Kawasaki Develops Robotic Arm for Dexterity, a U.S. Unicorn Company – Installed on "Mech," the World’s First AI Vanning Robot for Logistics Sector –

Tokyo, May 8, 2025—Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. announced today that it has jointly developed Dexterity’s “Mech” AI Vanning robot, which performs automated truck loading, through a strategic partnership with Dexterity, Inc. , a U.S.-based unicorn company developing AI robotics software. In this joint project, Kawasaki was responsible for developing the robot arm used in Mech.

Mech is the world's first robot that uses AI to automate truck loading at logistics facilities. It autonomously moves within the logistics facility and loads trucks using its two robotic arms.

The logistics sector has a growing need for work automation due to a combination of chronic labor shortages and increasing cargo volumes driven by the expansion of e-commerce. By introducing Mech, logistics facilities can expect to reduce the burden on truck drivers and the workers involved in loading operations, and achieve greater labor efficiency. Pilot tests for on-site implementation of Mech are already being conducted at facilities operated by international logistics company.

The robot arm developed by Kawasaki was newly designed with 8-axis – more than the standard 6-axis typically found in industrial robot arms – to ensure maximum operating range and freedom of motion within narrow truck cargo spaces. Additionally, in order to help make Mech more compact and cost-effective, the arm was made lighter and slimmer while still maintaining the necessary strength for truck loading operations.

Each robot arm has a maximum payload capacity of 30 kg. By combining the arms with Dexterity's advanced AI technologies, the system efficiently loads items into appropriate positions by taking into account each item's size and weight, something that has been difficult to do with conventional robotic automation.

This enables Mech to recognize package sizes and to efficiently load them all the way to the corners of the truck cargo space by combining items of varying sizes. Mech can also distribute the load based on each package's weight to prevent cargo collapse during transportation.

Going forward, Kawasaki will continue contributing to solving challenges in the logistics sector both in Japan and overseas – including North America, Asia, and Europe – through its strategic partnership with Dexterity and by supplying robot arms for the Mech.

Overview of Dexterity
Company Name	Dexterity, Inc.
Location	California, USA
Representative	CEO Samir Menon
Established	2017
Business	Development of AI robotics software and sales of implemented products
URL	http://www.dexterity.ai