SoftBank Corp. and Yaskawa Electric Corporation
Begin Collaboration on
Social Implementation of "Physical AI" Utilizing AI-RAN

Background of the Collaboration

As Japan faces challenges such as labor shortages resulting from a declining birthrate and an aging population, as well as increasing complexity in business operations, the need for automation and labor-saving solutions is growing across many industries. The use of AI and robotics is becoming increasingly important to meet these needs. However, in environments where large numbers of people move around, such as office buildings, hospitals, schools, and department stores, it has been difficult to promote automation. These conditions often require complex decision-making and flexible responses to unpredictable situations. SoftBank and Yaskawa Electric aim to address the social challenges Japan is facing through homegrown technologies. To this end, the two companies will collaborate by integrating SoftBank's AI-RAN with Yaskawa Electric's AI robotics, in order to build a domestically developed AI infrastructure and develop new solutions in the field of physical AI within Japan. Through this initiative, they aim to enable robots to achieve more advanced decision-making capabilities and to expand the range of tasks that robots can perform.

Initiatives by Both Companies

Yaskawa Electric has earned a strong reputation and long-standing trust in the fields of motion control and industrial robotics. Leveraging its strengths in precision control technologies centered on motors and its commitment to high safety standards, the company is integrating AI technologies to develop an autonomous robot called "MOTOMAN NEXT," which is capable of advanced decision-making. Through this initiative, Yaskawa Electric is working to expand the range of tasks that can be automated by enhancing their operational capabilities.

SoftBank has been advancing the development of AI-RAN, a technology that integrates AI with RAN (Radio Access Network) to create new value in communication infrastructure, as well as real-time processing technologies utilizing MEC platforms. These technologies enable the low-latency analysis of large volumes of environmental information captured by cameras and sensors, allowing AI to provide robots with optimal instructions from an "external perspective."

In this collaboration, the high operational performance and precise control realized through Yaskawa Electric’s AI robotics will be combined with SoftBank's AI-RAN. By integrating and analyzing information from robot sensors, cameras, and external systems such as building management systems in real time, the two companies will establish a system that can issue optimal instructions to robots. By combining the advanced technologies each company has cultivated in its respective field, SoftBank and Yaskawa Electric aim to create and socially implement new automation solutions in the field of Physical AI.

Development of a Use Case for Office "Physical AI" Robots

As the first phase of their collaboration, SoftBank and Yaskawa Electric have jointly developed a use case for an office-oriented Physical AI robot. This use case goes beyond conventional automation and digitalization frameworks by connecting Yaskawa Electric's high-performance robots with SoftBank's AI-RAN-based MEC, the AI operating on it, and next-generation building management systems.^*2 This enables robots to perform advanced actions based on situational judgments that take into account conditions within the building, such as identifying and retrieving a specific smartphone from an office shelf, and to respond flexibly to unforeseen events.

[Note]

1. *2
   In this use case, a virtual building management system was constructed and utilized for demonstration purposes.

System Configuration

The next-generation building management system works together with AI running on MEC ("MEC AI"), which generates task instructions for robots, and AI that controls the robots ("Robot AI").

• Next-generation building management system: Centrally manages information such as building facilities, office supply inventories, and the operational status of robots.
• MEC AI: Generates task instructions for robots by referring to data from the building management system and other sources, including sensor and camera information.
• Robot AI: Coordinates with MEC AI to generate specific robot actions.