The AI Robot Association (AIRoA), as part of a project commissioned by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), opens pre-entry registration (*) for participants in the "General-Purpose Robot Development Competition."

* Pre-entry is a preliminary registration before the formal application. Companies that pass the pre-entry screening will receive detailed guidelines including conditions not described in this document. Please review the content and decide whether to submit a formal application.

1. Overview

This competition aims to strengthen the competitiveness of Japan's robotics industry by promoting the development and manufacturing of practical general-purpose robots (dual-arm mobile manipulators).

During the competition and subsequent improvement and mass production phases, robots that meet specifications and evaluation criteria set by AIRoA will be delivered to AIRoA. Through improvement feedback, participating companies will refine their robots and establish mass production systems. The completed mass-produced robots will be used as data collection robots for the development of robot foundation models under the NEDO commissioned project (*).

* NEDO commissioned project: "Post-5G Information and Communication System Infrastructure Enhancement R&D Project / Development of Data Platform for Generative AI Foundation Models in Robotics"

Competition Period (March 2026 - September 2026):

• Development and Manufacturing Period (March 2026 - September 2026): Participating companies develop and manufacture prototype general-purpose robots (dual-arm mobile manipulators) based on specifications designated by AIRoA.

• Prototype Delivery (September 2026): Prototypes meeting specifications designated by AIRoA are delivered to AIRoA.

• Demonstration Event (September 2026): Participating companies demonstrate evaluation tasks set by AIRoA through teleoperation. Media coverage is planned.

• Comprehensive Evaluation of Prototypes (September 2026): Prototypes are comprehensively evaluated based on two criteria: performance evaluation and plan-based commercialization requirements evaluation. Results determine eligibility to proceed to the improvement period.

* Performance evaluations will also be conducted periodically during the development and manufacturing period. Companies that meet evaluation criteria for both performance and commercialization requirements early may proceed to the subsequent improvement period ahead of schedule.

Post-Competition Schedule:

• Improvement Period (September 2026 - March 2027): Companies meeting prototype evaluation criteria proceed to this period and manufacture improved robots based on improvement items presented by AIRoA.

• Improved Robot Delivery (By March 2027): Companies that complete manufacturing of a specified number of units deliver improved robots to AIRoA.

• Evaluation of Improved Robots (By March 2027): Achievement of improvement items presented by AIRoA is evaluated.

• Mass Production System Development Period (March 2027 onward): Companies achieving improvement items presented by AIRoA proceed to this period and establish mass production systems.

• Mass Production Robot Delivery and Operation Start (July 2027 onward): With the condition that the first lot of mass-produced robots is completed in July 2027 or later (by September at the latest), mass-produced robots are sequentially delivered (*1) and put into use as data collection robots.

*1 Simultaneous completion and delivery of all units are not required.

* Amounts, quantities, and other detailed conditions are described in the guidelines. The guidelines will be provided to companies that pass pre-entry screening after signing an NDA.

2. Benefits of Participation

2.1 Robot Delivery Opportunities

As mentioned in Section 1, this competition provides opportunities to deliver developed and manufactured robots to AIRoA at the following three stages (this is not a single-company selection method):

Robot Delivery Plan Overview:

• Prototype
  Delivery Conditions: Must be selected as a competition participant and meet the specifications designated by AIroA.
  Delivery Period: September 2026

• Improved Robot
  Delivery Conditions: Must meet prototype evaluation criteria and complete the manufacturing of a specified number of units.
  Delivery Period: By March 2027

• Mass-Produced Robot
  Delivery Conditions: Must meet improved robot evaluation criteria and complete the first lot of mass-produced robots.
  Delivery Period: July 2027 onward

* Amounts, quantities, and other detailed conditions are described in the guidelines. The guidelines will be provided to companies that pass pre-entry screening after signing an NDA.

2.2 Development and Manufacturing Support

For participating companies that request it, AIRoA provides technical support for prototype development during the competition through the loan of some hardware components necessary for development and presentation of reference specifications.

