TGES and Macnica Plan Humanoid Robot Inspection Trial

Tokyo Gas Engineering Solutions (TGES) and Macnica announced on November 5, 2026, that they will begin a joint trial to have humanoid robots perform daily inspections at factories and utility facilities. They will first test basic functions such as autonomous walking, then gradually expand the work to patrols, information gathering and equipment operation. The companies aim to establish an inspection model in which people and robots work together.

The trial responds to the demands of routine patrols, instrument and visual checks, and record keeping, which are essential to stable factory and utility operations. Securing inspection staff, passing on experienced workers’ skills, and covering night and holiday work burden site teams. Existing facilities were designed for people to move around and operate equipment, with stairs, level changes, doors, narrow passages and manually operated switches. The companies plan to use robots with human-like form and range of motion to handle inspections while avoiding major facility renovations.

The trial will build a digital twin, a virtual environment that recreates real equipment, using facility data captured by 3D laser scanning and libraries from NVIDIA Omniverse. They will repeatedly feed site data into simulations and apply virtual training and test results to physical robots through Sim2Real, a method for transferring results from virtual environments to real machines, gradually improving movement accuracy. They will also simulate multiple robots operating in parallel in the virtual environment to make training and testing more efficient. Robot training will use data organized by TGES on experienced workers’ movements, viewpoints and inspection sequences.

TGES will provide energy facilities as trial sites and incorporate equipment-specific inspection points and management standards into inspection plans and the evaluation of collected data. Macnica will develop AI models, a data collection platform and the simulation environment. The companies will repeat simulations and physical robot tests using site expertise, while accumulating data and knowledge for greater autonomy and capability.

The companies plan to draw up the trial plan during fiscal 2026 and begin testing basic functions in an environment where risks can be controlled. They intend to expand the scope of work gradually based on what they learn, aiming for autonomous inspection of factory equipment around 2030. Their stated future plan includes having robots handle equipment operation as well as patrols and information gathering. The trial is still at the planning and basic-function testing stage; the report does not say autonomous inspections have been achieved. The companies also aim to establish a model for people and robots to work together and to build site knowledge as they expand the trial.

Tokyo Gas Engineering Solutions (TGES) and Macnica announced on November 5, 2026, that they will begin a joint trial to have humanoid robots perform daily inspections at factories and utility facilities. They will first test basic functions such as autonomous walking, then gradually expand the work to patrols, information gathering and equipment operation. The companies aim to establish an inspection model in which people and robots work together.

The trial responds to the demands of routine patrols, instrument and visual checks, and record keeping, which are essential to stable factory and utility operations. Securing inspection staff, passing on experienced workers’ skills, and covering night and holiday work burden site teams. Existing facilities were designed for people to move around and operate equipment, with stairs, level changes, doors, narrow passages and manually operated switches. The companies plan to use robots with human-like form and range of motion to handle inspections while avoiding major facility renovations.

The trial will build a digital twin, a virtual environment that recreates real equipment, using facility data captured by 3D laser scanning and libraries from NVIDIA Omniverse. They will repeatedly feed site data into simulations and apply virtual training and test results to physical robots through Sim2Real, a method for transferring results from virtual environments to real machines, gradually improving movement accuracy. They will also simulate multiple robots operating in parallel in the virtual environment to make training and testing more efficient. Robot training will use data organized by TGES on experienced workers’ movements, viewpoints and inspection sequences.

TGES will provide energy facilities as trial sites and incorporate equipment-specific inspection points and management standards into inspection plans and the evaluation of collected data. Macnica will develop AI models, a data collection platform and the simulation environment. The companies will repeat simulations and physical robot tests using site expertise, while accumulating data and knowledge for greater autonomy and capability.

The companies plan to draw up the trial plan during fiscal 2026 and begin testing basic functions in an environment where risks can be controlled. They intend to expand the scope of work gradually based on what they learn, aiming for autonomous inspection of factory equipment around 2030. Their stated future plan includes having robots handle equipment operation as well as patrols and information gathering. The trial is still at the planning and basic-function testing stage; the report does not say autonomous inspections have been achieved. The companies also aim to establish a model for people and robots to work together and to build site knowledge as they expand the trial.