TOKYO - Major pharmaceutical company Tsumura and four other companies began full-scale operations on August 26 at a joint data collection center designed to develop "physical AI," technology that enables artificial intelligence to autonomously control robots in manufacturing and other workplaces.
At the center, robots reproduce the movements of human operators, with three cameras mounted on the robot's head and arms recording how it performs tasks by following human motions.
The companies are collecting this movement data and other information to help develop physical AI systems capable of making autonomous decisions and operating robots in real-world environments.
The center is jointly operated by five companies, including Tsumura, which sees humanoid robots as particularly suitable for introduction into existing factories.
Tsumura Executive Officer Kumagai said existing production lines were designed on the assumption that humans would perform the work. "Because existing manufacturing lines are built for human workers, humanoid robots can be introduced with relatively less cost and time," Kumagai said.
By working together, the participating companies plan to collect data on tasks that are common across different workplaces, helping accelerate the practical deployment of physical AI.
INSOL-HIGH representative Isobe said Japan still has an opportunity to compete globally in the field. "There is still virtually no gap with the rest of the world, so I think Japan is good at accumulating data domestically and building up examples of actual use in workplaces," Isobe said. "We want to firmly develop systems in Japan that can genuinely work in real-world environments."
Source: テレ東BIZ
