Fully Waterproof Humanoid Robot DR02 Makes Its Debut in Japan

A full-body waterproofed industrial humanoid robot made its first appearance in Japan on Aug. 26, when the DEEP Robotics DR02 was shown at AI Expo Summer 2026 in Tokyo's Shinjuku district. The two-day event, the 10th edition of the AI Hakurankai series, drew more than 100 companies presenting over 200 AI solutions across physical AI, generative AI, AI agents and enterprise automation. The DR02, made by the Hangzhou-based company DEEP Robotics, was brought to the expo by its Japanese distribution partner, ELSA Japan.

The DR02 is described as the first humanoid robot with a full-body IP66 protection rating, extending across its joints, actuator housings, sensor ports and cable routing rather than just select components. Under the IEC 60529 standard, an IP66 rating means an enclosure is completely dust-tight and can withstand powerful water jets — a 12.5-millimeter nozzle delivering 100 liters per minute at 100 kilopascals from any direction for at least three minutes, a tougher test than the IP65 rating most industrial electronics carry.

The robot weighs about 65 kilograms and stands roughly 175 centimeters tall. It can operate from minus 20 to 55 degrees Celsius, function in rain and dust, and work in high humidity. It walks at 1.5 meters per second, can sprint to 4 meters per second, climbs slopes of up to 20 degrees, and each arm can carry a 10-kilogram payload. Its sensor stack of LiDAR, depth cameras and wide-angle cameras is powered by an NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin computing platform delivering 275 trillion operations per second, and its forearms, full arms and legs can be swapped in the field without returning the unit to a depot.

ELSA Japan also displayed the DEEP Robotics Lynx M20 Pro, a wheel-legged quadruped that shares the DR02's IP66 chassis protection. It reaches up to 5 meters per second in controlled conditions, climbs continuous steps up to 25 centimeters high, clears obstacles up to 80 centimeters, and carries a 15-kilogram payload.

The debut comes as Japan faces a deepening labor shortage: as of April 2026, Teikoku Databank data showed 50.6% of Japanese companies reporting full-time staff shortages, the fourth consecutive April above half. Bankruptcies attributed to staffing shortages exceeded 400 cases in the 2025 fiscal year, a third straight record year, with construction accounting for 112 cases and road freight transport 55.