Organized by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026 brings together startups and companies exploring how technology can reshape urban life. On day two, across the exhibition floor at Tokyo Big Sight, humanoid robots, autonomous driving systems, AI avatars, and wearable support suits drew steady crowds, each offering a different answer to how cities, workplaces, and public services might function in the decades ahead.
The technologies on display were not aimed only at some distant smart-city future, but at familiar settings: construction sites, factories, hospitals, airports, farms, restaurants, logistics centers, and public roads. Japan’s labor shortages and aging population formed the backdrop, but the mood on the floor was not one of anxiety. It was one of experimentation—and, at times, quiet confidence.
The Next Step for Autonomous Driving
TIER IV, a Tokyo-based autonomous driving company and developer of the open-source autonomous vehicle platform Autoware, is already looking beyond the question of whether cars can drive themselves. “Technology is only one part of the challenge,” said Eiko Kuwano of TIER IV. “Laws also have to develop, and local residents need time to feel comfortable with autonomous vehicles. A car driven by a person and a car driving itself feel completely different. The question is how naturally they can become part of daily life.”
TIER IV’s systems use cameras, lidar—laser sensors that measure distance—and other sensors to detect vehicles, pedestrians, traffic lights, and other road conditions. But Kuwano said the more difficult test comes when the road presents something unusual.
“After the system has driven the same road many times, it can handle about 80% of situations without difficulty,” she said. “The challenge is what happens when something unexpected occurs—a cat runs into the road, debris falls onto the street, a car is stopped where it should not be, or there is an accident. These are what we call edge cases, and learning how to respond to them with something closer to human judgment will be essential for autonomous driving.”
AI Avatars Enter Customer Service
Another exhibitor approached the labor shortage from a different angle. AVITA, a Tokyo-based company developing avatar services powered by generative AI, showed how human staff and AI avatars could work side by side in customer service. Its services include AI avatar role-play training and avatar creation for communication, sales, and service settings.
AI avatar developed by AVITA. (©Japan Forward)
Asked where avatars could first have a major impact, the representative pointed to the service sector. “Airports, hospitals, convenience stores, restaurants, and office reception desks—anywhere people interact directly with customers—are where it can be used most,” he said.
In customer-facing work, he said, trust begins not only with speed or fluency, but with visual presence. “Voice, fluency, and response speed are all very important,” the representative said. “But when people look at it, whether the eyes meet theirs, whether it moves, whether it has a human-like form—I think that is the most important.”
A Humanoid Robot for Human Spaces
If AVITA is working to virtualize human presence, Donut Robotics is trying to place AI inside a human-like body. Founded in Kyushu in 2014 and incorporated in 2016, the company says it develops its own AI for robots and is working toward a fully Japan-made humanoid.
At the booth, Hayato Kijima of Donut Robotics’ Robot Business Division said the robot is already close to practical use in factories and construction sites. Equipped with cameras, it could monitor whether workers are using stepladders safely, push carts in manufacturing settings, and serve as an interpreter, with Kijima saying it can speak around 100 languages.
“Because it already has AI built in, it can make decisions on its own,” Kijima said. “It can already speak and interpret. It could start pushing carts as soon as tomorrow.”
The humanoid form, he added, is not simply for effect. It reflects the fact that homes, workplaces, and tools are designed around the human body.
“If robots are going to be used in spaces where people live, they need to be this size,” Kijima said. “If we want them to cook someday, they have to be able to use a human kitchen. Even opening a refrigerator is based on the size and reach of the human body.”
Wearable Robotics for Human Work
Not all companies at the event saw robotics as a substitute for human workers. INNOPHYS, a Tokyo University of Science venture, has taken a different approach with its Muscle Suit series—wearable assistive devices that use pneumatic artificial muscles to reduce strain on the lower back. Its Muscle Suit Every can provide up to 25.5 kg of assistive force and operates without electricity.
Asked whether support suits may have a more immediate role than humanoid robots, Kosuke Nagasawa, sales department manager at INNOPHYS, said the two technologies should develop side by side.
“Of course, full automation through humanoid robots is one direction robotics should continue to pursue,” Nagasawa said. “But there will always be tasks that people need to do, and workplaces where full mechanization is difficult. Human strength still matters. Rather than choosing one over the other, I think humanoids and assistive suits will have to coexist.”
Users, he said, often notice the difference first in their lower back, with many saying the suit makes physical work feel lighter and less tiring. Adoption is growing across nursing care, manufacturing, logistics, construction, and agriculture.
Inside the Humanoid Machinery
Behind the more visible demonstrations were companies such as MinebeaMitsumi, whose components help determine whether robots can become smaller, lighter, and more capable. The company supplies bearings, motors, semiconductors, sensors, and other precision parts used in robotics applications.
Robot hand developed by MinebeaMitsumi. (©Japan Forward)
Koshi Ando of MinebeaMitsumi’s marketing department said the rise of humanoid robots has intensified demand for compact, high-performance components.
“Across the industry, customers are asking for parts that are smaller and more powerful,” Ando said. “With motors, for example, the key measure is often the torque-to-weight ratio,” Ando said. In robotics, torque refers to the twisting force that allows motors to move joints, lift objects, or support weight. In simple terms, robot parts need to be light enough to move efficiently, but powerful enough to do real work. Ando explained that, “The goal is to make them as light as possible while still producing as much torque as possible.”
MinebeaMitsumi’s role, he added, is not limited to a single component. The company makes motors, bearings that support them, and sensors for parts such as robotic hands.
“Our strength is that we can make proposals based on our overall capabilities,” Ando said. “It is not just motors. We also make the bearings used with motors, as well as sensors for feedback when building something like a hand.”
What stood out at SusHi Tech was that some exhibitors suggested the shift from demonstration to everyday use is already underway.
Kuwano of TIER IV said autonomous driving projects are expanding across Japan, with some buses now already carrying paying passengers. “We hope that in another year or two, autonomous driving will feel like a normal part of everyday life,” she said.
RELATED:
Author: Daniel Manning
Continue Reading