Nippon Signal Co., Ltd. · industrial humanoid
Multi-purpose Railway Heavy Machine 'ZIZAI'
production version of Zero-shiki Jinki ver.2.0
A large humanoid upper body (torso, camera head and two arms) mounted on the boom of a road-rail truck, operated from the cab through VR goggles with force-feedback control licensed from Jinki Ittai. It lifts up to 40 kg and works up to 12 m high; it is the product version of the Zero-shiki Jinki ver.2.0 prototype that JR West, Nippon Signal and Jinki Ittai developed with Fukushima subsidies in 2019-2021 and tested on JR West's Kusatsu training line.
- Price
- —Not published
- Height
- —Not published
- Weight
- —Not published
- Payload
- 40 kgCarries more than 93%
- Speed
- —Not published
- Battery
- —Not published
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Why it matters
Promoted as the world's first humanoid-type heavy machine put into regular railway maintenance, on JR West lines from July 2024.
Real-world use
In service on JR West lines since July 2024, operated by JR West Electric System for painting overhead-line supports and cutting back trees.
Timeline
- Released
- 2024-07
Maker
Nippon Signal Co., Ltd.Company · founded 1928 · Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, JapanListed company (TSE Prime); capital of 10 billion yen
How it stacks up
Against other humanoids that publish the figure. Pick a measure.
Multi-purpose Railway Heavy Machine 'ZIZAI' (production version of Zero-shiki Jinki ver.2.0) carries more than 93% of the 132 other humanoids that publish a payload. Bars show the 7 closest in date.
Not published by the maker: height, weight, speed, joints, battery, price.
What it has been shown doing
2 of 14 skills we track, each from a public video or report. Demos can be staged or remote-controlled; we say so when the source does.
- Use toolsuses painting and tree-cutting tools on overhead-line supports; teleoperated · Jul 2024 · news.livedoor.com
- Works on sitein service on JR West lines since July 2024 doing overhead-line maintenance; operated by a person from the cab via VR goggles · Jul 2024 · news.livedoor.com
Not shown yet:SortAssembleFoldKitchenFineStairsTerrainGet upRunJumpCarryAutonomous
Public attention
How much public attention Multi-purpose Railway Heavy Machine 'ZIZAI' (production version of Zero-shiki Jinki ver.2.0) gets, from open data.
- No Wikipedia article of its own yet
- 2 news stories from reputable press listed on this page
Measures how much people read and write about a robot, not how good it is. Measured 2026-10-13; same method for every robot. How it is measured
What’s inside
The parts the company has talked about publicly.
- Movement
- Wheeled base
- Actuators & motors
- Humanoid upper body with two arms on the tip of a boom carried by a road-rail truck; the boom moves the robot over a wide area.
- Hands
- Two arms that grip up to 40 kg remotely; interchangeable tools for tasks such as painting pole supports and cutting trees near lines.
- Sensors & vision
- Head cameras give the operator the robot's viewpoint through VR goggles.
- AI & software
- Remote control from the truck's cab using Jinki Ittai's licensed force-control and power-amplified bilateral control technology (operator feels the load).
- Other details
- Works up to 12 m high; the vehicle runs on both roads and rails. Operated by West Japan Electric System for JR West.
From the maker
Multi-purpose Railway Heavy Machine 'ZIZAI' (production version of Zero-shiki Jinki ver.2.0) is the only humanoid from Nippon Signal (maker), with Jinki Ittai (Man-Machine Synergy Effectors) and JR West in the atlas.
Watch Multi-purpose Railway Heavy Machine 'ZIZAI' (production version of Zero-shiki Jinki ver.2.0)
Made, sold and where
Unit counts are usually company figures; analysts often disagree.
- Price
- Not published
- How to get one
- No official buying page found
- Built
- Number of units not published
- Where it is sold or used
- Made by Nippon Signal, Japan, under licence from Jinki Ittai
- Customers and pilots
- JR West (in service on its lines from July 2024; operated by West Japan Electric System); demonstrations planned with Takenaka Civil Engineering and Tohoku Electric Power Network
News
The latest 2, newest first. Summaries are ours; tap through for the original.
- Railway humanoid machine and prototype shown together in Kyoto
The JR West machine and the Zero-shiki Jinki ver.2.0 prototype were scheduled for joint display and demonstrations at the Kyoto Railway Museum on 18-19 January 2025.
Norimono News (Trafficnews) - JR West puts giant humanoid heavy machine into service
JR West began using the remotely operated humanoid machine for overhead-line maintenance, lifting up to 40 kg at heights up to 12 m.
Robotstart via Livedoor News
Side by side with its peers
Picked by the same rules for every humanoid: another maker’s robot that moves the same way, is at the same stage and does at least one of the same main jobs, first shown within two years. Closer size and price rank higher. How we choose
| Measure | Multi-purpose Railway Heavy Machine 'ZIZAI' (production version of Zero-shiki Jinki ver.2.0)Nippon Signal (maker), with Jinki Ittai (Man-Machine Synergy Effectors) and JR West |  SyntroWorkFarSame job: industrial · Both on wheels · Both on sale or in pilots |  Galbot G1Galbot (Galaxy General Robot)Same job: industrial · Both on wheels · Both on sale or in pilots |  R1Galaxea AI (Galaxea Dynamics)Same job: industrial · Both on wheels · Both on sale or in pilots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First shown | 2024-07 | 2024-08 | 2024 | 2024 |
| Status | Commercial | Commercial | Commercial | Commercial |
| Height | — | 170 cm | 173 cm | 170 cm |
| Weight | — | 108 kg | 85 kg | — |
| Joints | — | 45 | 25 | 24 |
| Speed | — | — | — | 5.4 km/h |
| Payload | 40 kg | 20 kg | 15 kg | 10 kg |
| Battery | — | 10 h | 10 h | — |
| Price | — | $10,000 | — | $44,500 |
Sources
Figures come from press coverage. Every link below backs something on this page.
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