Toyota
Toyota Motor Corporation is a Japanese carmaker, founded in 1937 and headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, whose president and chief executive since 1 April 2026 is Kenta Kon, succeeding Koji Sato. Toyota has been developing humanoid robots for two decades. Its Partner Robots debuted playing drums and trumpets at Expo 2005 in Aichi, and by 2009 could run at 7 km/h. In 2017 it unveiled T-HR3, a third-generation humanoid controlled remotely by an operator with force feedback, later enhanced to walk more naturally and pick up a coin. Toyota's CUE basketball robot began in 2017 as an employee side project: CUE3 set a Guinness World Record in 2019 with 2,020 consecutive free throws, and CUE6 set a record 24.55 m shot in December 2024. On 12 April 2026 Toyota debuted CUE7, a lighter 74 kg robot with a two-wheel inverted structure that uses reinforcement learning, as a testbed for embodied AI beyond cars.
💡Notable Achievement: Toyota's CUE3 sank 2,020 consecutive free throws in 2019, CUE6 shot 24.55 m in 2024, and CUE7 debuted on 12 April 2026.
What Does Toyota Do?
Toyota is a Japanese carmaker with two decades of humanoid research, from the 2005 Partner Robots to T-HR3 and the CUE basketball robots.
“A carmaker's long-running humanoid research.”
T-HR3
A humanoid controlled remotely with force feedback (2017).
CUE Series
Guinness-record basketball robots.
Testbed
Used to develop vision and motion control.
What Can Toyota Robots Actually Do?
Cross-portfolio operational capabilities, manipulation tasks, and environmental competencies
Remote-controlled humanoids and precision throwing.
Remote Operation
T-HR3 mirrors an operator with force feedback.
Basketball Shooting
CUE robots shoot with AI.
Toyota Robots & Robot Hands
Showing 4 Humanoid Robots of 7 total models
ELEY
By: Toyota
Launched: 2025
ELEY (Embodied Learning robot for Enhanced Yield) is a wheeled partner robot from Toyota, developed by its Frontier Research Center as the successor in spirit to the Human Support Robot (HSR). It has two human-like arms with two-fingered hands that can assemble objects or open a box with one hand while taking items with the other, and like HSR it extends its body from 939 mm to 1,619 mm to pick things off the floor or reach high places. An omnidirectional mobile base lets it drive quickly and autonomously to a target, and the compact 50 kg body is designed to be safe and friendly around people. Toyota first showed it at AICHI ROBOFEST during World Robot Summit 2025 in December 2025. In September 2026 Toyota showed it learning to fold T-shirts from human demonstrations, trained with finger-shaped jigs that workers wear while doing routine tasks.
Toyota T-HR3
By: Toyota
Launched: 2017
Toyota T-HR3 is a third-generation research humanoid robot developed by Toyota's Frontier Research Center to explore friendly and safe human-robot coexistence, remote medical care, and disaster response. Standing 154 cm tall and weighing 75 kg, T-HR3 is controlled by a synchronized Master Maneuvering System (MMS) chair that mirrors human operator motions in real time via VR headsets and data gloves. It features 32 degrees of freedom across its frame with 29 proprietary Torque Servo Modules developed by Toyota and Tamagawa Seiki, incorporating ultra-thin Cr-N alloy force-torque sensors. The platform provides force feedback so operators can feel contact forces, hold delicate balloons without bursting them, or perform tasks over low-latency 5G wireless networks.
CUE7
By: Toyota
Launched: 2026
CUE7 is Toyota's advanced research humanoid robot designed to demonstrate precision motion, perception, and AI-driven athletic performance through basketball tasks. Standing 7 feet 2 inches tall and weighing 163 pounds, the robot represents a complete redesign philosophy emphasizing embodied AI over pre-programmed instructions. CUE7 integrates reinforcement learning with model predictive control, enabling dynamic movements including dribbling, shooting, and natural posture transitions. The platform combines real-time visual recognition, distance calculation, and trajectory optimization to execute complex athletic maneuvers with high repeatability. Its lightweight construction, dual-wheel inverted base, and human motion-trained behaviors create surprisingly natural movement patterns that mirror human athletes rather than mechanical systems.
