Five Companies From Different Industries Join Humanoid Robot Development, Open Data Factory in Chiba to Expand Base Through Motion-Data Sharing

The J-HRTI joint development site for humanoid robots, the J-HRTI Kanto Data Factory, in which DMS is participating, is now fully operational in Narashino, Chiba Prefecture. The facility will house up to 40 humanoid robots, and participating companies will share motion data they collect. INSOL-HIGH will operate the facility, and five companies are participating, including Yamazen, Tsumura, DMS and Fuyo General Lease.

DMS says it handles tasks in logistics and direct-mail fulfillment that require human dexterity and flexible responses. The new facility is positioned as a place to turn such tasks into training data for humanoids, making the ability to digitize on-site expertise a prerequisite for implementation.

The key point is that the humanoid robotics trials are being set up not as an investment in equipment by a single company, but as a shared platform where multiple companies contribute data. The facility is designed to house up to 40 robots and explicitly calls for motion data to be consolidated on INSOL-HIGH's platform and shared among participating companies, aiming both to secure training data and to distribute the operating burden. The focus here is less on the robots' performance than on the system for generating, managing and sharing data. In related coverage, DMS joins J-HRTI, an organization focused on the social implementation of humanoid robots, this newspaper reported that DMS planned to take on the digitization of non-routine processes. The facility's launch can be seen as putting that policy into operation. However, the available information does not yet show how extensively DMS will deploy the robots at its own sites or which processes it will first offer to outside customers. For the industry, the significant point is the model for lowering barriers to humanoid adoption—often seen as including upfront investment, data collection and securing personnel—through shared equipment and a common platform. Logistics and manufacturing sites need a system for repeatedly training robots on the same motions, not one-off demonstrations. This facility gives multiple companies a shared starting point. Key questions ahead include how much data the operation of 40 robots will generate, how long the support system of about 100 people can be maintained, and how the scope of data sharing will be managed as more companies join.

The facility uses a shared-use model in which companies pay a fee rather than providing their own humanoid robots or data-management servers. Motion data will be consolidated on a platform managed by INSOL-HIGH, with data collected by each company organized by type of motion and shared. About 100 people will be assigned to support robot operation and process data.

In Japan's logistics and manufacturing sectors, some processes remain difficult to automate using existing equipment. A shared data-collection facility like this could also matter to midsize companies seeking to avoid owning equipment individually, raising the question of how to standardize on-site expertise across Japan.