The Beginning of the Era of Physical AI in Japan

The Japanese robotics industry is undergoing a transformation as it attempts to adapt to the era of physical artificial intelligence.

Traditional leaders such as Fanuc and Yaskawa Electric, which dominated the market for decades with their precision-programmed movements, are now forced to catch up with competitors in the field of autonomous systems.

Physical AI is a concept where digital algorithms not only process data on a server, but also directly interact with the physical world through a physical body. With the advent of generative AI, the focus has shifted from programmed movements to universal robots capable of autonomously learning and analyzing data. The technological transition is evident in the figures — if the share of Japanese companies in the global market was 80% in the 1980s, it has now halved to 40% under the pressure of competitors from the US and China.

In response to these challenges, Japanese companies are forming partnerships with Western corporations, primarily from the US, to develop open-source software with the aim of implementing AI in robots to perform non-typical tasks: from cleaning surgical instruments to agricultural work and office maintenance.

SoftBank, a company owned by Masayoshi Son, is set to become a new player in the global market. It intends to combine the precision of machine equipment with “artificial superintelligence” algorithms to transform industrial manipulators into autonomous agents capable of learning in real time.

The main challenge for Japanese manufacturers remains the need to overcome historical closedness and slowness in innovation, which experts call a “barrier to development”.