Yaskawa's AI Robots

MOTOMAN NEXT

AI × Robot

What Is an AI Robot?

Industrial Robots Are Entering the Era of Thinking and Acting Autonomously

Recently, terms such as "Physical AI," "AI Robotics," and "Humanoid Robots" have become increasingly common in news reports and on social media.

Industrial robots have traditionally excelled at repetitive tasks accurately and consistently as instructed by humans.
In addition, Yaskawa has developed an industrial robot that can understand situations, make decisions, and act on its own through AI. This is the AI robot, "MOTOMAN NEXT."

AI Robots Can Automate Tasks That Previously Required Human Skills

Industrial robots have expanded mainly in manufacturing environments, including automotive plants, where they repeatedly perform the same tasks with speed and accuracy, such as welding and painting vehicles. This approach is called the "Teaching Playback Method."
The robots reproduce motions that humans teach in advance. Since then, industrial robots have been used in many more applications, including assembling home appliances and electronic components and sorting products in logistics warehouses.

However, many tasks still remain difficult to automate. Typical examples are tasks that require ambiguous or qualitative judgment.

For example:

Handling food products with varying shapes and sizes
Handling deformable objects such as cables and bags
Tasks requiring human sensory judgment, such as determining whether something looks "good" or "acceptable"

These tasks have traditionally relied on human vision and intuition, making automation difficult.
Many activities that support our daily lives still depend on manual work, such as arranging prepared foods, routing cables, and packing strawberries neatly.
The AI robot "MOTOMAN NEXT" is designed to solve these challenges.