NEWS
Aeronext Joins Exa’s Physical AI Platform Development Project as Technology Partner
～Supporting the Automation and Labor Reduction of Vessel Inspection in the Maritime Industry through Drone Technology and Autonomous & Remote Control Technologies～
Aeronext Inc. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; President & Group CEO: Keisuke Toji; hereiafter “Aeronext”) has joined as a technology partner in a Physical AI*1 Platform development project launched by Exa Corporation (Headquarters: Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa; President and Representative Executive Officer: Yuta Hayashi; hereinafter “Exa”), which aims to address hazardous work and labor shortages across industries.
In this project, Aeronext will collaborate with Forcesteed Robotics Inc. (“Forcesteed Robotics”) to develop and validate a new vessel inspection solution that combines data acquisition by drones, AI-based recognition and analysis, and visualization on a digital twin for vessel maintenance and inspection operations.
Background and Objectives
In recent years, drones have attracted growing attention not only in logistics but also as solutions for reducing hazardous work and labor requirements in areas such as infrastructure inspection and facility maintenance.
In addition to its proprietary drone technologies, including its 4D GRAVITY™ airframe structural design technology*2, Aeronext is developing autonomous flight and remote operation technologies centered on an AI Flight Controller that utilizes AI for flight control, anomaly detection, image recognition, and other functions.
Building on the drone operation technologies developed through its work in logistics, Aeronext is now expanding these technologies into a wide range of industrial fields, including agriculture, healthcare, crisis management, and infrastructure inspection.
By participating in Exa’s Physical AI Platform development project, Aeronext will bring its accumulated expertise in drone operations, autonomous and remote control technologies, and airframe development to the maritime industry, expanding the potential applications of drones in new industrial fields.
In this initiative, Exa will be responsible for the platform centered on digital twin and Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) technologies; Aeronext will provide drones and autonomous and remote operation technologies for acquiring data from the physical world; and Forcesteed Robotics will provide AI-based recognition and inference technologies.
Through this complementary collaboration, the three companies aim to realize Physical AI that connects the physical world with cyberspace.
Aeronext’s Role
In this project, Aeronext will provide expertise in the design and selection of drones capable of safe and stable flight in environments that are difficult for people to access, such as confined spaces and elevated areas, as well as autonomous flight and remote operation technologies and knowledge related to the future enhancement of drone operations through AI.
Aeronext will support drone selection and design for environments such as dry docks and confined spaces inside vessels, while also providing advisory services on autonomous and remote control technologies.
Leveraging the safety and operational expertise in drone operations that Aeronext has accumulated through its work in logistics, the company will contribute to reducing hazardous work and improving the efficiency of inspection operations, while supporting the development of new inspection solutions that combine AI and robotics.
What Aeronext Aims to Achieve
Aeronext is committed to its mission of “Creating new social infrastructure for the 100-year life era, where prosperity reaches every corner of society.” Building on its proprietary 4D GRAVITY™ airframe structural design technology, the company is advancing the development of new social infrastructure utilizing low-altitude airspace.
To date, Aeronext has promoted the real-world deployment of its SkyHub™ Smart Logistics*3 platform nationwide in the logistics sector. In recent years, the company has also expanded the application of its drone technologies and low-altitude infrastructure beyond logistics to address a wide range of social challenges, including through its business partnership with Mazex Inc. in agriculture, its partnership with J Frontier Inc. aimed at advancing regional healthcare DX, and its partnership with CHANGE Holdings, Inc. to promote Crisis Management AX.
The collaboration with Exa represents a further evolution of this approach. By applying the drone operation, autonomous flight, and remote control technologies developed through its work in logistics to the maritime industry, Aeronext will take on the challenge of addressing new social needs, including reducing hazardous work and enhancing and streamlining inspection operations.
The technologies and expertise in Physical AI developed through this project are intended for future applications not only in vessel maintenance and inspection, but also across a wide range of industrial fields involving hazardous work, including bridges, industrial plants, power generation facilities, logistics facilities, and disaster response.
Going forward, Aeronext will continue to advance the real-world deployment of Physical AI by integrating AI, robotics, and digital twin technologies across a broad range of fields, including logistics, healthcare, agriculture, infrastructure inspection, disaster preparedness, and defense, building on its drone operation technologies developed through its logistics business.
Through these initiatives, Aeronext aims to contribute to the realization of safe and sustainable social infrastructure.
Reference
*1 Physical AI
Physical AI refers to technologies in which AI perceives, understands, and makes decisions about the physical world and takes action through drones, robots, and other physical systems.
By integrating AI with digital twins and various sensors, Physical AI represents a next-generation approach to automating and enhancing operations in the physical world.
*2 4D GRAVITY™ Airframe Structural Design Technology
4D GRAVITY™ is an airframe structural design technology developed by Aeronext that optimizes aerodynamic characteristics through mechanisms including the equalization of motor rotational speeds regardless of the aircraft’s attitude, state, or movement during flight, as well as the control of lift, drag, and center of gravity based on the aircraft’s shape and structure.
By optimizing these aerodynamic characteristics, the technology improves the fundamental performance of industrial drones—including stability, efficiency, and maneuverability—as well as the transportation performance of logistics-specific drones.
Aeronext has patented this technology and manages it as part of its 4D GRAVITY™ patent portfolio. By improving the fundamental performance of industrial drones, 4D GRAVITY™ also expands the potential for their use in new markets and applications.
*3 New Smart Logistics SkyHubTM
SkyHubTM is a New Smart Logistics platform that consolidates shipments from multiple logistics providers at a central Drone DepotTM hub, where deliveries are efficiently coordinated using both ground vehicles and drones.
By optimizing and streamlining regional logistics, SkyHubTM helps build sustainable social infrastructure while contributing to labor savings, carbon reduction, and long-term logistics resilience. The platform also addresses regional challenges such as limited access to shopping and healthcare services, as well as disaster response.
SkyHubTM has already been deployed in multiple regions across Japan and continues to expand as a sustainable regional logistics infrastructure that supports both everyday logistics and emergency transportation during disasters.