Japan has been promoting R&D on advanced shipbuilding technologies utilizing artificial intelligence with the aim of achieving substantial improvement in productivity within the shipbuilding industry.
As part of these efforts, the ministry of land, infrastructure, transport and tourism (MLIT) has now officially launched a Japan-U.S. collaborative R&D project to introduce AI shipbuilding technologies.
It brings together universities, shipbuilding companies, classification societies, and others from Japan and the United States to jointly develop AI shipbuilding robotics and related technologies, with a view to their early deployment and practical implementation.
Last October, minister Kaneko and U.S. secretary of commerce Lutnick signed a Memorandum of Cooperation Regarding the Shipbuilding Between the Government of Japan and the Government of the United States of America (the MOC), which includes fostering of the development of advanced shipbuilding technologies.
From this year, MLIT has been promoting the development of various AI shipbuilding robotics that can be utilized in shipbuilding processes, such as plate bending and welding, as well as the development of an AI simulation platform necessary to maximize the effectiveness of these robotics.
From July 6 to 10, the U.S. team taking the role of developing the production-process simulation platform required for the operation of AI shipbuilding robotics visited Japan, marking the launch of the joint R&D project with their Japanese counterparts.
The development teams visited Japanese shipyards to review on-site conditions and challenges associated with the introduction of robotic technologies. Furthermore, they confirmed the development schedule and responsibilities with the objective of establishing, by the end of March, an AI simulation platform capable of incorporating actual ship hull blocks and shipyard environments to evaluate robot operations and related processes. They also discussed methods for conducting demonstration at both Japanese and U.S. shipyards.
