Ricoh and Kawasaki Heavy Join on AI Design Knowledge

Ricoh and Kawasaki Heavy Industries announced on November 2, 2026, that they had formed a strategic partnership to use AI to draw on knowledge assets in design work. Combining Ricoh’s AI technology with Kawasaki Heavy’s accumulated design and engineering expertise, they will test ways to use knowledge in design documents and drawings and pass on experienced engineers’ tacit knowledge.

Manufacturers often struggle to make full use of knowledge stored in large collections of internal design documents and drawings, while experienced workers’ know-how can remain dependent on individuals. Amid labor shortages and the retirement of experienced engineers, companies need systems to pass on and use these knowledge assets across the organization. The tests will focus on Kawasaki Heavy’s design and engineering work on complex products such as aircraft and robots, combining its operational data and technical documents with Ricoh’s AI technology in a setting based on actual work conditions.

Ricoh will install an LLM (large language model) and an LMM (large multimodal model), both suited to reading corporate documents, in Kawasaki Heavy’s on-premises environment (systems operated on company premises). The companies will test how AI can use knowledge in design documents and drawings, and organize and make visible engineers’ tacit knowledge, including experience, know-how and judgment criteria, so it can be transferred and used within the organization.

Ricoh will provide a generative AI platform that supports on-premises LLM and LMM use, along with expertise and technology for AI deployment and use. In December 2025, Ricoh announced Hi.DEEN, an enterprise platform for using AI with knowledge assets and unstructured data such as documents, drawings and reports. Kawasaki Heavy will provide design and engineering expertise developed through work on railway vehicles, ships, aircraft and robots, as well as technical documents containing drawings, tables and charts, operational data and a test environment.

Through the partnership, the companies will build expertise in using AI to enhance design work. They aim to apply the resulting knowledge and use cases to pass on design know-how, improve productivity and create an environment where engineers can focus on more creative work.

Ricoh and Kawasaki Heavy Industries announced on November 2, 2026, that they had formed a strategic partnership to use AI to draw on knowledge assets in design work. Combining Ricoh’s AI technology with Kawasaki Heavy’s accumulated design and engineering expertise, they will test ways to use knowledge in design documents and drawings and pass on experienced engineers’ tacit knowledge.

Manufacturers often struggle to make full use of knowledge stored in large collections of internal design documents and drawings, while experienced workers’ know-how can remain dependent on individuals. Amid labor shortages and the retirement of experienced engineers, companies need systems to pass on and use these knowledge assets across the organization. The tests will focus on Kawasaki Heavy’s design and engineering work on complex products such as aircraft and robots, combining its operational data and technical documents with Ricoh’s AI technology in a setting based on actual work conditions.

Ricoh will install an LLM (large language model) and an LMM (large multimodal model), both suited to reading corporate documents, in Kawasaki Heavy’s on-premises environment (systems operated on company premises). The companies will test how AI can use knowledge in design documents and drawings, and organize and make visible engineers’ tacit knowledge, including experience, know-how and judgment criteria, so it can be transferred and used within the organization.

Ricoh will provide a generative AI platform that supports on-premises LLM and LMM use, along with expertise and technology for AI deployment and use. In December 2025, Ricoh announced Hi.DEEN, an enterprise platform for using AI with knowledge assets and unstructured data such as documents, drawings and reports. Kawasaki Heavy will provide design and engineering expertise developed through work on railway vehicles, ships, aircraft and robots, as well as technical documents containing drawings, tables and charts, operational data and a test environment.

Through the partnership, the companies will build expertise in using AI to enhance design work. They aim to apply the resulting knowledge and use cases to pass on design know-how, improve productivity and create an environment where engineers can focus on more creative work.