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Kyoto University Unveils Buddharoid: A Unitree G1 Humanoid Trained as a Buddhist Monk
Humanoid·Kyodo News / Interesting Engineering·1 min read

Kyoto University Unveils Buddharoid: A Unitree G1 Humanoid Trained as a Buddhist Monk

Researchers at Kyoto University have turned a Unitree G1 humanoid robot into a Buddhist monk. Dubbed Buddharoid, the grey-robed robot was showcased at the historic Shoren-in temple in Kyoto, where it bowed, joined its hands in prayer, and answered questions on personal and social matters using Buddhist scriptures. The robot runs BuddhaBot-Plus, an AI chatbot built on OpenAI's ChatGPT and trained on sacred texts. When asked about relationships, it advised reflecting on closeness and maintaining inner balance. The project, led by Professor Seiji Kumagai — who is also a practicing monk — addresses Japan's shrinking temple communities, where aging populations and rural decline are leaving temples without followers or new monks. Kumagai described it as a potential paradigm shift for how robotics can preserve religious practices.

UnitreeG1JapanBuddhismKyoto UniversityService RobotAI
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