The AI Robot Association (AIRoA), as part of a project commissioned by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), calls for participation from companies in the "General-Purpose Robot Development Competition."

About the Competition

(1) Overview

It is considered that 2026 may mark a turning point that general-purpose robots will be put into practical use, and therefore, it will be urgent to develop internationally competitive robots.

The purpose of this competition is to strengthen the competitiveness of robotics industry in Japan by promoting the development of practical general-purpose robots by companies. The prototype development period will be from March to September, 2026.

An evaluation event will be held in September 2026, at the end of the development period. Robots that meet evaluation criteria set based on the international competitive environment will be selected as data collection robots for the development of robot foundation models under the NEDO commissioned project (*), with the expectation of subsequent improvements and establishment of mass production systems.

Participating companies will receive technical support for prototype development through the loan of some hardware components necessary for development, provision of software, and presentation of reference specifications.

* 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"

(2) Application Period (Provisional)

In the middle of December 2025 to the end of January 2026

(3) Competition Period (Prototype Development Period and Evaluation Event) (Provisional)

・Prototype Development Period: March 2026 to September 2026

・Evaluation Event: September 2026 (to be held at the end of the prototype development period; media coverage planned)

* The application period and completion period may be changed depending on the number of applications.

How to Apply

Detailed information about this competition and a pre-entry form will be published on the AIRoA website in the middle of December 2025. If you are interested in it, please apply through the pre-entry form.

Contact

AI Robot Association (AIRoA)

Development Competition Secretariat

E-mail: hw.comp@airoa.org