Kakuichi and Play Robotics Launch Project to Employ Unitree's Humanoid G1 as New Graduate
- Published
- Source
- RobotStart.info
Kakuichi Co., Ltd., a steel products and industrial hose manufacturer based in Nagano, Japan, and Play Robotics, a robotics company, have announced a joint project to welcome a bipedal humanoid robot as a new employee. This initiative marks the first time in Japan that a small to medium-sized enterprise will integrate a humanoid robot, named 'Miyazawa Noah' (Unitree's G1), into its workforce as a 'new graduate' without limiting its assigned roles.
Set to begin in April 2027, Kakuichi plans to train the humanoid robot across multiple departments, including factory operations, sales, education, and safety management. The project will involve over ten employees from Kakuichi Group, which includes Kakuichi, Kakuichi Building Materials Industry, and Kakuichi Manufacturing, under the technical support of Play Robotics' CTO, Kodai Yokoyama. The first milestone will be the robot's attendance at Kakuichi's entrance ceremony alongside human new hires.
Following the entrance ceremony, the humanoid will gain practical experience in the workplace, gradually increasing its capabilities. Both companies aim to share insights gained from this project regarding technology, safety, and organizational development, with a view to potentially supporting similar initiatives for other small to medium-sized enterprises in the future.
Original report
Unitree社製ヒューマノイドG1「宮澤ノア」を新卒総合職として採用へ カクイチとPlay Roboticsが共同プロジェクト
RobotStart.infoThis briefing is an independently written summary based on publicly available reporting and is provided for industry information and news discovery. The original report and source publication are credited and linked where applicable. RobotToday does not claim ownership of third-party source material.
Rights concerns? Contact [email protected] with the relevant URL and details. We will review the matter and take appropriate action where warranted.
More related news
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
-
7
RobotToday Weekly October 5 – 9, 2026 RobotToday · 1 day ago
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
Related Suppliers
Play Robotics
Japan
Tokyo specialist in safety verification and deployment support for the world's major humanoid robots, filling the humanoid safety-standard gap.
Acheron Labs
Austria
Vienna-based robotics software startup building an LLM-driven control layer that lets Unitree's G1 humanoid and Go2 quadruped follow spoken commands.
Instadrone
France
Beziers drone services firm offering inspection, surveying and DJI Dock automated drone integration, and since 2026 Unitree G1 humanoid integration.
Hubei Jingchu Humanoid Robot Co., Ltd 湖北荆楚人形机器人有限公司
China
HUST-spinout Wuhan maker of direct-drive humanoid and quadruped robots, including the compact Jingchu Xiaochu and heavy-duty Jingchu Heibao.
Humanoid Robot (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (OpenLoong) 人形机器人（上海）有限公司
China
State-backed Shanghai innovation center (est. 2023) that built Qinglong, China's first full-size open-source humanoid, and runs the OpenLoong community.
Multi Industries of Greenville
United States
US automation integrator founded 1997 in Taylors, SC; serves automotive and industrial manufacturers with mechanical, electrical, and commissioning services.
APA GmbH
Germany
German automation integrator founded 1979; robot modules for automotive assembly; acquired by BMZ Group 2021; ISO 9001:2015.
CASBOT 灵宝CASBOT
China
Chinese humanoid robot maker building full-size bipedal robots for industrial manufacturing, mining, and service environments.
1X Technologies
Norway
Norwegian-American humanoid robot company developing EVE (wheeled) and NEO (bipedal) robots for industrial and home use; formerly Halodi Robotics.
Antenen Robotics
United States
Used and refurbished industrial robot provider and FANUC-authorized system integrator based in Ohio.
Daimon Robotics 戴盟（深圳）机器人科技有限公司
China
Shenzhen-based startup developing vision-based tactile sensors and dexterous robotic hands for embodied AI applications.
Robotics needs a service framework.
RSF defines a common language for robot service capability, lifecycle operations, certification pathways, and service-provider networks.
Join the RobotToday community on LinkedIn
Daily robotics news, in-depth analysis, conference highlights, and discussions with professionals worldwide.
