Kawasaki Heavy Industries Kaleido 9

Kaleido 9 (RHP Kaleido 9) is the ninth generation of the biped humanoid Kawasaki Heavy Industries has been developing since 2015. It has reinforced, fall-resistant legs, walks autonomously using lidar-based SLAM and can be teleoperated through a headset. Kawasaki sees it first in factories and ultimately at disaster sites.

History and launch

Kawasaki, which built Japan's first industrial robot, started humanoid work around 2015. The first Kaleido appeared at iREX 2017 in Tokyo: 175 cm, 85 kg and tethered to external power, it showed off getting up from the floor and doing pull-ups. By 2019 it walked untethered on an onboard battery (178 cm, 85 kg), helped by magnesium alloy parts and 3D-printed resin covers.

In 2021 Kawasaki added the slimmer, people-oriented Friends series, and in 2023 it introduced real-time footstep correction that cut the risk of falls.

Kaleido 9 made its public debut at iREX 2025 in Tokyo (December 3-6, 2025) under the theme "Meet Your New Buddy".

Design and hardware

Compared with Kaleido 8, the legs were redesigned to stay strictly within component ratings. The joints move faster at the same torque, so the robot can step out quickly when it starts to lose balance. Kawasaki treats robustness to falls as a core design principle, and earlier generations went through repeated controlled fall tests.

Navigation relies on lidar and SLAM. In demonstrations Kaleido 9 avoided people and obstacles, recognized stair steps and adjusted its stride to avoid landing on edges. Kawasaki also uses its own lighter, more shock-resistant six-axis force sensors in the ankles.

A new element is the Kaleido Station, a wheeled platform that carries the robot over longer flat distances; at the work site Kaleido gets off and works on its own legs. The station is also meant to become a charger.

Kawasaki has not published an official table of dimensions, weight or runtime for Kaleido 9.

Software and control

Rather than aiming for full autonomy at once, Kawasaki supports real-time teleoperation through a head-mounted display and a hybrid mode in which people handle high-level decisions and AI takes routine steps. Remote operation has been demonstrated in rescue scenarios such as firefighting and debris removal.

Applications and roadmap

Kaleido 9 remains a development robot. Kawasaki's roadmap foresees work in controlled environments such as factories and plants under remote supervision around 2030, including care support and simple transport; autonomous work in unstructured settings, at height and in confined spaces around 2040; and operation in any environment, with resistance to water, dust, temperature and radiation, around 2050. The end goal is disaster response, a pressing need in Japan.

Manufacturer

The humanoids are developed by Kawasaki Heavy Industries' robot division in Japan. Kawasaki Robotics USA states that it does not develop humanoid robots in North America.

Price and availability

Kaleido 9 is not for sale and has no price.

Timeline

• 2015 Kawasaki begins humanoid development
• 2017-11 First public showing of Kaleido at iREX 2017
• 2019 Kaleido walks untethered on battery power
• 2021 Friends series for human interaction
• 2023 Real-time footstep correction
• 2025-12 RHP Kaleido 9 debuts at iREX 2025

Sources

1. The Current Goals of Kaleido 9 as a Humanoid Robot, Kawasaki Robotics (2026-03-25)
2. From Tokyo to the Future: The Evolution of Kawasaki's Humanoid Robot Challenge, Kawasaki Robotics (2026-02-13)
3. International Robot Exhibition (iREX2025), Kawasaki Robotics (2025-11-12)

Updated: 2026-10-10

Compared with the catalogue

• It is the only Kawasaki Heavy Industries model in the catalogue and one of 4 humanoids from Japan.

Capabilities