SCHAFT

SCHAFT traces its origins to the JSK Robotics Laboratory at the University of Tokyo, where legendary Japanese roboticist Hirochika Inoue did some of his pioneering work. The lab is now led by another influential roboticist, Masayuki Inaba. Under Professor Inaba, SCHAFT's cofounders Junichi Urata and Yuto Nakanishi started working on humanoid robots about a decade ago. They joined a project to develop a humanoid called Kotaro around 2004, and later went on to work on other similar projects: Kojiro, Kenzo, and Kenshiro. (Spectrum.iee.org)