Prox Industries Promotes Physical AI Research and Development Initiatives with ugo Inc.
Prox Industries, in collaboration with ugo Inc., is advancing Physical AI research and development using the "AI Robot Imitation Learning Kit" packaged with the domestic humanoid ugo Pro. They have successfully demonstrated autonomous object manipulation tasks through fine-tuning the open-source Vision-Language-Action model "π0.5", aiming to achieve flexible robot operations in real-world environments.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 28, 2026 at 19:10
- 🔍 Collected: April 28, 2026 at 10:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 28, 2026 at 15:28 (4h 56m after Collected)
Prox Industries Inc. (hereinafter, Prox Industries) is collaborating with ugo Inc. (hereinafter, ugo) to engage in Physical AI research and development utilizing the "AI Robot Imitation Learning Kit"* which packages the domestic humanoid ugo Pro. This time, through fine-tuning the open-source Vision-Language-Action model "π0.5"*, we demonstrated autonomous object manipulation tasks adapted to the environment.
*"π0.5" is the model name disclosed by Physical Intelligence Inc.
*Details of the "AI Robot Imitation Learning Kit" are as follows:
https://ugo.plus/products/ugo-pro-rd/
In this initiative, we verified a development approach that applies VLA to actual robot tasks, while leveraging motion data acquired from real machines and simulation environments. This confirmed the potential for flexible task execution by robots in real-world environments.
Furthermore, a live demonstration related to this initiative was exhibited at the "1st Humanoid Robot EXPO [Spring]" within NexTech Week, held at Tokyo Big Sight from April 15 (Wednesday) to 17 (Friday), 2026. While many overseas-made humanoid robots were exhibited, ugo Pro attracted significant attention as a domestic humanoid, and the demonstration incorporating Physical AI was introduced by various media.
Prox Industries was also introduced as a software startup from Japan promoting Physical AI research, development, and social implementation.
[FNN Prime] Humanoid cutting-edge technology gathers, startups make their presence felt at the "first" exhibition
[Nittele NEWS] Exhibition specializing in "humanoid robots", a flagship of "Physical AI", one of the country's growth strategies
[WBS] Humanoid robots gather, expected to solve labor shortages
■ Exhibition Demo Overview
At the venue, a dual-arm simulated packaging task was performed using ugo Pro and VLA (π0.5).
In the demo, the robot autonomously executed a series of tasks: opening a paper bag with one hand and picking up a stuffed animal with the other to pack it, based on visual and linguistic information.
This demo adopted a real-machine-based learning approach using the "AI Robot Imitation Learning Kit" provided by ugo, demonstrating the potential for applying VLA to actual work processes. The kit is promoted as a tool for accelerating Physical AI research and development by allowing the collection of "human work motion" as data.
A series of scenes of ugo Pro performing a dual-arm simulated packaging task.
■ Significance of the Initiative
Object manipulation by robots is easily affected by slight differences in the target object or surrounding environment, requiring high versatility and adaptability for on-site implementation. In this initiative, we verified the feasibility of autonomous operation tasks adapted to the environment by combining the utilization of real-machine data through imitation learning and VLA fine-tuning.
Prox Industries, with an eye towards the social implementation of such Physical AI technology, is advancing research and development of intelligent technology to help robots be useful in real environments. Moving forward, we will accelerate development for industrial site utilization through the integration of robotics x AI x data.
■ About Prox Industries Inc.
Prox Industries, advocating "implementing physical intelligence from Japan," is a startup from the University of Tokyo's Matsuo Lab that aims to implement intelligence in the realm of physical labor, traditionally handled only by humans, through the fusion of AI and robotics.
Researchers and engineers specializing in core Physical AI technologies gather, leading multiple Physical AI projects, mainly for domestic enterprise clients. They address advanced technical challenges including Sim2Real and Real2Sim, utilizing diverse actual machines such as humanoids, quadruped robots, collaborative robots, and mobile manipulators, as well as simulation environments centered around NVIDIA Omniverse.
