AIRoA Selected as a Project for National Project "GENIAC" by METI and NEDO - Aiming to Build a Data Ecosystem for Continuous Expansion of Robot Operation Data Collection and Utilization in Real Homes -

The General Incorporated Association AI Robot Association (Chairman: Tetsuya Ogata, hereinafter referred to as "AIRoA") has been selected as a project for "Research and Development of Data Ecosystems for Post-5G Information Communication System Foundation Strengthening Research and Development Project / Data Ecosystem Construction, etc. (GENIAC)" conducted by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). The project is titled "Research and Development of a Data Ecosystem for Autonomous Expansion of Robot Operation Data in Real Homes."

(*1) GENIAC (Generative AI Accelerator Challenge): A project promoted by METI and NEDO with the aim of strengthening the development capabilities and social implementation of generative AI in Japan.

METI Public Page: https://www.meti.go.jp/press/2026/07/20260702001/20260702001.html

NEDO Public Page: https://www.nedo.go.jp/koubo/CD3_100430.html

Background: Importance of Real Home Data for Social Implementation of Household Robots

Amidst declining birthrates, aging populations, and labor shortages, expectations are growing for household robots that can assist with housework, monitoring, and daily life support. However, home environments vary greatly from household to household in terms of floor plans, furniture and household goods placement, living habits, and housework procedures. Compared to factories and research facilities, these environments are more dynamic and present challenges for robots to operate safely and flexibly.

Furthermore, continuous operation of robots in real homes and data collection involve issues beyond technological development, such as privacy, safety, management of resident consent, remote operation, and equipment maintenance. It is not easy for individual companies to independently develop such data and operational knowledge on a large scale.

AIRoA has been working on establishing a data collection and processing infrastructure for robot operation data, developing and verifying Vision-Language-Action (VLA) models, collecting data using mobile manipulators and YUBI (Yielding Universal Bidigital Interface), and conducting demonstrations in simulated living environments at the National Museum of Nature and Science.

With this selection, AIRoA will expand this knowledge to the real home domain and develop it into a data and operational infrastructure that multiple robot manufacturers and AI developers can utilize, thereby promoting research and development of robot foundation models and the utilization of robots in real environments.

Goals of This Project

This project aims to deploy robots in real homes and collect robot operation data along with user feedback such as instructions and evaluations.

Specifically, the plan is to deploy robots in 35 households, including those within "Toyota Woven City," which is based on the concept of a "city for demonstration experiments," and collect approximately 7,000 hours of robot operation data.

Robots will be continuously operated by combining autonomous execution and remote operation, and the collected data will be used for training, evaluating, and improving VLA models. By enhancing model performance and robot autonomy, the operational environment will be expanded, leading to further data collection.

In addition, the following infrastructure will be developed as an integrated system:

Applications for users and operators

Data collection and management infrastructure in real homes

Operational system including teleoperation and equipment maintenance

Mechanisms for safety, privacy, and consent management

Quality control and rights processing for collected data

The data and knowledge obtained from this project will be developed into datasets, guidelines, and operational mechanisms that can be utilized by subsequent robot manufacturers and AI developers. AIRoA aims not only to collect data but also to establish a system where robots are continuously operated in diverse home environments, creating a cycle of data accumulation and model improvement.

Evaluation for Selection

NEDO's review evaluated the importance and novelty of this proposal in the field of household robots, as well as its feasibility through an established teleoperation system and the integrated approach from collecting useful datasets for VLA to VLA development.

Future Schedule

Currently, the project is scheduled to be implemented from September 2026 to August 2027. AIRoA will proceed with the development of the implementation structure, data collection and management infrastructure, and operational systems for real homes in preparation for the project's commencement.

About AIRoA

The General Incorporated Association AI Robot Association (AIRoA) is an organization that promotes the research and development and social implementation of robots active in the real world through the fusion of AI and robot technology. Through the collection and public release of data necessary for the development of robot foundation models and the operation of a development community, it aims to build a physical AI ecosystem originating from Japan.

Official Website

https://www.airoa.org/ja/

Inquiries Regarding This Matter

AIRoA Public Relations

e-mail: pr@airoa.org