Tokyo, July 16, 2026 — Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. today announced that its collaboration with NVIDIA Corporation (headquartered in California, U.S.) has begun to realize a next-generation digital shipyard using physical AI and digital twin technology in shipbuilding.
Through this collaboration, Kawasaki will combine the extensive data and expertise it has accumulated over many years at shipbuilding sites, together with its advanced technological capabilities in robotics, with NVIDIA’s sophisticated AI, robotics, and digital twin technologies. By combining these strengths, the two companies will aim to build a production system for a next-generation shipyard that connects every stage from the design to the construction of commercial vessels in a single, seamless flow at the Sakaide Works.
Japan’s shipbuilding industry currently faces serious challenges, including a declining number of skilled workers and labor shortages driven by the falling birthrate and aging population. At the same time, global efforts to reduce environmental impact are driving worldwide demand for low- and zero-carbon vessels, making it an urgent priority for the shipbuilding industry as a whole to expand construction capacity and improve productivity. (....)