By connecting cutting-edge academic technology with the needs of industrial sites, and providing end-to-end support from robot foundation model R&D, learning pipeline construction, to evaluation and improvement for actual machine deployment, we are advancing Physical AI research, development, and implementation, working to build Japan's next industrial foundation.
・Company Name: Prox Industries Inc.
・Location: Hongo K&K Building 4F, 3-30-10 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo
・Representative: Yuji Kamei, Representative Director
・Company HP:https:
*"π0.5" is the model name disclosed by Physical Intelligence Inc.
*Details of the "AI Robot Imitation Learning Kit" are as follows:
https://ugo.plus/products/ugo-pro-rd/
In this initiative, we verified a development approach that applies VLA to actual robot tasks, while leveraging motion data acquired from real machines and simulation environments. This confirmed the potential for flexible task execution by robots in real-world environments.
Furthermore, a live demonstration related to this initiative was exhibited at the "1st Humanoid Robot EXPO [Spring]" within NexTech Week, held at Tokyo Big Sight from April 15 (Wednesday) to 17 (Friday), 2026. While many overseas-made humanoid robots were exhibited, ugo Pro attracted significant attention as a domestic humanoid, and the demonstration incorporating Physical AI was introduced by various media.
Prox Industries was also introduced as a software startup from Japan promoting Physical AI research, development, and social implementation.
[FNN Prime] Humanoid cutting-edge technology gathers, startups make their presence felt at the "first" exhibition
[Nittele NEWS] Exhibition specializing in "humanoid robots", a flagship of "Physical AI", one of the country's growth strategies
[WBS] Humanoid robots gather, expected to solve labor shortages
■ Exhibition Demo Overview
At the venue, a dual-arm simulated packaging task was performed using ugo Pro and VLA (π0.5).
In the demo, the robot autonomously executed a series of tasks: opening a paper bag with one hand and picking up a stuffed animal with the other to pack it, based on visual and linguistic information.
This demo adopted a real-machine-based learning approach using the "AI Robot Imitation Learning Kit" provided by ugo, demonstrating the potential for applying VLA to actual work processes. The kit is promoted as a tool for accelerating Physical AI research and development by allowing the collection of "human work motion" as data.
A series of scenes of ugo Pro performing a dual-arm simulated packaging task.
■ Significance of the Initiative
Object manipulation by robots is easily affected by slight differences in the target object or surrounding environment, requiring high versatility and adaptability for on-site implementation. In this initiative, we verified the feasibility of autonomous operation tasks adapted to the environment by combining the utilization of real-machine data through imitation learning and VLA fine-tuning.
Prox Industries, with an eye towards the social implementation of such Physical AI technology, is advancing research and development of intelligent technology to help robots be useful in real environments. Moving forward, we will accelerate development for industrial site utilization through the integration of robotics x AI x data.
■ About Prox Industries Inc.
Prox Industries, advocating "implementing physical intelligence from Japan," is a startup from the University of Tokyo's Matsuo Lab that aims to implement intelligence in the realm of physical labor, traditionally handled only by humans, through the fusion of AI and robotics.
Researchers and engineers specializing in core Physical AI technologies gather, leading multiple Physical AI projects, mainly for domestic enterprise clients. They address advanced technical challenges including Sim2Real and Real2Sim, utilizing diverse actual machines such as humanoids, quadruped robots, collaborative robots, and mobile manipulators, as well as simulation environments centered around NVIDIA Omniverse.
By connecting cutting-edge academic technology with the needs of industrial sites, and providing end-to-end support from robot foundation model R&D, learning pipeline construction, to evaluation and improvement for actual machine deployment, we are advancing Physical AI research, development, and implementation, working to build Japan's next industrial foundation.
・Company Name: Prox Industries Inc.
・Location: Hongo K&K Building 4F, 3-30-10 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo
・Representative: Yuji Kamei, Representative Director
・Company HP:https: