Kawasaki Launches Collaboration with NVIDIA to Realize a “Next-Generation Digital Shipyard”— Leveraging AI and Digital Twin Technology to Advance DX in Commercial Shipbuilding —
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.
To address these challenges, Kawasaki has been working to expand shipyard construction capacity and improve productivity through the promotion of digital shipyards, realized through digital transformation (DX) in commercial vessel construction, and through the development of AI robots for shipyards, carried out as part of the government-supported “Technology Development Project to Realize Next-Generation Shipyards through the Use of AI”. Building on these efforts, this new collaboration with NVIDIA will make use of NVIDIA’s physical AI stack (NVIDIA Cosmos™, NVIDIA Omniverse™, NVIDIA Isaac™, NVIDIA Metropolis, NVIDIA Jetson™, etc.) to advance a next-generation shipyard model that integrates robotics, AI, autonomous systems, digital twins, and simulation technology. This will contribute to improving the productivity of Japan’s shipbuilding industry and to establishing a stable system for vessel supply. Looking ahead, Kawasaki will pursue the use of physical AI across the entire lifecycle of a vessel, extending beyond the construction process to operation, maintenance, and servicing.
Kawasaki will advance these initiatives through phased demonstration and implementation. The company will first carry out technology verification and identify on-site challenges in commercial vessel construction centered on the Sakaide Works. Kawasaki then aims to apply the knowledge gained through these efforts to other large structures and manufacturing sites, while also contributing to greater efficiency in the operation and maintenance of vessels after delivery.
