Kawada Robotics

Kawada Robotics, part of Japan's Kawada Group focuses on collaborative humanoid robots for industrial and research use. Its flagship is the NEXTAGE series of dual-arm industrial humanoids, including models such as NEXTAGE (NXA, upgraded in 2018 for higher payload and speed) and the more compact, cost-effective NEXTAGE Fillie. These all-in-one systems feature cameras in the head and arms for environmental and workpiece recognition, six-axis dual arms, integrated vision, controllers, and software, enabling flexible operation in high-mix, variable-volume manufacturing without extensive reprogramming.

Designed under a "coexistence with people" concept, NEXTAGE robots use low-power actuators (under 80W per axis in key configurations) that, with proper risk assessment, allow safe collaboration without safety fences in shared workspaces. They perform assembly, handling, and inspection tasks that previously required human operators, occupying a compact footprint similar to one worker. Open variants (NEXTAGE OPEN and Fillie OPEN) support ROS and other middleware for research, combining robust hardware with extensible software for advanced development.

The company also maintains historical research platforms from the HRP series (HRP-2, HRP-3, HRP-4), bipedal humanoids developed under Japanese government projects for human-cooperative systems, featuring capabilities like narrow-path walking, dust/drip resistance, and coordinated whole-body motion. Overall, Kawada's robots emphasize reliability in factory automation, human-robot collaboration to address labor shortages, and platforms that transfer proven industrial hardware into research environments, with over a thousand units historically produced and active in manufacturing settings.