Punyo
By: Toyota
Launched: 2024
Punyo is a soft humanoid robot developed by Toyota Research Institute for whole-body manipulation research, emphasizing safe human-robot interaction in assistive scenarios like aging in place. Its upper body features compliant materials covering hands, arms, and chest, integrated with tactile sensors and air-filled bladders for adaptive stiffness and force sensing during contact-rich tasks. Underneath lies a rigid structure with two precise robot arms, torso frame, and waist actuator, enabling hybrid precision and compliance. Punyo's "paws"—inflatable latex bubbles with internal cameras detecting dot pattern deformations—facilitate gripperless grasping of bulky objects by hugging to the torso or slinging onto shoulders. Trained via teleoperation, diffusion policy learning from demonstrations, and example-guided reinforcement learning, it handles groceries, furniture, dishwashers, and doors. With a wheeled base for mobility, ROS2 support, and focus on household chores, Punyo prioritizes safety, dexterity, and natural movements over rigid manipulation.
Toyota Timeline & Milestones
Evolutionary history, landmark prototypes, major acquisitions, and commercial roadmap
Partner Robots debut at Expo 2005
Toyota's Partner Robots debut at Expo 2005 in Aichi, playing drums and trumpets.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
T-HR3 remote-controlled humanoid unveiled
Toyota unveils T-HR3, a third-generation humanoid that mirrors its remote operator with force feedback.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
CUE3 sets basketball Guinness World Record
Toyota's CUE3 robot sinks 2,020 consecutive free throws to set a Guinness World Record.
Source: interestingengineering.com
CUE6 sets 24.55 m shot record
Toyota's CUE6 sets a Guinness World Record for the farthest basketball shot by a humanoid robot, at 24.55 metres.
Source: interestingengineering.com
Kenta Kon becomes CEO
Kenta Kon becomes Toyota's president and CEO, and Koji Sato becomes vice chairman.
Source: cnbc.com
CUE7 basketball robot debuts
Toyota debuts CUE7, a 74 kg basketball robot on an inverted two-wheel structure trained with reinforcement learning.
Source: foxnews.com
Toyota Competitors by Category
Direct industry rivals grouped by specific robotics domain
Fourier Intelligence
→Model: GR-1 / X1
Focus: Exoskeleton & Humanoid Medical Rehabilitation
Cyberdyne
Industry PeerModel: HAL
Focus: Medical Exoskeleton Rehabilitation
What Makes Toyota Different?
Editorial AnalysisOrigin of Bots objective strategic assessment, engineering moats, and commercial hurdles
Key Strengths & Moats
- ✓Large corporate resources.
- ✓Long humanoid track record.
Core Strategic Focus
Using humanoid research for embodied AI.
Road Ahead & Challenges
- •No commercial humanoid.
- •Robots remain research demonstrations.
