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

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

Typhoon No. 26 (Surigae) intensified into a very strong storm by 3 p.m. on September 27 and is expected to approach Okinawa through September 28, bringing violent winds and heavy rain before continuing northeast over waters south of Japan, where it could strengthen a stationary autumn rain front and trigger further downpours across western and eastern Japan.

Yokozuna Onosato captured his sixth career championship at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament on September 27, defeating Ukrainian ozeki Aonishiki in a winner-takes-all showdown at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan to finish the 15-day competition with 12 wins and three losses, ending a year-long title drought after a dramatic final weekend.

A fire broke out at the observation deck of Chubu Electric Power MIRAI TOWER in central Nagoya on Saturday, prompting 30 visitors to evacuate, although no injuries were reported.

Japan's teenage skateboarders delivered two gold medals and two bronze medals on September 25, with 15-year-olds Mizuho Hasegawa and Ian Nagahara winning the women's and men's park competitions at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

A major traffic accident involving 10 vehicles, including trucks and passenger cars, left one man seriously injured and nine others with minor injuries on the Daini Shinmei Road in Kobe on September 24, forcing the closure of part of the expressway.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Web3 NEWS

High school students in Okinawa took part in a workshop organized by Okinawa Cellular on September 22, using generative AI to develop solutions to local community problems, with a focus on improving access to a public sports facility in Uruma City.

AIツールは、仕事や学習、日常生活のさまざまな場面で使われるようになりました。

Japanese technology company MW is developing a home equipped with artificial intelligence and ceiling-mounted robots designed to automate household chores, with the goal of freeing people from the roughly four hours a day that can be spent on domestic work.

Cross-border trade across Asia-Pacific keeps expanding, and so does the number of foreign shoppers, tourists, and business travelers that merchants now have to serve.

Both cryptocurrency and online casinos have developed huge audiences in Japan. Research from 2025 estimated that more than three million adults have wagered online, while Japan also has an established crypto sector that is supported by millions of exchange accounts.

The Tokyo Game Show, one of the world's largest gaming exhibitions, opened with a record 1,138 exhibitors as companies from a growing range of industries seek a foothold in Japan's expanding gaming market, with artificial intelligence emerging as one of the main attractions this year.

Police are warning of a nationwide surge in scams involving criminals posing as officers, with evidence emerging that generative AI may now be used to create fake identities during video calls and make the deception more convincing.

High school students in Mishima, Shizuoka Prefecture, explored how humans and artificial intelligence might coexist in the future by interacting with an AI-powered humanoid robot during a class on September 11.