Toyota Research Institute · entertainment humanoid
Toyota Partner Robot
violin-playing
A bipedal humanoid that held a violin, fingered the strings and bowed, presented as a step towards robots for housework, nursing and medical care.
- Price
- —Not published
- Height
- 152 cmTaller than 36%
- Weight
- 56 kgHeavier than 42%
- Payload
- —Not published
- Speed
- —Not published
- Battery
- —Not published
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Why it matters
Played the violin with vibrato, showing fine hand and arm control (17 joints across hands and arms).
Real-world use
Performed at a Toyota showroom in Tokyo and at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo.
Maker
Toyota Research InstituteCompany · founded 2016 · Los Altos, California, United StatesToyota subsidiary; launched with $1 billion over five years.
How it stacks up
Against other humanoids that publish the figure. Pick a measure.
Toyota Partner Robot (violin-playing) is taller than 36% of the 305 other humanoids that publish a height. Bars show the 7 closest in date.
Toyota Partner Robot (violin-playing) is heavier than 42% of the 277 other humanoids that publish a weight. Bars show the 7 closest in date.
Not published by the maker: speed, payload, joints, battery, price.
Public attention
A historic robot: no longer sold or in use, so it is not ranked against current humanoids.
- 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
- Walks on legs
- Actuators & motors
- 17 computer-controlled joints across the two arms and hands (Toyota); actuator type not disclosed.
- Hands
- Dexterous hands: the left hand presses the strings on the fingerboard while the right hand draws the bow, with enough control to produce vibrato.
- Other details
- 1,522 mm tall and 56 kg, bipedal. Toyota presented it as a step towards robots for housework, nursing and medical care; hospital testing was planned for 2008.
Lineage
Every Toyota Motor Corporation humanoid in order.
Toyota Partner Robot (walking type)2004Retired- Toyota Partner Robot (violin-playing)2007Retired
Toyota Partner Robot (running humanoid)2009Retired
Human Support Robot (HSR)2012Research
Kirobo2013Retired
T-HR32017Research- No public photo yetWe only show photos we're allowed to useCUE (first generation)2018Retired
- No public photo yetWe only show photos we're allowed to useCUE32019Retired
CUE62022Research
Punyo2024Research
CUE72026Research
Toyota Research Institute also makes 1 machine and 1 vehicle. See every Toyota Research Institute robot
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
- Sold or delivered
- Never sold (Toyota demonstration robot).
- Where it is sold or used
- Japan; shown abroad at Expo 2010 Shanghai
News
The latest 2, newest first. Summaries are ours; tap through for the original.
- Violin robot plays at Shanghai Expo
The robot played the Chinese folk song Mo Li Hua at the Japan pavilion of Expo 2010 Shanghai.
Singularity Hub - Toyota unveils violin-playing robot
Toyota showed the bipedal violinist in Tokyo alongside a stair-climbing mobility robot.
Toyota Motor Corporation
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 | Toyota Partner Robot (violin-playing)Toyota Motor Corporation |  TOPIOTOSY RoboticsSame job: entertainment · Both walk · Both past robots · Similar size |  MAHRUKorea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST)Same job: home · Both walk · Both past robots · Similar size |  HRP-4CAISTSame job: entertainment · Both walk · Both past robots · Similar size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First shown | 2007-12-06 | 2007-11-28 | 2005 | 2009-03-16 |
| Status | Retired | Retired | Retired | Retired |
| Height | 152 cm | 188 cm | 150 cm | 158 cm |
| Weight | 56 kg | 120 kg | 67 kg | 43 kg |
| Joints | — | 39 | 35 | 42 |
| Speed | — | — | 1.2 km/h | — |
| Payload | — | — | — | — |
| Battery | — | — | — | — |
| Price | — | — | — | — |
Sources
Figures come from the maker. Every link below backs something on this page.
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