Toyota vs Key Competitors
Strategic capability matrix across platform categories, commercial readiness, and target markets
Core Teleoperation Interface
- Toyota (T-HR3)
- Wearable Force-Reflecting Chair Exoskeleton
- Sanctuary AI (Phoenix)
- VR Headset & Haptic Gloves
- Fourier (GR-2)
- Remote VR Operator Console
- Boston Dynamics (Atlas)
- Autonomous / Limited Tablet Teleop
Torque Sensing
- Toyota (T-HR3)
- Integrated at Every Individual Joint
- Sanctuary AI (Phoenix)
- Hydraulic Pressure Transducers
- Fourier (GR-2)
- FSA Actuator Current Sensing
- Boston Dynamics (Atlas)
- Joint Dynamic Force Estimation
Medical Certification
- Toyota (T-HR3)
- Certified (Welwalk series)
- Sanctuary AI (Phoenix)
- Non-Medical Commercial Focus
- Fourier (GR-2)
- Certified Medical Exoskeletons
- Boston Dynamics (Atlas)
- Non-Medical Industrial Focus
Primary Locomotion Mode
- Toyota (T-HR3)
- Torque-Controlled Compliant Biped
- Sanctuary AI (Phoenix)
- Bipedal / Wheeled Hybrid
- Fourier (GR-2)
- Compliant High-Torque Biped
- Boston Dynamics (Atlas)
- All-Electric Non-Biomimetic Biped
| Strategic Dimension | Toyota (T-HR3) | Sanctuary AI (Phoenix) | Fourier (GR-2) | Boston Dynamics (Atlas) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core Teleoperation Interface | Wearable Force-Reflecting Chair Exoskeleton | VR Headset & Haptic Gloves | Remote VR Operator Console | Autonomous / Limited Tablet Teleop |
| Torque Sensing | Integrated at Every Individual Joint | Hydraulic Pressure Transducers | FSA Actuator Current Sensing | Joint Dynamic Force Estimation |
| Medical Certification | Certified (Welwalk series) | Non-Medical Commercial Focus | Certified Medical Exoskeletons | Non-Medical Industrial Focus |
| Primary Locomotion Mode | Torque-Controlled Compliant Biped | Bipedal / Wheeled Hybrid | Compliant High-Torque Biped | All-Electric Non-Biomimetic Biped |
Corporate Ecosystem & Ownership Structure
Parent company relationships, historical acquisitions, and global operating facilities
Global Facilities & Operating Hubs
Toyota Headquarters
HQToyota City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan
Articles & Industry News
Showing 4 recent articles and news updates about Toyota
Toyota’s CUE7 shows how humanoid robots are moving from scripted motion to learning-based control
News about CUE7
Toyota’s Human Support Robot shows how teleoperation can extend care and home assistance
News about Human Support Robot (HSR)
Toyota's Kirobo Mini Pioneered Palm-Sized Emotional Companionship
News about Kirobo Mini
Toyota's Punyo Masters Whole-Body Hugs for Heavy Lifts
News about Punyo
Frequently Asked Questions
8 AnswersVerified answers, company specifications, and deployment details about Toyota
What is the Toyota T-HR3?
T-HR3 is Toyota's third-generation humanoid, unveiled in 2017, which mirrors the movements of a remote operator and shares force feedback with them.
What is Toyota CUE?
CUE is Toyota's basketball-shooting humanoid robot series, started in 2017 as an employee side project. CUE3 sank 2,020 free throws in a row and CUE6 shot 24.55 metres.
What is CUE7?
CUE7, debuted on 12 April 2026, is Toyota's lighter 74 kg basketball robot with a two-wheel inverted structure that uses reinforcement learning and model predictive control.
Who is the CEO of Toyota?
Kenta Kon has been Toyota's president and CEO since 1 April 2026, after Koji Sato moved to vice chairman and chief industry officer.
When did Toyota start making humanoid robots?
Toyota's Partner Robots debuted at Expo 2005 in Aichi playing musical instruments, and it has developed humanoids such as T-HR3 and CUE since then.
Why does Toyota build a basketball robot?
Toyota uses CUE as a testbed for vision, motion planning and control technologies that it can apply to broader real-world robotics beyond cars.
Can you buy a Toyota humanoid robot?
No. Toyota's humanoids such as T-HR3 and CUE are research and demonstration robots and are not sold, and Toyota has not announced a commercial humanoid.
When was Toyota founded?
Toyota Motor Corporation was founded in 1937 and is headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It has developed humanoid robots since its Partner Robots debuted at Expo 2005.
Verified Data & Editorial Assurance
Compiled from verified corporate filings, official Toyota datasheets, and robotics engineering registries. Information has been verified against official manufacturer documentation. For commercial procurement or proprietary integrations, contact the manufacturer directly.