Robotruck Inc. Selected for Robot Foundation Model R&D Support Project of "GENIAC," a Project to Strengthen Domestic AI Foundation Model Development by METI and NEDO
Robotruck Inc. has been selected for the Robot Foundation Model R&D Support Project within "GENIAC," a national project driven by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). This initiative aims to accelerate the development of Level 4 autonomous trucks using advanced AI foundation models to address logistics challenges.
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- 📰 Published: May 14, 2026 at 19:44
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Robotruck Inc. (hereinafter referred to as Robotruck) has been selected for the Robot Foundation Model Research and Development Support Project of "GENIAC (Generative AI Accelerator Challenge) ※1" (hereinafter referred to as "GENIAC"), a project promoted by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) aimed at strengthening the development capabilities of domestic AI foundation models.
With the support of this project, Robotruck will undertake "Research and development of foundation models for Level 4 autonomous trucks using world models and Diffusion Planner," which involves model training utilizing large-scale GPU computing resources. Through this, the company aims to achieve autonomous driving on main transport routes, including general roads, and introduce autonomous driving into logistics companies' existing hub-to-hub transportation operations.
Previously, the company has steadily accumulated experience in Level 2 autonomous driving on expressways between Kanto and Chubu, participating in projects such as the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's "Unmanned Autonomous Driving Development and Demonstration Support Project for Mobility DX Promotion" and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's "Demonstration Project for Social Implementation of Autonomous Driving Trucks in Trunk Line Transportation."
As one of the next steps toward the social implementation of autonomous trucks, the company will leverage this project to accelerate research and development of an AI foundation model centered on a "Multimodal World Model" and a "Diffusion Planner." The "Multimodal World Model" plays the role of an internal brain simulator that predicts future changes in the surrounding environment and the vehicle's behavior in a latent space, while the "Diffusion Planner" is responsible for generating multimodal and safe paths by utilizing the latent representations of the world model.
This is expected to enable safe driving by understanding dynamic interactions through vast amounts of learning data, even in complex general road environments where pedestrians, bicycles, intersections, and temporary stops coexist. If existing logistics facilities adjacent to general roads can be utilized as starting and ending points for autonomous trucks, it would significantly bring forward early and reasonable social implementation.
Comment from Yusuke Haga, Representative Director and CEO, Robotruck Inc.:
We are deeply grateful for the strong support from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and NEDO, who have highly evaluated our vision for the social implementation of domestic autonomous trucks and our research and development content for multimodal world models and Diffusion Planner.
Our company is a "system company" that provides autonomous driving systems, not engaged in truck manufacturing or logistics operations, and operates on the premise that logistics operators will manage the operations themselves. We are focused on "realizing Level 4 autonomous driving technology as soon as possible."
While overseas players currently lead in autonomous driving development, there is a strong demand for domestic autonomous driving technology in logistics, which is a social infrastructure supporting all domestic industries. As a domestic autonomous driving startup, all our employees are working at full speed to contribute to the "introduction of 1,000 autonomous trucks" as stated in the Comprehensive Logistics Policy Outline.
※1) GENIAC (Generative AI Accelerator Challenge): A project that provides computing resources for the development of foundation models, which are the core technologies of generative AI, and supports demonstration surveys for the utilization of data and AI.
●GENIAC selection results public page:
https://www.nedo.go.jp/koubo/CD3_100427.html
●Related press releases:
Demonstration of autonomous semi-trailer driving conducted by the L4 Logistics Autonomous Driving Trailer Promotion Council
Demonstration of autonomous semi-trailer driving conducted in a consortium with Toyota Tsusho, Otsuka Warehouse, Seino Transportation, and Fukuyama Transporting.
●Robotruck Overview
Company Name: Robotruck Inc.
Location: Odaka Bldg., 1-15-11 Shinkawa, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Representative: Yusuke Haga, Representative Director and CEO
Established: April 2024
Business: Research and development of autonomous driving systems for trucks
Official HP: https://robotruck.jp/company.html
●Contact for this matter
Robotruck Inc. Business Development & Public Relations
E-mail: info@robotruck.jp
With the support of this project, Robotruck will undertake "Research and development of foundation models for Level 4 autonomous trucks using world models and Diffusion Planner," which involves model training utilizing large-scale GPU computing resources. Through this, the company aims to achieve autonomous driving on main transport routes, including general roads, and introduce autonomous driving into logistics companies' existing hub-to-hub transportation operations.
Previously, the company has steadily accumulated experience in Level 2 autonomous driving on expressways between Kanto and Chubu, participating in projects such as the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's "Unmanned Autonomous Driving Development and Demonstration Support Project for Mobility DX Promotion" and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's "Demonstration Project for Social Implementation of Autonomous Driving Trucks in Trunk Line Transportation."
As one of the next steps toward the social implementation of autonomous trucks, the company will leverage this project to accelerate research and development of an AI foundation model centered on a "Multimodal World Model" and a "Diffusion Planner." The "Multimodal World Model" plays the role of an internal brain simulator that predicts future changes in the surrounding environment and the vehicle's behavior in a latent space, while the "Diffusion Planner" is responsible for generating multimodal and safe paths by utilizing the latent representations of the world model.
This is expected to enable safe driving by understanding dynamic interactions through vast amounts of learning data, even in complex general road environments where pedestrians, bicycles, intersections, and temporary stops coexist. If existing logistics facilities adjacent to general roads can be utilized as starting and ending points for autonomous trucks, it would significantly bring forward early and reasonable social implementation.
Comment from Yusuke Haga, Representative Director and CEO, Robotruck Inc.:
We are deeply grateful for the strong support from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and NEDO, who have highly evaluated our vision for the social implementation of domestic autonomous trucks and our research and development content for multimodal world models and Diffusion Planner.
Our company is a "system company" that provides autonomous driving systems, not engaged in truck manufacturing or logistics operations, and operates on the premise that logistics operators will manage the operations themselves. We are focused on "realizing Level 4 autonomous driving technology as soon as possible."
While overseas players currently lead in autonomous driving development, there is a strong demand for domestic autonomous driving technology in logistics, which is a social infrastructure supporting all domestic industries. As a domestic autonomous driving startup, all our employees are working at full speed to contribute to the "introduction of 1,000 autonomous trucks" as stated in the Comprehensive Logistics Policy Outline.
※1) GENIAC (Generative AI Accelerator Challenge): A project that provides computing resources for the development of foundation models, which are the core technologies of generative AI, and supports demonstration surveys for the utilization of data and AI.
●GENIAC selection results public page:
https://www.nedo.go.jp/koubo/CD3_100427.html
●Related press releases:
Demonstration of autonomous semi-trailer driving conducted by the L4 Logistics Autonomous Driving Trailer Promotion Council
Demonstration of autonomous semi-trailer driving conducted in a consortium with Toyota Tsusho, Otsuka Warehouse, Seino Transportation, and Fukuyama Transporting.
●Robotruck Overview
Company Name: Robotruck Inc.
Location: Odaka Bldg., 1-15-11 Shinkawa, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Representative: Yusuke Haga, Representative Director and CEO
Established: April 2024
Business: Research and development of autonomous driving systems for trucks
Official HP: https://robotruck.jp/company.html
●Contact for this matter
Robotruck Inc. Business Development & Public Relations
E-mail: info@robotruck.jp