2.3 Market Development Support

To support market launch of developed and manufactured robots, AIRoA shares results of interviews with industry-specific user companies with participating companies, supporting market needs-based development and manufacturing. AIRoA also provides matching opportunities with potential adopters in retail, manufacturing, logistics, construction, and other industries.

2.4 PR Opportunities through Media Coverage

Media coverage is planned for the demonstration event in September 2026. Participating companies can leverage this for technology PR and corporate visibility enhancement.

3. Evaluation Method

Evaluation is based on two criteria:

• Performance Evaluation: During the development and manufacturing period and at the demonstration event (scheduled for September 2026), participating companies demonstrate evaluation tasks set by AIRoA through teleoperation, and are evaluated on success rate, speed, quality, and other aspects. Autonomous operation is not subject to evaluation.

• Commercialization Requirements Evaluation: Mass production plans, market deployment plans, maintenance and support systems, and other plans are evaluated (details will be provided in the guidelines).

3.1 Overview of Evaluation Tasks

The following are examples of evaluation task outlines:

• Pick-and-place of various objects in home environments

• Cleaning tasks in home environments

• Door opening/closing and room-to-room movement in home environments

• Product display and inventory management tasks in retail environments

• Flexible object manipulation in manufacturing environments

• Tool operation in manufacturing environments

• Sorting tasks in logistics environments

* The specific task list is described in the guidelines. The guidelines will be provided to companies that pass pre-entry screening after signing an NDA.

4. Overall Schedule

• Pre-entry and Application Phase
  December 18, 2025: Pre-entry registration opens.
  December 22, 2025 onward (Tentative): Guidelines and application document formats provided (to companies passing pre-entry screening after NDA signing).
  Early February 2026: Application deadline.
  By mid-February 2026: Screening results notification / Selected companies determined.

• Competition and Prototype Phase
  Early March 2026: Agreement on prototype delivery and payment / Competition starts / Prototype development and manufacturing begins.
  March - September 2026: Prototype development and manufacturing period (6 months).
  Around June 2026: Networking event for participating companies.
  September 2026: Demonstration event via teleoperation / Prototype delivery and payment / Comprehensive evaluation of prototypes.

• Improvement and Mass Production Phase
  September 2026 - March 2027: Contract for improved robot delivery / Improvement period (manufacturing improved robots based on AIRoA items).
  By March 2027: Improved robot delivery and payment / Evaluation of improved robots.
  March 2027 onward: Contract for mass-produced robot delivery / Mass production system development period.
  July 2027 onward: Mass-produced robot delivery and operation start (sequentially delivered as data collection robots).

* The schedule may be changed depending on circumstances.

5. Eligibility and Requirements

• Must be a company or organization registered in Japan

• Must have experience or plans in robot development and manufacturing

• Must be able to establish a system capable of handling the 6-month development and manufacturing period (March 2026 - September 2026)

• Must be able to establish a long-term maintenance and support system

• Must be able to develop plans for mass production and market deployment

• Must agree to various contract terms based on NEDO project regulations

* Participation in consortium format by multiple companies is also possible. Please refer to the guidelines for details.

6. How to Apply (Pre-Entry)

If you are interested in participating in this competition, please apply through the pre-entry form below.

[Pre-Entry Form]

https://forms.gle/aKkDxsP1KJJQXFvs6

After pre-entry, the process proceeds as follows:

(1) Pre-entry content will be screened against eligibility and requirements. Only companies that pass screening will be contacted within 10 business days (excluding year-end/New Year holidays December 29 - January 4). (Reasons for screening decisions will not be disclosed.)

(2) Subsequently, after signing a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) regarding the handling of information in the guidelines, the guidelines and application document formats will be provided.

(3) After reviewing the guidelines, please decide whether to submit a formal application.

7. Contact

AI Robot Association (AIRoA)

Development Competition Secretariat

E-mail: hw.comp@airoa.org