Upper-body layout
The official project page lists a head, a two-degree-of-freedom neck, torso and two five-degree-of-freedom upper arms. [3]
Price & availability
University of Tokyo has not published a price
Discontinued
Current dataset status: Discontinued.
Product overview
About Saika
Saika is a light, human-sized upper-body humanoid developed at the University of Tokyo in the mid-1990s. The laboratory's official project page lists a head, a two-degree-of-freedom neck, two five-degree-of-freedom upper arms and a torso, and gives the assembled upper body a total weight of 8 kg. Several interchangeable hands and forearms were developed for different tasks.
The related research grant ran from FY1994 to FY1996 and was led by Hirochika Inoue, with Masayuki Inaba as co-investigator. Manipulation experiments included grasping unknown objects by touch, hitting a bouncing ball and catching a thrown ball. A separate three-fingered hand with 8 degrees of freedom and 87 touch sensors was developed for the robot.
The official project page was last updated in October 1997 and lists publications through 1998. Saika was never offered for sale and is a historical research platform, so it is classed as discontinued.
Capabilities
Key features
Light, low-cost build
The official project page gives a total weight of 8 kg for the head, neck, upper arms and torso. [3]
Optional 8-DoF hand
An attachable three-fingered hand has 8 degrees of freedom and 87 touch sensors on the palm and fingers. [2]
Manipulation experiments
Experiments covered grasping unknown objects by touch, learning an inverse dynamics model, and catching dropped and thrown balls. [2]
Hardware profile
Specifications
Official — stated by the manufacturer or organizerReported — stated by a credible third partyEstimated — derived or approximate
Body
- Weight
- 8 kgOfficial — stated by the manufacturer or organizer[3]Total weight of the head, neck, two upper arms and torso
Hands & Manipulation
- DoF per hand
- 8Reported — stated by a credible third party[2]Optional three-fingered hand developed for Saika
- Hand / end effector
- Optional 8-DoF three-fingered hand with 87 touch sensorsReported — stated by a credible third party[2]
Compute & Sensing
- Sensors
- Binocular camera pair (2-DoF arrangement), 87 touch sensors on the optional handReported — stated by a credible third party[2]
Show unknown fields (11)
Body
- Height
- Not published
Mobility
- Maximum speed
- Not published
- Peak joint torque
- Not published
- Actuation
- Not published
Power
- Battery
- Not published
- Runtime
- Not published
- Charge time
- Not published
- Swappable battery
- Not published
Hands & Manipulation
- Payload
- Not published
Compute & Sensing
- Onboard compute
- Not published
- AI stack
- Not published
Quick answers
Saika FAQ
Can you buy Saika?
No general order page is verified. Saika is currently classified as discontinued. [3]
How many degrees of freedom does Saika have?
Saika has 12 listed degrees of freedom; Derived: 2-DoF neck plus two 5-DoF arms. Excludes the optional 8-DoF hand and the 2-DoF camera pair. [3]
Who makes Saika?
Saika is made by University of Tokyo, based in Japan. [3]
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Benchmarks & competitions
No benchmark embodiments or results reference this robot yet.
Related
Similar robots
Evidence
Sources
- [1]Humanoid robot (Wikipedia), timeline entry for Saika ↗Wikipedia · database · accessed Oct 8, 2026
- [2]Development of an Intelligent Humanoid Robot (KAKEN grant record 06555069) ↗KAKEN (National Institute of Informatics, Japan) · database · accessed Oct 8, 2026
- [3]Saika Project ↗JSK Robotics Laboratory, The University of Tokyo · official · accessed Oct 8, 2026