics, and DLR says it was first presented to the public in 2013.

DLR lists TORO at adult-human size: 1.74 m tall and 76 kg, with 39 degrees of freedom. The stated breakdown is two 6-DoF legs, two 6-DoF arms, two 6-DoF hands, a one-DoF torso and a one-DoF neck. Those parts add up to 38, so the published total and breakdown do not fully match. DLR gives a nominal payload of 10 kg, a walking speed of 0.5 m/s and more than 60 minutes of operation.

Torque control is the robot's defining feature. DLR says TORO can actively control torques in almost all of its joints. It argues that this flexibility gives greater safety when interacting with people and greater robustness in contact with the environment than position-controlled machines.

Sensing includes torque sensors in nearly all joints, two balance IMUs, two force-torque sensors in the feet, two stereo cameras and one RGB-D camera. At automatica 2025 DLR said TORO would demonstrate a new ability to perceive and respond to its surroundings.

DLR describes TORO as an active research platform. No sales or ordering route appears on DLR's pages, so the robot is classed as a prototype.