Fujitsu partners with Fanuc, Yaskawa, Kawasaki on physical AI using Nvidia tech

Fujitsu announced the start of collaborative work with Fanuc, Yaskawa Electric and Kawasaki Heavy Industries to explore the development and deployment of physical AI—systems that use artificial intelligence to control robots and physical equipment—in manufacturing, logistics and healthcare. The partnership incorporates Nvidia's physical AI technologies and aims to build a collaborative control platform that integrates digital systems with robots and other physical assets.

The motivation is rooted in Japan's economic challenges. Fujitsu says the initiative is designed to accelerate physical AI adoption while addressing labor shortages, an aging workforce and intensifying global competition. The companies plan to apply the platform across multiple sectors: in manufacturing, it will optimize production planning and enable robots to adapt autonomously to changing factory conditions; in logistics and retail, it will automate material handling by combining logistics planning with real-time sales and inventory data; in healthcare, robots will automate the transport of pharmaceuticals and medical specimens as well as assist with patient reception and guidance.

Central to the effort is an open, sovereign collaborative control platform that Fujitsu plans to develop—one that integrates AI, robotics, simulation and data analysis from all participating companies. The platform is intended to enable different robots and equipment to work together while addressing cybersecurity, operational resilience and data protection. Technically, the partners will leverage Nvidia Cosmos foundation models to enhance simulations of real-world environments, Nvidia Omniverse libraries, the Nvidia Isaac robotics platform and the Newton physics engine to accelerate robot learning, simulation and Sim2Real workflows (the process of transferring skills learned in simulation to real robots).

Jensen Huang, Nvidia's founder and CEO, framed the collaboration as foundational: "Physical AI is the next industrial revolution – and it will be made in Japan. Fujitsu, Fanuc, Yaskawa and Kawasaki are the companies that taught the world how to manufacture. Together with Nvidia's full-stack physical AI platform, they will teach the world's machines to think, move and work alongside people – across factories, hospitals and cities." Fujitsu CEO Takahito Tokita described the effort as combining the robotics expertise of the three manufacturers with Fujitsu's digital technologies to create "a new social infrastructure in which people and robots work collaboratively across a wide range of industries."

The partners will next develop a roadmap for technology development and commercialization, with the longer-term goal of expanding physical AI deployment globally and strengthening Japan's position in the robotics industry.

Japan's robotics industry is seeking to apply artificial intelligence to physical systems—robots and factory equipment—as a way to offset demographic and competitive pressures. The collaboration between Fujitsu and three of Japan's leading robotics manufacturers reflects a recognition that physical AI requires both established robotics expertise and modern digital platforms. By incorporating Nvidia's full-stack technologies—from foundation models that simulate real-world behavior to the Isaac platform for robot control—the partners are building infrastructure intended to let different robots and systems work together seamlessly.

The stated motivations run deeper than efficiency: labor shortages and an aging workforce are concrete constraints on Japan's manufacturing sector, and physical AI offers a pathway to maintain productivity and global competitiveness. The emphasis on an "open, sovereign collaborative control platform" suggests the partners want to create a standard that can unify disparate equipment while protecting Japanese data and cybersecurity—a significant difference from relying on closed proprietary solutions. The roadmap development phase ahead will determine whether the vision translates into deployable products across the three targeted industries.

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