Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI), Shin Kurushima Dockyard, and Namura Shipbuilding have been selected to develop AI-enabled welding and painting robots for open shipyard spaces under a Japanese programme supporting next-generation shipbuilding technologies.
The consortium’s project targets hull block exteriors and other open spaces, such as outdoors, at height and on curved surfaces.
The companies cited the workload and safety challenges of welding and painting in these settings as reasons to prioritise them for automation in an industry still heavily dependent on human labour.
The hulls' varying designs complicate the use of a common mass production line, while the locations and surfaces covered by the proposal require the developers to address movement and work planning alongside the welding or painting operation itself.
The partners plan to develop robots that walk on legs as well as wheeled models under the project formally titled “Research and Development of AI Welding and Painting Robots for Open Spaces”. Welding, painting and quality verification are all included in the proposed scope, extending the development work from carrying out a task to checking its results.
Autonomous mobility and AI-generated work plans are central elements of the research. The companies intend to use what they describe as “physical AI” for movement and work decisions, alongside improvements to the robots’ capabilities in welding and painting, as well as quality checks.
The research period began in March 2026 and will run through March 2027. The three companies announced their plans on April 21. Tests in working shipbuilding settings were included to assess the practicality and reliability of the proposed systems.
ClassNK and the American Bureau of Shipping will work with the consortium on technical evaluation and consideration of rules.
KHI said the partners will combine experience accumulated through ship construction with technology it (KHI) has developed for industrial and humanoid robots. The companies identify improved safety, productivity, and skill transfer as anticipated benefits.
The open-space proposal is one of 14 research and development projects selected earlier this year by the National Maritime Research Institute. The wider programme combines AI robot development with production-simulation tools, addressing processes including bending and welding as well as the planning needed to introduce robots into shipbuilding production.
The National Institute of Maritime, Port and Aviation Technology is implementing the initiative. Selection followed review by an external expert committee.
Its stated objectives include improving productivity, transferring technical, skills and maintaining a stable shipbuilding supply capacity with fewer workers.
Japanese shipbuilding employment fell from more than 90,000 in 2016 to 70,300 in 2023, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which examined the industry’s workforce in its 2026 peer review.
The OECD review also identified an ageing workforce and a slower inflow of younger workers as long-term labour sustainability concerns. It noted that skilled and design staff account for a growing proportion of workers, placing the availability and replenishment of technical expertise alongside total employment as issues for the industry.
The consortium also linked worsening labour shortages to Japan’s falling birthrate and ageing population, as well as to fewer skilled workers.
A further university industry project includes ClassNK, Namura and Shin Kurushima Dockyard and concentrates on welding quality checks. It proposes image recognition AI to adjust welding conditions, automatic quality judgements using welding logs and a draft guideline for quality checks. This is a separate proposal from the integrated mobile welding and painting system.