1980–2000
1980
WABOT-217, a humanoid robot developed at Waseda University in Japan, is built starting in 1980 and completed around 1984. It followed WABOT-1, which had been built in 1973. While WABOT-1 focused on basic mobility and communication, WABOT-2 is more specialized, designed specifically as a musician robot. It can read musical scores with its camera "eyes," converse with humans, play music on an electronic organ and even accompany a human singer. This project represents a meaningful step toward the development of humanoid robots and AI capable of performing complex, human-like tasks such as artistic expression.