ABEJA Participates in "Dataset Construction for VTLA Foundation Model through Tactile and Visual Data Collection in Manufacturing Sites" Promoted by METI/NEDO, Alongside Kawasaki Heavy Industries, FANUC, FingerVision, and Yaskawa Electric

ABEJA Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Yosuke Okada; hereinafter "ABEJA"), which aims to "implement a prosperous world through collaboration between humans and AI," announces its participation in the "Dataset Construction for VTLA Foundation Model through Tactile and Visual Data Collection in Manufacturing Sites" (hereinafter, "this project"), promoted by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).

This project is a collaborative effort by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd., Osaka University, FANUC Corporation, FingerVision Inc., and Yaskawa Electric Corporation. It was proposed and selected for the "Post-5G Information Communication System Foundation Enhancement Research and Development Project / Research and Development on Data Ecosystem Construction, etc. (GENIAC)" (hereinafter, "GENIAC"), a subsidized project publicly solicited by METI and NEDO.

Abeja will be commissioned by Osaka University to advance the foundational technology in collaboration with relevant parties.

Background

ABEJA, with its management philosophy of "implementing a prosperous world," operates an enterprise platform business that establishes practical AI utilization for customers and achieves continuous advancement, centered around the ABEJA Platform. The ABEJA Platform is an implementation foundation that supports the advancement of operations in the real world by integrating data, decision-making, and operations, enabling practical AI utilization beyond Proof of Concept (PoC) and unifying decision-making by Agentic AI with execution by Physical AI.

Currently, Japanese manufacturing faces challenges such as a decrease in skilled workers and the need to adapt to advanced and diversified production. Digitalization of advanced tasks that are difficult to handle with conventional automation technologies is required. In particular, automation through AI utilization in tasks involving non-visual information such as tactile and force feedback is expected.

Meanwhile, as international competition in the AI and robotics fields accelerates, leveraging the high-reliability, high-quality manufacturing data accumulated by Japanese manufacturing industries over many years is considered key to strengthening industrial competitiveness.

This project aims to address these challenges by developing data infrastructure and model technology that integrates multiple sensory information, including vision and touch, thereby realizing the reproduction and automation of advanced tasks in manufacturing sites and contributing to the strengthening of industrial competitiveness.

Overview

This project will promote the implementation of Physical AI in manufacturing sites by fostering collaboration among three leading Japanese robot manufacturers, universities, and companies in the sensing and IT fields. The goal is to develop a "VTLA (Vision-Tactile-Language-Action) model" capable of comprehensively handling data related to vision, tactile, language, and action collected from manufacturing sites.

Furthermore, by designing, collecting, and accumulating datasets suitable for the VTLA model and building a data ecosystem, the project aims to achieve automation of complex and delicate manual tasks that have been difficult until now.

Abeja will proceed with the design of the dataset and data ecosystem in collaboration with relevant parties.

<Key Points of This Project>

- Three robot manufacturers will jointly participate to standardize data specifications and collection infrastructure, building a dataset usable with various robots and devices.

- Development will be conducted in a short period, considering the speed of technological evolution, with the aim of forming a data ecosystem early on.

- Verification of the VTLA model through collaboration with startups and universities possessing expertise in tactile information.

By promoting this project as a united effort within the robotics industry, we aim to accelerate the adoption of robots not only in manufacturing but also in various other fields, contributing to the resolution of social issues such as the declining working population.

Abeja will work in collaboration with relevant parties, leveraging mutual expertise at the forefront of the AI robotics field, to contribute to the acceleration of robot implementation across diverse industries.

Publicly Solicited Project Name: Post-5G Information Communication System Foundation Enhancement Research and Development Project / Research and Development on Data Ecosystem Construction, etc. (GENIAC)

Project Implementation Period: August 2026 - July 2027

Public Information:

Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry: https://www.meti.go.jp/press/2026/07/20260702001/20260702001.html

NEDO: https://www.nedo.go.jp/koubo/CD3_100430.html

About ABEJA Inc.

Headquarters: Bizflex Azabu-Juban 2F, 1-1-14 Mita, Minato-ku, Tokyo

Established: September 10, 2012

Representative: CEO Yosuke Okada

Business: "Enterprise Platform Business" that establishes practical AI utilization for customers and achieves continuous advancement.

URL: https://abejainc.com