Physical AI development advances through KDDI and CEC initiatives

Japanese telecommunications giant KDDI and South Korean physical AI startup RLWRLD are collaborating to develop robot foundation models aimed at addressing labor shortages in the logistics and retail sectors. This initiative was selected for the ‘GENIAC’ project, a generative AI development support program led by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and NEDO. The partnership focuses on efficient robot learning data collection, utilizing ‘egocentric’ approaches such as first-person video via camera-equipped glasses, and leveraging real-world data from Lawson convenience stores to build high-precision AI models.

In a separate development, CEC has established a ‘Physical AI Demonstration Lab’ at its Sagamino System Laboratory. This research hub is designed to facilitate the social implementation of physical AI in manufacturing. The lab provides an experimental environment to evaluate the interoperability, control, and safety of industrial robots from multiple manufacturers. Current research themes include the automatic generation of robot motion designs and the application of simulation-trained models to real-world hardware (Sim2Real) to accelerate full automation in production environments.