iREX 2025 was held in Tokyo from Dec. 3 to six. Credit score: Georg Stieler
The Worldwide Robotic Exhibition, or iREX 2025, earlier this month set new data: 673 exhibitors and 156,110 guests — even with elements of the Tokyo Large Sight exhibition floor underneath renovation.
The temper on the occasion was good, as market order consumption is recovering after two years of decline (significantly pushed by exports). What did I see there that I haven’t seen some place else earlier than?
1. Sensible AI: From lab to manufacturing unit flooring
Whereas there have been loads of dancing humanoid robots, primarily of Chinese language origin, what caught my eye have been AI-enabled industrial robots to deal with the slight variations and complexities beforehand reserved for human dexterity.
For instance, Yaskawa confirmed the MOTOMAN NEXT-NHC 10DE, an autonomous dual-arm robotic that packs gadgets right into a field with human-like delicacy.
In response to Yaskawa, the robotic’s motions have been realized by imitation of a human demonstration. Engineers first had an individual put on motion-capture markers on their fingers and recorded the particular person rigorously packing a field on digital camera. Utilizing this captured information, the NEXT-NHC 10DE replicated the human’s packing motions.
Yaskawa’s iREX exhibit emphasised AI controls (developed with NVIDIA) for adaptive, exact dual-arm coordination. This implies the robotic wasn’t simply pre-programmed; it used AI algorithms working on a high-performance GPU to carry out real-time changes, comparable to visible inspection of merchandise placement and mild dealing with.
The MOTOMAN NEXT-NEX35 is able to unloading, unpacking, and feeding variable uncooked supplies. This technique has an autonomous management unit and fuses AI judgment with robotics, enabling real-time recognition and resolution making as environment change.
We had suggested a beverage producer with related wants about its automation technique six years in the past, however they have been unattainable to satisfy at the moment.
2. Platform play: Opening up the walled gardens
Carefully associated to AI was FANUC’s shocking pivot to extra openness. Traditionally recognized for closed, proprietary robotic controllers, Japan’s largest robotic producer introduced a strategic partnership with NVIDIA to speed up bodily AI in industrial robotics simply earlier than iREX.
FANUC launched a ROS 2 driver on GitHub, permitting builders to regulate its robots through the open-source Robotic Working System. The corporate additionally launched official Python and ROS 2 assist on its newest controllers.
This open-platform method is supposed to “improve connectivity with exterior AI environments” and pace up implementation of bodily AI – basically connecting robotic arms with trendy AI software program. FANUC’s ROS 2 driver helps 1-millisecond management loops and works throughout fashions, from small cobots to its 2.3-ton heavy robotic.
The driving force nonetheless depends upon particular FANUC controller software program choices (J519/R912 or S636), so this openness is concentrated on developer workflows, whereas key controller capabilities stay licensed. Moreover, FANUC built-in NVIDIA’s Isaac Sim simulation platform, contributing official 3D fashions of its robots for digital testing and AI coaching.
At iREX, FANUC demonstrated a AI-powered dual-arm cable set up system with Japanese AI startup Fingervision, in addition to a collaboration with Inbolt from France for monitoring and dealing on transferring elements (see video beneath). It additionally confirmed a robotic responding to and executing pure language voice instructions.
It’s fascinating to see that purposes that have been experimental 5 years in the past at the moment are so secure that they’re turning into mainstream.
The development towards extra openness was additionally mirrored by Kawasaki’s introduction of its “open” controller idea. A single controller synchronously managed two force- and power-limited or collaborative robots from Kawasaki, an electrical gripper from Oriental Motor, and the XPlanar magnetic floating linear conveyor system from Beckhoff Automation.
Kawasaki additional confirmed the advances of its ROBO CROSS cloud platform, the place finish customers can obtain purposes and instruments developed by system integrators as modules. Taking part firms to date embody Kawasaki Heavy Industries, NTT Enterprise Options, Daihen, FingerVision, Yasukawa Electrical, Yamaha Motor, and Japanese startup ugo.
Whereas these strikes are essential to speed up innovation safety, these methods additionally pose new challenges. Safety, stability, and AI focus are dangers as superior AI entry is more and more turning into depending on a small set of suppliers — notably NVIDIA — with corresponding bargaining-power implications.
The profitable robotics firms in all probability received’t be essentially the most “open” or “closed” however the ones that outline a transparent differentiation layer: utility libraries, high-quality activity information, validated security, and lifecycle assist.
3. Chinese language gamers proceed worldwide enlargement at iREX
Chinese language companies turned out in drive, with 84 exhibitors (up from 50 in 2023) making up nearly all of abroad firms at iREX 2025. Such high-profile occasions are an vital platform for them to current themselves not solely to a Japanese, but in addition to a global viewers.
Whereas we haven’t but seen Chinese language industrial robots making inroads in Japan, they’ve turn into formidable opponents in different elements of the world. Again in 2016, Japan managed roughly a 3rd of worldwide robotic exports. By 2024, its share had slipped to round 21%, whereas China’s share climbed from about 3% to 4% to almost 10%.
At iREX, essentially the most seen Chinese language exhibitors got here from segments the place Japanese gamers are much less seen or much less aggressive on value – low-cost cobots, humanoid robots, and superior tactile sensing. Their methods differ. For example, Dobot has began to rent extra native staffers, which looks as if the suitable method, as this allows it to poach extra high expertise in native markets such because the U.S. and Japan.
Bodily AI would require loads of real-world information. A rising share of the {hardware} used to gather that information – particularly low-cost sensing and humanoids – is coming from China. PaXini confirmed its PMEC Hyper Assortment System, consisting of a digital camera and gloves with multidimensional tactile sensors.
AgiBot, certainly one of China’s main humanoid robotic makers, used iREX to announce its entry into the Japanese market and confirmed its vision-language-action (VLA) mannequin ViLLA.
4. European deep-tech startups scale via globalization
It was encouraging to see European deep-tech startups presenting themselves in Tokyo. The aforementioned Inbolt confirmed purposes on the cubicles of each FANUC and Common Robots (UR).
Swiss startup AICA confirmed an AI-powered gearbox meeting with associate UR. Despite the fact that they’re nonetheless younger, the trail to scale for these firms is thru international partnerships with main producers within the U.S., Japan, and South Korea.
5. iREX 2025 provides a glimpse into the longer term
Considered one of my favourite reveals at iREX got here from SOLOMON, a machine imaginative and prescient specialist from Taiwan.
It tuned a Unitree G1 humanoid with enhanced, extra succesful fingers and an onboard NVIDIA Jetson AGX pc. Utilizing NVIDIA’s GR00T platform, the robotic was skilled to see as much as 5 m (16.4 ft.), perceive orders in pure language, and plan the bodily steps to select from an outlined set of objects.
The appliance was nonetheless shaky and did generally have bother greedy the objects on the first try, but it surely offered a glimpse into the longer term. A ChatGPT-style second for embodied intelligence — when robots will be capable of generalize natural-language directions to new, non-preprogrammed duties — appears potential within the not-too-distant future.
Concerning the writer
Credit score: Georg Stieler
Georg Stieler advises a number of the world’s largest robotics firms. He spent greater than 10 years residing in China and now splits his time between Switzerland and the Folks’s Republic of China.
Due to multi‑12 months, shut collaboration with AI startups in Silicon Valley, Stieler can be deeply aware of its tradition.