Advancing physical AI adoption with the no-code development platform "Physical AI Studio"
Airion Inc. has begun providing Yazaki Corporation with a platform to accelerate the development and use of physical AI on the factory floor.
Under this initiative, Airion will provide Yazaki with Physical AI Studio, the physical AI development platform developed by Airion, and the two companies will pursue automation and process improvement powered by physical AI.
In the initial phase, Airion engineers will work alongside Yazaki to develop use cases and validate the technology. In the longer term, the goal is for Yazaki's own shop-floor and development staff to use Physical AI Studio to run the full PDCA cycle themselves, from data collection and AI model validation to deployment on robots and continuous improvement.
■ Background
In recent years, the range of hardware that makes up physical AI systems, including robots, cameras, tactile and force sensors, and grippers, has expanded rapidly. Devices for collecting robot operation data and teleoperation technologies have also emerged, making it possible to capture real-world data in more ways than ever before.
At the same time, connecting and controlling each piece of hardware on an actual production line, and combining it with AI models into a system that works end to end, still requires a certain level of expertise in hardware and physical AI models.
Furthermore, improving the performance of physical AI is not simply a matter of collecting large volumes of data. The following points matter:
- Which data items to capture
- How to ensure data quality
- At what granularity, and by what rules, to label the data
- Which additional data to collect
A gap remains between shop-floor staff, who have deep knowledge of production processes and on-site challenges, and the AI and robotics expertise needed to develop physical AI through trial and error.
Airion develops and provides Physical AI Studio to close this gap and create an environment in which the factory floor itself can continuously develop and improve physical AI.
■ What is Physical AI Studio?
Physical AI Studio is a development platform that lets users build, without writing code, the entire chain of processing needed for physical AI development: configuring hardware such as robots, sensors, cameras and grippers; selecting the AI models to use; collecting, processing and labeling data; and controlling robots.
By combining ready-made function blocks on screen, users can build and modify physical AI processing flows and iterate on them, even without advanced programming expertise.
Feature 1: No-code development by combining blocks
Processing steps such as capturing images from cameras, controlling robots, recognition and inference with AI models, data storage and labeling are provided as blocks. Connecting them builds a complete processing flow.
Rather than developing an entire system from scratch every time a new piece of hardware or AI model is tried, users can quickly validate ideas by rearranging only the parts that need to change.
Feature 2: Usable as source code
Processing built in Physical AI Studio is designed so that it can be handled as source code when needed, allowing users to inspect and edit what the system does.
The aim is a development environment that delivers the efficiency of no-code development while keeping the system internals transparent and avoiding excessive dependence on any particular tool or vendor.
Feature 3: Continuous addition of the latest AI models and technologies
In the field of physical AI, new AI models, data collection methods and robot hardware appear at a very fast pace.
In addition to functions frequently used on the factory floor, Airion will validate the practicality of the latest research results and models and add them to Physical AI Studio as blocks wherever possible.
This gives users an environment where new technologies can be incorporated into existing development flows and compared and evaluated, rather than requiring a separate environment to be set up each time a new technology appears.
Feature 4: Support for end users' own algorithms
Beyond the blocks provided by Airion, Physical AI Studio offers a UI for adding and editing end users' proprietary algorithms and programs.
This lets companies preserve their own production technology and know-how while combining it with general-purpose AI models and robotics technology.
Feature 5: Designed for global use
Physical AI Studio supports Japanese and English so that it can be used at production sites overseas as well as in Japan.
Support for additional languages will be considered as the regions of use expand.
■ This Initiative
Under this initiative, Airion will provide Physical AI Studio to Yazaki and advance the use of physical AI in actual manufacturing processes.
In the first stage, Airion engineers will work alongside Yazaki using Physical AI Studio to examine the required sensor and robot configurations, data collection methods, AI models and robot control methods, with the aim of automating wire harness manufacturing tasks with physical AI.
Usability and required functions will also be evaluated through use on the actual production line, and the findings will be fed back into improvements to Physical AI Studio.
■ Outlook
In the field of physical AI, the AI models themselves are expected to keep evolving rapidly.
Airion therefore believes that what matters is not deploying a particular AI model once and stopping there, but having a mechanism that lets the factory floor quickly try, evaluate and improve implementations each time a new model or robot technology appears.
As frontier models continue to improve, Airion also believes that the question is not only which model to use, but what real-world data to accumulate in a form that remains usable with future models. This perspective will become one of the key sources of competitiveness in manufacturing.
Airion will support Yazaki's physical AI development in the initial phase of this initiative. Over the long term, the goal is for Yazaki's staff to run the following cycle themselves using Physical AI Studio:
"Problem definition → data collection → AI model validation → deployment on robots → evaluation → additional data collection and improvement"
By closing the gap between AI and robotics expertise and shop-floor knowledge, Airion will continue working to turn physical AI from a technology handled only by a few specialists into one that the factory floor itself can experiment with and improve every day.
■ Company Profiles
[About Yazaki Corporation]
Founded in 1941. Guided by its corporate policy of being "a corporation in step with the world" and "a corporation needed by society," Yazaki develops, manufactures and sells automotive components and energy equipment, including wire harnesses, in which it holds a world-leading market share. The company now operates in 46 countries and regions worldwide, contributing to a more prosperous future through products and services that support vehicles, daily life and society.
[About Airion Inc.]
Airion is a University of Tokyo-born venture whose mission is "Creating a New Standard for Industry." It advances research and development in AI and robotics for manufacturing and other industrial fields. With strengths in AI implementation across the IT × OT domain and in physical AI development, Airion works to bring next-generation industrial software built on cutting-edge technology into real-world use.
- Company name: Airion Inc.
- Address: 3F Kashiwaya Bldg. 2, 3-28-10 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- Representatives: Takumi Kawamura, Takumi Ohkuma
- Website: https://airion.co.jp/
■ Inquiries about Physical AI
If you are interested in Physical AI Studio or in developing and using physical AI on the factory floor, please feel free to contact us through the form below.
[Contact form] https://airion.co.jp/en/contact