SCHAFT Inc. · research humanoid
S-One
A bipedal humanoid from a Japanese University of Tokyo spin-off that dominated the 2013 trials. SCHAFT withdrew from the DRC finals after moving to self-funding under Google.
- Price
- —Not published
- Height
- —Not published
- Weight
- —Not published
- Payload
- —Not published
- Speed
- —Not published
- Battery
- —Not published
Not sure this is the one? Find the best robot for your job Starts with: research and teaching. Five more quick questions.
Why it matters
Won the December 2013 DARPA Robotics Challenge Trials with 27 of 32 points, weeks after Google bought the company.
Real-world use
No customers or deployments reported yet.
Timeline
- Released
- Not yet
Maker
SCHAFT Inc.Company · founded 2012 · Tokyo, JapanAcquired by Google in 2013 (undisclosed); closed by Alphabet in November 2018
Public attention
A historic robot: no longer sold or in use, so it is not ranked against current humanoids.
- 71 views of its Wikipedia article in the last 90 days (S-One)
- 3 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
- Walks on legs
- Actuators & motors
- Liquid-cooled, high-output motors with a high-output driver module for high speed and torque without overheating; arms appear to use the same motors (IEEE Spectrum).
- Hands
- Commercial Robotiq Adaptive Gripper (IEEE Spectrum).
- Materials & build
- Legs based on the HRP3L-JSK, a Kawada Industries leg design refitted with the new motors (IEEE Spectrum).
- AI & software
- Walking pattern generators and push recovery developed with JSK Lab and AIST colleagues; relied heavily on teleoperation at the Trials (IEEE Spectrum).
- Other details
- IEEE Spectrum says it was unclear whether S-One used the capacitor power system of the earlier HRP3L-JSK, a battery, or both.
Named suppliers:Robotiq
From the maker
S-One is the only humanoid from SCHAFT (acquired by Google) in the atlas.
Watch S-One
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
- Competition prototype; count not published
- Where it is sold or used
- Competed in the United States (Homestead, Florida)
News
The latest 3, newest first. Summaries are ours; tap through for the original.
- Alphabet closes SCHAFT
After a 2017 SoftBank sale fell through and no buyer was found, Alphabet wound SCHAFT down.
TechCrunch - SCHAFT moves to self-funded track
SCHAFT gave up DARPA funding after the Google purchase, freeing money for other teams.
Defense One - Wins DARPA Robotics Challenge Trials
S-One topped the Trials with 27 of 32 points.
Defense One
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 | S-OneSCHAFT (acquired by Google) |  ARMAR-4Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (H2T, Tamim Asfour)Same job: research · Both walk · Both past robots | No public photo yetWe only show photos we're allowed to useCOMAN (COmpliant huMANoid)Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT)Same job: research · Both walk · Both past robots |  RoboraySamsung Electronics (robotics division) with KISTSame job: research · Both walk · Both past robots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First shown | 2013-12-20 | 2012 | 2012 | 2012-10 |
| Status | Retired | Retired | Retired | Retired |
| Height | — | 170 cm | 95 cm | 150 cm |
| Weight | — | 70 kg | 31.2 kg | 62 kg |
| Joints | — | 63 | 25 | 32 |
| Speed | — | — | — | — |
| Payload | — | — | — | — |
| Battery | — | — | — | — |
| Price | — | — | — | — |
Sources
Figures come from public sources. Every link below backs something on this page.
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