FANUC and Hitachi Partner to Advance Physical AI in Manufacturing

Industrial automation specialist FANUC has entered a strategic partnership with Hitachi to accelerate the development and deployment of Physical AI in manufacturing. Combining Hitachi’s advanced artificial intelligence technologies with FANUC’s industrial robotics expertise, the collaboration aims to help manufacturers improve productivity, increase operational flexibility and address ongoing workforce challenges.

The partnership focuses on developing AI-enabled robotic systems capable of adapting to changing conditions in real manufacturing environments. Physical AI allows robots and machines to perceive their surroundings, interpret information and respond through physical actions, opening opportunities to automate tasks that traditionally require human judgement.

Unlike approaches developed solely through virtual simulations, the joint initiative will incorporate real-world manufacturing data, allowing the technology to learn from production processes and respond to variations in components and operating conditions.

Testing Physical AI in Real Manufacturing Environments

Hitachi Group factories will provide the initial testing environment for the collaboration, operating as what the companies describe as ‘Customer Zero’ facilities.

The first phase will involve manufacturing sites in Japan’s Ibaraki region, where the partners will test applications including picking parts of different shapes and carrying out production changeovers when manufacturing requirements change.

These trials will allow Hitachi and FANUC to evaluate robot performance under practical operating conditions, including recognition accuracy, movement, production cycle times and quality.

The objective is to develop robotic systems that can adapt more independently to changing production requirements, reducing the need for manual intervention in tasks that currently depend on experienced operators.

Combining AI Technology with Industrial Robotics

The partnership brings together Hitachi’s HMAX Industry AI technologies and FANUC’s AI-enabled industrial robots, supported by the companies’ respective experience in manufacturing, control systems and production engineering.

By combining these capabilities, the companies aim to move beyond conventional automation systems that repeatedly perform predefined tasks under fixed conditions.

Toshiaki Tokunaga, President and CEO of Hitachi, highlighted how the collaboration would help translate technological developments into practical manufacturing applications, stating that “we will accelerate the implementation of Physical AI at manufacturing sites.”

Kenji Yamaguchi, President and CEO of FANUC Corporation, also emphasised the importance of combining the two companies’ expertise to develop more autonomous manufacturing processes.

Yamaguchi said the collaboration would expand the practical applications of Physical AI, while helping manufacturers address labour shortages and the challenge of transferring specialist knowledge to future generations.

Customer Deployment Planned from 2027

Following the initial testing and validation programme, Hitachi and FANUC plan to begin deploying Physical AI solutions to customers from fiscal 2027.

The companies anticipate applications across several manufacturing sectors, including automotive, advanced materials, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, food production and logistics.

For manufacturers, the development could provide new opportunities to automate complex handling and production tasks where conventional robotics can be limited by changes in component shapes, operating conditions or production requirements.

Through the partnership, Hitachi and FANUC aim to accelerate the practical adoption of intelligent robotics, supporting more flexible and autonomous manufacturing operations.

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