News On Japan

Nvidia-Backed Japanese Startup Pushes Ahead in Physical AI

TOKYO - Japanese startup Enactic is developing physical AI technology that combines artificial intelligence with robotic hardware, earning recognition from Nvidia while pursuing an unusual open-development strategy that makes its technology available to the public.

Physical AI generally refers to AI equipped with a physical body, or, put another way, a robot whose mechanical body is controlled by an AI-powered brain.

Enactic develops both sides of that equation, working on the intelligence that controls robots as well as the physical machines themselves.

The startup has also gained recognition from Nvidia, the U.S. semiconductor company with the world's largest market capitalization.

Enactic's physical AI robots can already perform everyday tasks such as putting a cover on a pillow and placing a spoon inside a container.

The robots learn these movements by recording actions first performed by a person using a mechanical arm. By teaching the system through human demonstrations, the robot can learn to reproduce the same movements.

Another defining feature of Enactic is its decision to publicly release technology it has developed.

Rather than securing patents and seeking profits directly from its inventions, the company makes its technology available to others and uses the information and feedback generated through that process to further improve its systems.

Through this approach, Enactic is pursuing the development of physical AI differently from many conventional technology companies as Japan seeks to advance its capabilities in the rapidly emerging field.

Source: テレ東BIZ

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