Mitsubishi Motors has signed an agreement with Highlanders Inc., a startup from the University of Tokyo, to introduce AI humanoid robots in its plants, replicating the skills of the most experienced workers.
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The agreement responds to the worsening labor shortage in Japan, which is pushing manufacturers to rethink factory work. The goal is to use AI to “capture” the know-how of outgoing workers and transfer it to new generations, facilitating generational turnover in an increasingly rigid labor market. Highlanders, founded in 2023, has already created the “N” model, a humanoid in height and weight, capable of walking, performing manual tasks, and interacting verbally.
Mitsubishi plans to start the project with a few dozen units: among the candidate sites stands out the engine assembly line at the Kyoto plant, where from 2027 a dedicated production with a capacity of 1,000 robots per month will be activated.
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“Humanoid robots have enormous potential to efficiently transmit the knowledge of the most experienced workers,” said Takao Kato, president and CEO of Mitsubishi Motors. The initiative is part of the “physical AI” trend, technology that enables machines to make autonomous decisions and actions based on environmental perception through cameras and sensors, a sector in which the Japanese automotive industry is accelerating.
In this direction, Honda has developed an AI-assisted robotic hand for precision tasks, while Toyota is experimenting with robotic arms in its laboratory city Woven City, at the foot of Mount Fuji.
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