en.Wedoany.com Reported - Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. announced on July 16, 2026, that it has initiated a collaboration with NVIDIA Corporation of the United States to jointly develop a "next-generation digital shipyard," aiming to leverage Physical AI and Digital Twin technologies to drive the digital transformation (DX) of commercial shipbuilding. The two parties will integrate the extensive data and robotics expertise accumulated by Kawasaki Heavy Industries at its shipbuilding sites with NVIDIA's advanced AI, robotics, and digital twin technologies.
Kawasaki Heavy Industries is a globally renowned heavy industry manufacturer with operations spanning ships, aviation, railway vehicles, energy equipment, and robotics. NVIDIA is a world-leading AI computing company, and its Physical AI technology stack (including platforms such as NVIDIA Cosmos™, Omniverse™, and Isaac™) provides the core technological foundation for this collaboration.
Currently, Japan's shipbuilding industry faces severe challenges such as a shortage of skilled workers and labor shortages due to an aging population, while global demand for low-carbon and zero-carbon ships is driving the industry to expand capacity and improve production efficiency. To address this, Kawasaki Heavy Industries has previously advanced the construction of digital shipyards through DX and participated in a Japanese government-supported "Technology Development Project for Next-Generation Shipyards Using AI." This collaboration with NVIDIA will further introduce Physical AI on this foundation, building a next-generation shipyard model encompassing robotics, AI, autonomous systems, digital twins, and simulation technologies.
The two parties will conduct phased technology verification and implementation, starting with verification at Kawasaki Heavy Industries' Sakaide Works for commercial shipbuilding, with plans to expand the results to other large structures and manufacturing sites. Kawasaki Heavy Industries President Yasuhiko Hashimoto stated that this collaboration is an important step in advancing the application of AI in shipbuilding to a new stage, combining Kawasaki's shipbuilding technology with NVIDIA's AI and simulation technologies to achieve more advanced design, production optimization, and skill transfer. Deepu Talla, Vice President of Robotics and Edge AI at NVIDIA, noted that Physical AI is ushering in a new era of ship design and construction.
This collaboration is another significant initiative by Kawasaki Heavy Industries following its announcement in May 2026 to accelerate the social implementation of Physical AI in partnership with NVIDIA, Analog Devices, Microsoft, and Fujitsu. In the future, Kawasaki Heavy Industries also plans to expand the application of Physical AI to the entire lifecycle of ship operation, maintenance, and repair after construction.
