Toyota Tsusho Group’s electronics trading company, NEXTY Electronics Corporation (Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Yasuhiro Kakihara; hereinafter referred to as “NEXTY Electronics”), announces the opening of its “Smart Factory Automation – Nagoya Showroom” on May 19, 2023.

1.  Background and purpose of creating the showroom

With the progression of labor force shortages and an aging population in recent years, there is growing interest in the introduction and innovative use of robotics as a solution. While industrial robots have been introduced, particularly in the welding of vehicles on production lines, the overall introduction rate in Japan remains less than 10%*1.

Given the difficulties in improving the productivity of conventional production systems and introducing new production systems for variable-mix, variable-volume production*2 to meet the ever-diversifying needs of consumers, it is anticipated that the use of industrial robots will increase in the coming years.

To solve these challenges, NEXTY Electronics signed a distributor agreement with Realtime Robotics Inc. (hereinafter referred to as “Realtime Robotics”) in 2020 and has continued to expand sales domestically as the company’s exclusive distributor in Japan.

2. Showroom overview

The recently opened showroom features an actual hands-on demo, providing a place where visitors can interactively experience the cutting-edge technology that will make variable-mix, variable-volume production lines a reality. To demonstrate a solution to the problems of reducing production preparation time (high-variety production solution), flexibility in adjusting production volume (volume production solution), and effective use of robots in small spaces, a robotic cell has been set up with three industrial robots from different manufacturers. Visitors can see a demo of the three robots working together, not using manual path programming but rather using Realtime Robotics’ automatic motion planning technology, which allows “anyone to easily create collision-free paths.”

NEXTY Electronics provides support for making production systems more productive by transforming the latest technologies into solutions that empower customers (=“pleasure”). Through this recently opened showroom, NEXTY Electronics aims to get customers to experience the “pleasure” of introducing robots that employ Realtime Robotics and hopes that this will be helpful in solving the problems they face. By helping to increase the adoption rate of robots in Japan’s manufacturing industry, NEXTY Electronics is committed to contributing to the building of a more prosperous society.

*1　Based on NEXTY Electronics research

*2　The rapid production and distribution of only a required number of products to respond to fluctuating market demand.

■ Showroom overview

Exhibit: A 3-robot cell that utilizes Realtime Robotics’ technology

*Future demos to be rotated in sequence are: (1) the digitalization of fieldwork by visualizing power consumption in preparation for the upcoming green transformation; (2) an AI simulation that helps reduce production preparation time; and (3) a work visualization solution using ZeroKey Inc.’s high-precision indoor positioning system.

Address: Round Terrace Fushimi 8F (1–17–26 Nishiki, Naka-ku, Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture)

Anticipated visitors: Auto parts manufacturers, home appliance manufacturers, air conditioning equipment manufacturers, electronic device manufacturers, logistics industry professionals, food industry professionals, etc.

■ Photos of the showroom

Demo set by Realtime Robotics

Three robots working in collaboration

【Company Overview】

■About NEXTY Electronics

Company: NEXTY Electronics Corporation

Location: Shinagawa Front Building, 2-3-13, Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo

NEXTY Electronics is one of the core members of the Toyota Tsusho Group’s electronics business and boasts top-of-class scale in the automotive electronics sector. With its core strengths of technology and products, NEXTY Electronics meets customer and global needs in a broad range of areas and provides solutions to the challenges faced by society. It achieves this by actively adapting the autonomous driving, connected, and other leading-edge technologies it has cultivated in the automotive electronics sector for use in other industries. It offers optimum solutions that transcend regions and business sectors by leveraging the Toyota Tsusho Group’s global network.

Visit the link below for more information.

NEXTY Electronics website: https://www.nexty-ele.com/english/