Nvidia to co-develop AI shipbuilding robots in Japan

Nvidia and Kawasaki Heavy Industries will co-develop AI-powered robots for use in shipbuilding, the Japanese firm said Thursday during a visit to Tokyo by the US chip giant's CEO Jensen Huang.

The aim is to use the robots in welding, painting, inspection and material handling as part of a "next-generation digital shipyard using physical AI and digital twin technology", Kawasaki said in a statement.

"Japan's shipbuilding industry currently faces serious challenges, including a declining number of skilled workers and labor shortages driven by the falling birthrate and aging population," the company said.

"At the same time, global efforts to reduce environmental impact are driving worldwide demand for low- and zero-carbon vessels, making it an urgent priority for the shipbuilding industry as a whole to expand construction capacity and improve productivity," it added.

Taiwanese-born Huang, 63, also visited a Tokyo arcade on Wednesday with Sega executives and thanked the Japanese video game maker for saving Nvidia with a $5-million investment in the 1990s.

"If not for what Sega did for Nvidia and what Irimajiri-san did for Nvidia, Nvidia would not be here today," Huang said, referring to Sega's former president Shoichiro Irimajiri.

"To imagine that in 1995, Nvidia was nearly out of business, that we had chosen exactly the wrong technology, and that we will be here today, the largest company in the world, is unimaginable," he said.

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© Agence France-Presse