Mitsubishi has announced that it will start in the first half of 2027 the mass production of humanoid robots equipped with artificial intelligence intended to operate within its own plants. The move responds to the need to face the growing labor shortage, typical of many advanced economies and particularly felt in industrial supply chains. To turn the idea into operational capacity, the company will use a currently inactive motor production line at the Kyoto plant, with an estimated capacity of about 1,000 units per month.
Mitsubishi bets on humanoid robots
The robots will be developed by Highlanders, a Tokyo-based start-up founded in 2023 and partly owned by Mitsubishi. The prototype stands out for a height of about 1.75 meters and stable locomotion on two legs. Supporting operational autonomy is a “physical AI” system that allows the robot to independently assess the surrounding environment while performing assigned tasks. The five-fingered hands are designed for precision gestures, from manipulation to transporting objects, with the goal of reducing workers’ exposure to repetitive or risky tasks and increasing the continuity of the production flow.
Mass production by mid-2027
The Japanese company states that the graphics processing unit acting as the robot’s “brain” will be produced by Nvidia, while most of the other components will remain of Japanese manufacture. CEO Takao Kato explained that the company wants to transfer the skills developed in automotive quality control to the robots, also leaving open the possibility of future commercialization of the machines. The project fits into a broader framework of advanced automation in the automotive industry: according to Fuji Keizai Group, the global market in the sector could quintuple by 2030 to about 650 billion yen (about 4 billion euros), reaching 3.5 trillion yen by 2035.
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