“Hateno Village Research Lab” is both a location of interest and a side adventure to complete to unlock new abilities in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
You meet up with Robbie who will take you to his laboratory to test a new Shrine Sensor for your Purah Pad. This sensor, as obvious, lets you detect all nearby Shrines.
So, to add this cool sensor to your Purah Pad and never miss a shrine, we first have to look for the side adventure’s location.
How to unlock Hateno Village Research Lab in Zelda: TotK
There are two quests that you need to complete before being able to unlock the Hateno Village Research Lab quest in Tears of the Kingdom.
You need to first complete Camera Work in the Depths which is part of the main storyline. This quest unlocks your Autobuild ability which you are going to need to complete the Research Lab adventure.
You also then need to complete A Mystery in the Depths.
Once ready, make your way to Lookout Landing to find Robbie to get an invitation to his lab. Head over to the location marked on the map below south of the Hyrule Castle Town Ruins. The coordinates are x-axis -0247, y-axis 0134, and z-axis 0019.
How to complete Hateno Village Research Lab in Zelda: TotK
After meeting Robbie, he will ask you to follow him to his lab so that he can upgrade your Purah Pad at the Hateno Village Research Lab, therefore, you need to follow these steps ahead in Tears of the Kingdom.
Talk to Robbie at the Hateno Village Research Lab
Strike up a conversation with Robbie at the lab and he will reward you with the Shrine Sensor. He will tell you that this sensor will make a sound when you are moving in the direction of a shrine.
Make the sensor go off
Robbie will ask you to test the Shrine Sensor, so now you will have to move around the lab and locate the point where the sensor goes off.
Instead of wandering around the room and letting Robbie get mad at you, simply go directly opposite Robbie near the table and the sensor will start ringing.
Look for the shrine
Now that the sensor has detected a shrine nearby, you need to go and look for it. Exit the lab and head straight till you see a small alcove in the Retsam Forest Cave and to enter it you will first need to break the rocks blocking the entrance.
You will find the Mayahisik Shrine of East Necluda here with the characteristic glowing green sigil that indicates each shrine in the game.
Enter the shrine by interacting with it and open the chest to get a magical rod. This shrine does not have a puzzle inside as most shrines in the game do, so you just have to go inside and interact with the next sigil.
Go back to Robbie
Now that you have made sure that Robbie’s shrine sensor is working and discovered a shrine, you need to go back to Robbie and tell him that.
He will hand you the operation instruction for the shrine sensor and will tell you that he is working on further upgrades for the sensor.
The ‘Hateno Village Research Lab’ side adventure will end with this conversation in Tears of the Kingdom.
