With a rapidly aging society and a diminishing workforce, the Japanese society is increasingly focusing its interest on the service robot sector in which they see an opportunity to cope with these two glaring issues. The introduction of robots to many sectors across Japan is regarded as one of the solutions to this problem. Among these are some areas where demand for robots is especially high– logistics, nursing and elderly care, agriculture, inspecting and maintaining aging public infrastructure, and ‘behind-the-scenes’ work in service and non-manufacturing sectors. As a global leader in terms of operational industrial robots stock, most of the country’s robot market revenue is from the B2B sector.

One of the top companies in the country that lends its hands to the exponential growth of robotics is FANUC Corporation [TYO:6954].

FANUC has been a pioneer in Computer Numerical Control (CNC) and robotics technology since 1956. In today’s manufacturing world, FANUC is synonymous with the most reliable and dependable brands on any shop floor. This has resulted in the enterprise achieving a dominant share in the demanding CNC and ROBOT markets. FANUC has a wide range of robot types and models such as lightweight and compact high-speed parallel link robots and high-performance SCARA robots, which can be applied to all industrial processes. The most sought-after models include mini-robots, SCARA robots, Delta bots, and collaborative robots.

In the machine tending industry, robots are utilized and introduced mainly in load / unload processes for machine tools because the robots are suitable for the harsh working environment, and also help labor shortage and promote cost savings.

With rail and gantry mounting options, these robots can also be installed inside multiple machine tools. Moreover, by utilizing QSSR (Quick & Simple Start-up), iRVision, Zero Down Time—all of which help to improve production efficiency— ROBOGUIDE simulation, and Servo Door for machine tools, FANUC can satisfy all the needs of factory automation.

Additionally, FANUC’s flagship IoT product, FIELD system, is an open platform and has been introduced as a new business. FIELD system (FANUC Intelligent Edge Link & Drive system) is an open platform for the manufacturing industry which targets improvements in productivity and efficiency. Using the platform, third-party developers can freely develop and sell applications and converters for devices. This allows various devices on the shop floor to be connected without barriers related to generation or manufacturer, creating centralized management of equipment and data, while also enhancing the transfer of data between robots on the floor.

The robotics company has consistently pursued the automation of factories since 1956 when it succeeded in the development of the SERVO mechanism for the first time in the Japanese private sector. Now, FANUC’s business is comprised of three pillars of FA, ROBOT, and ROBOMACHINE. The FA business encompasses basic technologies, consisting of NCs (numerical controls), servos, and lasers, which are also applied to the ROBOT and ROBOMACHINE businesses. Experienced engineers with comprehensive knowledge of FANUC products such as FA products, LASERs, ROBOTs, and ROBOMACHINEs, are always equipped to quickly respond to customers’ questions and service requests. When additional services are required, skilled service engineers from the nearest base will be dispatched to customers’ sites. To this end, FANUC has established service offices all over the world in more than 260 locations.

FANUC Corporation also offers services, with a policy for not terminating support of FANUC products as long as they are used by customers. Through such activities and, by promoting automation and efficiency in customers’ factories, FANUC contributes to the development of the manufacturing industry in both Japan and across the world.