On April 12, crowds flocked to Toyota Arena in Tokyo to witness CUE7 come to life on the court. Standing 219 cm (7’2″) tall, it moved with an unsettlingly steady balance as it retrieved a basketball off the ground. When the robot began to move, it appeared to be playing basketball like any other player, with deft dribbles and precise motions. When the robot took a free shot in front of 8,400 yelling spectators, the ball left its hands in a perfect arc and fell over the net.
Its weight was reduced by engineers to 74 kg, a nearly 40% decrease from its previous iteration. The CUE7 now rolls on two wheels rather than a four wheel base, which helps conserve parts and provides it with a more secure footing when jetting down the court. The robot has the consistent power it needs to move fluidly and effortlessly around the court thanks to high-torque batteries from race cars.
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Thanks to the stereo camera in its “head,” which can detect the hoop from a distance, the robot is continuously collecting data from everything around it. It knows exactly where it is in relation to the basket thanks to the extremely accurate distance and depth readings provided by the LiDAR units in its midsection.
The new robot operates entirely differently from previous iterations of CUE7, which required precise human coordination. It has a hybrid system that blends model predictive control and reinforcement learning. This means that via constant practice and trial-and-error, the machine can test out its own actions, identify what doesn’t work, and make necessary adjustments. Additionally, it has model predictive control, which provides the machine with a blueprint for its next movements. This combination enables the robot to adjust to novel circumstances as they arise.
The vision system first latches onto the hoop and determines the distance as the robot advances through a shot. It then establishes the ideal trajectory by slightly altering its arm angle and stance. The arms stretch in a single motion, the ball is elevated to a fixed position, and it follows a precise arc through the air and into the net without any wobbles that could damage the shot. It repeatedly repeats this with almost the same outcomes.
4/12 運動性能が飛躍的に進化したCUE7がデビューしました。本体重量を120kgから74kgへ大幅に軽量化し、倒立二輪構造を採用。強化学習とモデル予測制御を組み合わせたハイブリッド制御により、ダイナミックな動作を実現。デザインはアスリートを想起させるシャープなシルエットと機能美を両立させました pic.twitter.com/aNjranNY63
— トヨタ 未来創生センター | Toyota Frontier Research Center (@TOYOTA_FRC) April 13, 2026
The system immediately enters analysis mode when the robot misses, examining what went wrong, adjusting the machine’s calculations, and improving the subsequent try. This indicates that the robot can quickly become consistent, making free throws with ease and even longer shots that were previously difficult. When it comes to dribbling, the robot bounces the ball with just the proper amount of force as it travels across the court with the same natural ease as any other basketball player.
Toyota created the CUE7 robot as a test platform to fine-tune its motion planning, precise control, and vision technologies. They will eventually be able to create machines that can handle objects in a factory or on the road with far greater delicacy thanks to the lessons they are learning here. Nearly ten years ago, the project began as a sort of side project, and with every iteration, it has been getting better.
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