FastLabel Inc. (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Takeshi Suzuki; hereinafter “FastLabel”) is pleased to announce that its proposal, “Development of Locomotion-Manipulation Technology for Quadruped Robots and VLA Models for an Advanced Patrol Inspection Solution for the Plant Industry,” has been selected under the “Post-5G Information and Communication Systems Infrastructure Enhancement R&D Project / R&D of Robot Foundation Models (GENIAC) (Subsidized Project) (Including Multipurpose Robots and Other Applications),” implemented by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). The model will be developed with support from the Generative AI Accelerator Challenge (GENIAC), a project led by METI and NEDO to strengthen Japan’s generative AI development capabilities and promote its real-world deployment. This marks GENIAC’s first call for proposals concerning the research and development of robot foundation models for multipurpose robots. Under this project, FastLabel will develop locomotion-manipulation technology that integrates the locomotion performance and manipulation capabilities of quadruped robots, while building a practical foundation for automating patrol inspection tasks at power plants and other sites. In collaboration with Kyushu Electric Power Co., Inc. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture; Representative Director, President and Executive Officer: Masaru Nishiyama; hereinafter “Kyushu Electric Power”), its joint research partner, FastLabel will conduct field demonstrations at Kyushu Electric Power’s thermal power plants as a testbed to advance the automation and enhancement of robot-based patrol inspection operations. Background to the Application Enhancing the sophistication of patrol inspection operations and reducing labor requirements — including at wide-area and high-risk sites — has become an urgent challenge in Japan's plant industry, driven by a declining workforce, aging facilities, and difficulties in transferring maintenance expertise. Particularly in patrol inspection operations at power plants and other facilities, diverse tasks and judgments are continuously required, including environmental perception, locomotion, equipment operation, condition checks, and the identification of signs of abnormalities. Consequently, existing robotic solutions alone are often unable to adequately address these requirements, and many situations continue to depend on the experience and judgment of skilled personnel. Building on its expertise in Data-centric AI, FastLabel has been advancing data preparation and model development to support the development of robot foundation models and VLA models. Going forward, FastLabel will pursue technology development in collaboration with Kyushu Electric Power, aiming to build solutions that can be deployed in real-world operations through field demonstrations at an operational thermal power plant. As the first initiative toward this goal, the selected project will focus on developing the underlying technologies. Overview of the Selected Project Program: Post-5G Information and Communication Systems Infrastructure Enhancement R&D Project / R&D of Robot Foundation Models (GENIAC) (Subsidized Project) (Including Multipurpose Robots and Other Applications) Project Theme: Development of Locomotion-Manipulation Technology for Quadruped Robots and VLA Models for an Advanced Patrol Inspection Solution for the Plant Industry Call for Proposals: https://www.nedo.go.jp/koubo/CD2_100434.html Selection Results: https://www.nedo.go.jp/koubo/CD3_100434.html Future OutlookThrough this project, FastLabel aims to achieve early deployment in real-world environments by preparing training data that combines physical robot data with simulation data, conducting evaluations based on on-site requirements, and advancing VLA models. FastLabel will also accumulate expertise in data design, training data preparation, model development, and evaluation. By further developing these capabilities into patrol inspection solutions that can be deployed in multipurpose robots and other systems, FastLabel seeks to expand its adoption across industries. Over the medium to long term, FastLabel will leverage the expertise gained in the electric power industry to pursue expansion into adjacent sectors, including the gas industry and data centers. Through these efforts, FastLabel will accelerate the real-world deployment of Physical AI that contributes to the advancement of Japan’s industrial infrastructure and the promotion of Green Transformation (GX). Comment from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and IndustryTakuya Watanabe Director, AI Industry Strategy Division, Commerce and Information Policy Bureau Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry “We welcome FastLabel’s selection for this project. The VLA model integrating locomotion and manipulation that FastLabel will develop has the potential to be applied broadly in the real world, and we hope FastLabel's expertise and technologies will lead to significant breakthroughs in this field. We also highly value the clear path toward real-world deployment through its collaboration with Kyushu Electric Power. We expect this project—in which robots will take over tasks in harsh environments, helping to improve worker safety and reduce labor requirements— to play a leading role in advancing AI robotics in Japan.” Comment from the Project AdvisorHironobu Iwabuchi General Manager, Digital Transformation Division, Digital Transformation Headquarters, Technical Solutions Management Headquarters Kyushu Electric Power Co., Inc. “The declining workforce and the transfer of technical expertise to the next generation are critical challenges shared not only by the electric power industry, but by society as a whole. We view this initiative as a meaningful endeavor toward realizing a future in which people collaborate with humanoids and other AI-powered robots. It also has the potential to expand into infrastructure industries beyond the electric power sector. We hope that the demonstration at a thermal power plant will serve as the first step toward developing this technology into a practical solution that supports on-site operations.” Yumie Kubota Director and Executive Officer; General Manager, AI Robotics Division, Technology and Development Headquarters YASKAWA Electric Corporation “AI-powered robots are expected to play a significant role in addressing social challenges such as the recent decline in the working population. To expand the use of robots beyond conventional manufacturing sites, we need ‘new robots’ that combine manipulators suited to specific use cases with emerging technologies. This project represents a challenge to make such robots a reality. We look forward to seeing the project’s outcomes deployed in society and put to practical use in real-world operations.” Masahito Komiya Associate Professor, Department of System Design, Faculty of Engineering and Design Hosei University “We are greatly encouraged by FastLabel’s selection for GENIAC. To maintain Japan’s high-quality infrastructure, we believe it is essential to transform the operational practices and expertise accumulated in the field into formats that can be used sustainably by future generations through robot foundation models, such as Vision-Language-Action (VLA) models. This project has the potential to become a pioneering initiative in Japan by combining Kyushu Electric Power’s real-world sites and operational expertise with FastLabel’s AI modeling technologies. Through this initiative, we hope not only to help address social challenges in Japan, but also to see it evolve into an exportable model that leverages the strengths of Japan's industrial sites and can be deployed across industrial infrastructure sectors around the world facing similar challenges.” Comment from FastLabel’s President and CEOTakeshi Suzuki President and CEO, FastLabel Inc. “We are deeply honored that our proposal has been selected under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and NEDO’s call for proposals for the R&D of Robot Foundation Models (GENIAC). As Japan’s workforce continues to decline, the real-world deployment of Physical AI to support infrastructure and facility inspection operations is a critical issue directly linked to maintaining the country’s industrial foundation. In collaboration with Kyushu Electric Power and our other partners, we will dedicate ourselves to developing robot foundation models that can deliver genuine value in real-world operations. By fully leveraging our expertise as a data solutions company, we will contribute to more advanced patrol and inspection operations, reduced labor requirements, and ultimately, greater sustainability across industrial infrastructure.” About FastLabel FastLabel Inc. is a data solutions company dedicated to supporting Data-centric AI development by providing high-quality data and building data pipelines and data management infrastructure. Focusing on the field of Physical AI, including robotics, FastLabel supports a wide range of companies developing robot foundation models through services such as data collection, assistance in building simulation environments, model development support, and data pipeline construction. Company Overview Company Name: FastLabel Inc. Headquarters: Shinjuku Sumitomo Building 24F, 2-6-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan Representative: Takeshi Suzuki, President and CEO Business: Provider of professional services and products supporting Data-centric AI development Website: https://fastlabel.ai/service/robotics Media Contact Corporate Communications FastLabel Inc. E-mail: pr@fastlabel.ai