Lifetime Support Selected for Nagano Prefecture AI Demonstration Project; Field Test to Mow Steep Slopes

Lifetime Support Co., Ltd. was selected for Nagano Prefecture’s “Shinshu-style Sandbox Program ‘Shinshu AI GEARS.’” In collaboration with Nagano-based Noguchi Kaihatsu Co., Ltd., the company will conduct a field test of mowing steep slopes in mountainous areas using a quadruped robot and AI. The company says it is the first field test of its kind in Nagano Prefecture.

Lifetime Support will carry out a field test of mowing using a quadruped robot and AI as a project selected for Nagano Prefecture’s “Shinshu AI GEARS.” The announced target is steep slopes in mountainous areas, where the test will assess the scope of work, safety and results.

What this announcement makes concrete is not a development plan for AI or quadruped robots, but the project operator and partner for a field test of mowing steep slopes in mountainous areas. Selection for Nagano Prefecture’s “Shinshu AI GEARS” and collaboration with Noguchi Kaihatsu indicate how the project will be conducted, but do not describe its results or technical approach. Selection and an on-site work test should not be treated as the same stage; it is necessary to distinguish what tasks the robot actually performs and to what extent. For this application, the evaluation criteria could include not only whether the robot can move on slopes, but also how it identifies the area to be mowed, how the robot and cutting blades are managed during work, and how unmowed areas are checked afterward. However, the published text only describes the application as involving a “quadruped robot and AI”; it does not confirm that these functions have been implemented. What role AI plays—route planning, target recognition or work decisions—is also a point that needs to be clarified, and the scope of autonomous operation cannot be broadly inferred from the name alone. The project brings together selection for a Nagano Prefecture demonstration program, collaboration between Lifetime Support and Noguchi Kaihatsu, and the on-site challenge of mowing steep slopes. The focus of evaluation is therefore likely to be the operating conditions needed to make mowing work on actual slopes, rather than the robot’s general walking ability. The description of the field test as the first in the prefecture indicates its regional positioning, but does not provide results supporting its applicability in other areas or its work efficiency. The next points to confirm are the test location and timing, the robot used, the scope of the work area, the evaluation methods for work time and unmowed areas, safety management, and the division between remote control and autonomous operation. Without this information, it is not possible to determine whether the test is limited to confirming that the technology works or will also assess its potential for ongoing mowing operations. The information provided also does not establish mass production, commercial availability or deployment sites, so the announcement of a test should not be equated with a confirmed move to commercialization.

The announcing company says the test will use a quadruped robot and AI to mow steep slopes in mountainous areas. Its partner is Nagano-based Noguchi Kaihatsu Co., Ltd., but the published text provided does not specify the robot model, test location, timing or scale of the work.