Tendon-driven musculoskeletal body
Brushless DC motors pull tendon-like cables. The published system specification counts 116 sensor-driver-integrated muscle modules. [7]
Price & availability
University of Tokyo has not published a price
Prototype
Current dataset status: Prototype.
Product overview
About Kengoro
Kengoro is a musculoskeletal humanoid built at the University of Tokyo. The lab lists Kengoro papers from 2016, including work on its foot and evaporative cooling, while a broader design paper appeared in Science Robotics in December 2017. That paper's specification gives a height of 167 cm, a weight of 56.5 kg, 114 degrees of freedom excluding the face and hands, and 116 muscle actuators.
The body is tendon-driven: brushless DC motors pull cables that act as muscles. Its 3D-printed porous aluminum skeleton routes water near the motors so that evaporation removes heat. Reported demonstrations include push-ups, pull-ups, back bends, standing on its toes and hitting a badminton shuttle. The research platform is intended to study human-like body structure and whole-body contact behavior.
Kengoro builds on the musculoskeletal design of Kojiro. The university's exhibit page says Kenshiro and Kengoro both evolved Kojiro's design. A February 2026 paper by Kawaharazuka, Okada and Inaba analyzes research conducted with Kengoro and Musashi, showing that Kengoro remains an active research platform. No price, order channel or commercial release has been published, so it is classed as a research prototype.
Capabilities
Key features
Evaporative cooling
The porous aluminum skeletal structure routes water near the motors, where evaporation removes heat. [6][7]
Human-like exercise demonstrations
Coverage of the 2017 paper reports push-ups, pull-ups, back bends, standing on its toes and hitting a badminton shuttle. [1]
Still used in research
A February 2026 arXiv study by Kawaharazuka, Okada and Inaba uses Kengoro and Musashi as its empirical basis. [5]
Hardware profile
Specifications
Official — stated by the manufacturer or organizerReported — stated by a credible third partyEstimated — derived or approximate
Body
- Height
- 167 cmReported — stated by a credible third party[7]Science Robotics specification; some secondary sources round this to 1.7 m
- Weight
- 56.5 kgReported — stated by a credible third party[7]Science Robotics specification; some secondary sources round this to 56 kg
- Total DoF
- 114Reported — stated by a credible third party[7]Excludes the face and hands; Wevolver reports 174 when hand joints are included
Mobility
Power
- Runtime
- 0.33 hReported — stated by a credible third party[8]About 20 minutes of exercise per charge; workload-dependent
Show unknown fields (11)
Mobility
- Maximum speed
- Not published
- Peak joint torque
- Not published
Power
- Battery
- Not published
- Charge time
- Not published
- Swappable battery
- Not published
Hands & Manipulation
- DoF per hand
- Not published
- Payload
- Not published
- Hand / end effector
- Not published
Compute & Sensing
- Onboard compute
- Not published
- Sensors
- Not published
- AI stack
- Not published
Quick answers
Kengoro FAQ
Can you buy Kengoro?
No general order page is verified. Kengoro is currently classified as prototype. [4]
How tall is Kengoro and how much does it weigh?
Kengoro is 167 cm tall and weighs 56.5 kg (Science Robotics specification; some secondary sources round this to 56 kg). [7]
How long does the Kengoro battery last?
The stated runtime is 0.33 hours per charge; About 20 minutes of exercise per charge; workload-dependent. [8]
How many degrees of freedom does Kengoro have?
Kengoro has 114 listed degrees of freedom; Excludes the face and hands; Wevolver reports 174 when hand joints are included. [7]
Who makes Kengoro?
Kengoro is made by University of Tokyo, based in Japan. [4]
Side by side
Compare Kengoro
Choose up to four robots for a sourced specification and price comparison.
Head to head
Popular comparisons
Evaluation footprint
Benchmarks & competitions
No benchmark embodiments or results reference this robot yet.
Related
Similar robots
Evidence
Sources
- [1]TechXplore report on Kengoro (21 Dec 2017) ↗TechXplore · press · accessed Oct 8, 2026
- [2]Kengoro project specifications (Wevolver) ↗Wevolver · database · accessed Oct 8, 2026
- [3]The humanoid robot that can exercise and even perspire when it gets hot ↗New Atlas · press · accessed Oct 8, 2026
- [4]Musculoskeletal Humanoid 'Kojiro' (HASEKO-KUMA Hall exhibit page) ↗The University of Tokyo, Faculty of Engineering · official · accessed Oct 8, 2026
- [5]Characteristics, Management, and Utilization of Muscles in Musculoskeletal Humanoids: Empirical Study on Kengoro and Musashi ↗arXiv · paper · accessed Oct 8, 2026
- [6]Kengoro: Human Mimetic Musculoskeletal Humanoid ↗JSK Robotics Laboratory, The University of Tokyo · official · accessed Oct 8, 2026
- [7]Design principles of a human mimetic humanoid (Science Robotics research article collection) ↗Science Robotics / AAAS · paper · accessed Oct 8, 2026
- [8]Boy robot passes agility tests ↗Science News · press · accessed Oct 8, 2026