Kawasaki Heavy Unveils Home Leo Companion Robot and a Hull-Welding Quadruped
Kawasaki Heavy Industries used a business briefing in Tokyo on Tuesday to show two prototypes built on physical AI, one for the home and one for the shipyard. The first, a dog-shaped social robot called Home Leo, is designed to live alongside older people, The Japan Times reported. The second is a compact four-legged robot that can weld ship hulls on its own, according to NHK.
Home Leo can talk with people, recognise its surroundings, judge the situation and act autonomously, the company said. It is meant to keep older users company through conversation, watch over them and help with daily tasks. By continuously collecting data on each user’s preferences and routines, including food, clothing and housing, it is supposed to tailor its conversations to that person. Kawasaki also plans to let it alert family members or care professionals if it notices a fall, a change in health or a fire hazard left unattended. In a demonstration, President Yasuhiko Hashimoto asked where he had left his smartphone; the robot replied that it was on the table, went over and picked it up.
The company is aiming to launch Home Leo in fiscal 2028 and says it will keep developing it with the health and industry ministries, local governments, medical and nursing care facilities and AI technology companies.
What it means in practice
The shipyard robot targets a different shortage. It measures only 60 by 44 by 29 centimetres, clings to a hull with electromagnets and uses sensors and cameras to check seams and decide how much welding is needed. Kawasaki says experienced welders are increasingly scarce in shipbuilding and hopes the machine can also keep production going in high summer temperatures.
Both prototypes fit a run of Japanese bets on robots that act in the physical world, from Kawasaki’s own plan for a fully autonomous Kaleido humanoid by 2030 to the physical AI partnership between Hitachi and Fanuc. Care and labour gaps are a common thread, as with companies rolling out AI robots to ease the labour shortage.
The government has set its own target of around 10 million AI-equipped robots across 18 sectors by 2040. What to watch: how Kawasaki handles the privacy questions raised by a home robot that learns daily habits, which partners join Home Leo trials before fiscal 2028, and whether the welding robot moves from prototype into working shipyards.