SoftBank Corp. and Yaskawa Electric Corporation Begin Collaboration on Social Implementation of “Physical AI” Utilizing AI-RAN ~Companies jointly developing use cases for office-oriented physical AI robots powered by AI running on MEC~

SoftBank Corp. and Yaskawa Electric Corporation have agreed to collaborate on the social implementation of “Physical AI”※1, leveraging SoftBank’s AI-RAN initiative and Yaskawa Electric’s AI robotics and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to formalize the collaboration.

As the first phase of their partnership, SoftBank and Yaskawa Electric have jointly developed a use case for an office-oriented Physical AI robot that integrates with building management systems and utilizes AI (artificial intelligence) running on MEC (Multi-access Edge Computing). Conventional robots have been designed to perform specific tasks and have not been capable of handling multiple tasks simultaneously. However, by leveraging AI operating on MEC, it is possible to integrate and analyze various types of information in real time, accurately assess situations, and provide optimal instructions to robots. As a result, robots can now flexibly perform a wider variety of tasks, realizing “multi-skilled functionality” by enabling a single unit to take on multiple roles.

A demonstration of this robot is scheduled to take place at the 2025 International Robot Exhibition (iREX 2025), which will be held at Tokyo Big Sight from December 3 to 6, 2025.

*1 Physical AI refers to technology that enables robots to analyze and interpret data from sensors, cameras, and external systems through AI, allowing them to perform flexible and complex physical movements based on AI-driven decisions.

Read the full press release here.
https://www.softbank.jp/en/corp/news/press/sbkk/2025/20251201_02/