RIKEN-Seiko Collaboration Center (RSCC) Established
Seiko Group Corporation and Seiko Future Creation Inc., in collaboration with RIKEN (National Research and Development Agency RIKEN), established the "RIKEN-Seiko Collaboration Center (RSCC)" within the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science on April 1, 2026. This center aims to build an "autonomous experimental system" by introducing precision control, automation, and image analysis technologies cultivated in the mechanical industry, thereby automating and optimizing experiments in the bio-manufacturing field.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 7, 2026 at 23:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 7, 2026 at 14:30
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 20, 2026 at 19:59 (317h 28m after Collected)
Seiko Group Corporation (Seiko Group) and Seiko Future Creation Inc. (Seiko Future Creation), in collaboration with RIKEN (National Research and Development Agency RIKEN), established the "RIKEN–Seiko Collaboration Center (RSCC)" within the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science on April 1, 2026.
In the field of "bio-manufacturing," which utilizes biological functions (bio) such as microorganisms, cells, and enzymes to produce pharmaceuticals, materials, and chemicals, it is necessary to find optimal manufacturing processes under various conditions, making experimental trial and error indispensable. However, such experiments heavily rely on researchers' experience and manual work, posing challenges in terms of time and human resources.
This collaboration center aims to build an "autonomous experimental system" that achieves experimental automation and optimization by introducing precision control, automation, and image analysis technologies cultivated in the mechanical industry into experimental processes that previously depended on researchers' skill and experience. This is expected to realize a highly reproducible and stable research environment. Concurrently, by developing mechanisms to effectively utilize the vast data obtained from experiments and promoting the construction of a next-generation research infrastructure that significantly improves research efficiency, the center will contribute to the development of bio-manufacturing.
1. Background
Seiko Group and Seiko Future Creation have positioned the wellness domain, which contributes to improving the value of people's lives, as one of their future growth areas. They have been promoting the automation, efficiency, and standardization of research sites by utilizing their unique technological foundations, including precision processing technology, factory automation technology, and software development. Meanwhile, RIKEN has been promoting cutting-edge research in a wide range of fields, from basic to applied science, and has strengthened its medium- to long-term collaborative system with industry to ensure that its results are returned to society.
In recent years, as the demand for automation, efficiency, and standardization in life science research has further increased, the three parties shared the recognition that integrating life science and precision engineering is indispensable for building a next-generation research infrastructure, leading to an agreement to establish this collaboration center.
This collaboration center will not only serve as a place for research and development but also as a platform for disseminating advanced autonomous experimental technologies. From around September 2026, the center will be incorporated into the tour route for top academics from Japan and abroad visiting RIKEN, serving as a venue to showcase practical application examples in actual research settings. Furthermore, to further promote collaboration with industry, it will also be utilized as an "experiential showroom" to create opportunities for collaboration with companies, demonstrating automation technologies. Through these initiatives, the center will disseminate information with a view to the social implementation of research results and technologies.
2. Main Research Themes
(1) Research on the Development of Autonomous Microbial Culture Devices
This aims to automate the skilled techniques indispensable for microbial culture and build a culture platform that can autonomously execute everything from optimizing culture conditions to highly efficient production of useful molecules. By integrating automated culture devices with machine learning, the goal is to eliminate the influence of individual dependency and achieve highly reproducible and efficient bio-production processes.
(2) Research on the Development of Autonomous High-Precision Picking Devices
This involves developing autonomous picking technology that identifies and sorts microorganisms and biomolecules with high precision and high throughput. This will enhance and streamline evolutionary engineering and screening processes, contributing to improved R&D productivity.
(3) Research on the Development of Autonomous Experimental Systems
This aims to develop an integrated experimental system that links modular autonomous experimental devices to execute a series of processes, from experimental planning to sample processing and analysis, in an end-to-end manner. The goal is to perform complex bio-experiments with high reproducibility and efficiency, significantly accelerating the DBTL (Design–Build–Test–Learn) cycle.
3. Basic Information of the Collaboration Center
Name: RIKEN-Seiko Collaboration Center (RSCC)
Location: RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (2-1 Hirosawa, Wako-shi, Saitama)
Center Director: Rikiya Watanabe (Principal Investigator, Watanabe Molecular Physiology Laboratory, RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science)
In the field of "bio-manufacturing," which utilizes biological functions (bio) such as microorganisms, cells, and enzymes to produce pharmaceuticals, materials, and chemicals, it is necessary to find optimal manufacturing processes under various conditions, making experimental trial and error indispensable. However, such experiments heavily rely on researchers' experience and manual work, posing challenges in terms of time and human resources.
This collaboration center aims to build an "autonomous experimental system" that achieves experimental automation and optimization by introducing precision control, automation, and image analysis technologies cultivated in the mechanical industry into experimental processes that previously depended on researchers' skill and experience. This is expected to realize a highly reproducible and stable research environment. Concurrently, by developing mechanisms to effectively utilize the vast data obtained from experiments and promoting the construction of a next-generation research infrastructure that significantly improves research efficiency, the center will contribute to the development of bio-manufacturing.
1. Background
Seiko Group and Seiko Future Creation have positioned the wellness domain, which contributes to improving the value of people's lives, as one of their future growth areas. They have been promoting the automation, efficiency, and standardization of research sites by utilizing their unique technological foundations, including precision processing technology, factory automation technology, and software development. Meanwhile, RIKEN has been promoting cutting-edge research in a wide range of fields, from basic to applied science, and has strengthened its medium- to long-term collaborative system with industry to ensure that its results are returned to society.
In recent years, as the demand for automation, efficiency, and standardization in life science research has further increased, the three parties shared the recognition that integrating life science and precision engineering is indispensable for building a next-generation research infrastructure, leading to an agreement to establish this collaboration center.
This collaboration center will not only serve as a place for research and development but also as a platform for disseminating advanced autonomous experimental technologies. From around September 2026, the center will be incorporated into the tour route for top academics from Japan and abroad visiting RIKEN, serving as a venue to showcase practical application examples in actual research settings. Furthermore, to further promote collaboration with industry, it will also be utilized as an "experiential showroom" to create opportunities for collaboration with companies, demonstrating automation technologies. Through these initiatives, the center will disseminate information with a view to the social implementation of research results and technologies.
2. Main Research Themes
(1) Research on the Development of Autonomous Microbial Culture Devices
This aims to automate the skilled techniques indispensable for microbial culture and build a culture platform that can autonomously execute everything from optimizing culture conditions to highly efficient production of useful molecules. By integrating automated culture devices with machine learning, the goal is to eliminate the influence of individual dependency and achieve highly reproducible and efficient bio-production processes.
(2) Research on the Development of Autonomous High-Precision Picking Devices
This involves developing autonomous picking technology that identifies and sorts microorganisms and biomolecules with high precision and high throughput. This will enhance and streamline evolutionary engineering and screening processes, contributing to improved R&D productivity.
(3) Research on the Development of Autonomous Experimental Systems
This aims to develop an integrated experimental system that links modular autonomous experimental devices to execute a series of processes, from experimental planning to sample processing and analysis, in an end-to-end manner. The goal is to perform complex bio-experiments with high reproducibility and efficiency, significantly accelerating the DBTL (Design–Build–Test–Learn) cycle.
3. Basic Information of the Collaboration Center
Name: RIKEN-Seiko Collaboration Center (RSCC)
Location: RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (2-1 Hirosawa, Wako-shi, Saitama)
Center Director: Rikiya Watanabe (Principal Investigator, Watanabe Molecular Physiology Laboratory, RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science)