November 17th, 2023
h i b o t

C o r p o r a t i o nFuyo General Lease Co., Ltd.
Tokyo Institute of Technology spin-off company Hibot and Fuyo General Lease
collaborates in RaaS Business for Infrastructure Maintenance and NDT～Introducing pay-as-you-go leasing based on robot utilization rates for business expansion～
Fuyo General Lease Co., Ltd. (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Hiroaki Oda;
hereinafter "Fuyo Lease") has purchased a non-destructive test inspection robot developed byhibot Corporation (Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo; Co-founder and CEO: Michele Guarnieri; hereinafter"hibot") and concluded a pay-as-you-go rate lease agreement (hereinafter "the LeaseAgreement") based on the robot's utilization rate.
Nondestructive testing is an inspection technology that examines the internal damage,surface damage, or deterioration of an object without destroying it, thereby increasing thereliability of equipment and enabling long-term use which can lead to waste reduction. The
market for nondestructive testing continues to expand, as it is being introduced in various
industries to reduce costs by improving operational efficiency and reducing the number ofinspectors needed for maintenance work, which is expected to alleviate labor shortages.
As a spin-off start-up from the Tokyo Institute of Technology, hibot develops and provides
innovative non-destructive inspection robots and a cloud platform which enables collection andmanagement of inspection data. By utilizing its cutting-edge robotic technologies hibot deploys
RaaS (Robot as a Service) business with innovative solutions to automate the periodic
inspections of infrastructure using AI to analyze images, predict deterioration and damage,diagnose health, and generate inspection reports. In the future, hibot is seeking to applying
this technology not only to inspection work, but also to maintenance work such as cleaning
and coating.
Since the sign-off a capital and business agreement* in March 2020, Fuyo Lease and hibot
have been discussing business collaboration in the RaaS business. As hibot is beginning fullscale RaaS operations in Europe, Fuyo Lease will provide Float Arm under pay-as-you-go rateleasing scheme in which leasing fees will vary based on the utilization rate.
*Capital and Business Alliance between Innovation and Future Creation Inc. and Fuyo
General Lease Co., Ltd. (2020.3.26 Press)
https://www.hibot.co.jp/ja/blog/2020-05-21-test-ja-post/
1 / 3◆Articulated Robot Arm "Float Arm”
Born as an essential tool for the decommissioning ofFukushima Nuclear Power Plant, hibot’s new snake
manipulator

hasundergone

aremarkabletransformation, evolving into a lightweight, compact,and highly portable device. With its extensible designof the end-effector, it can be applied to various
inspection or maintenance operation in various field.
The first commercial machine had been delivered toBASF, leading to improve work safety and efficiency,
reducing the time required for scaffolding installationfrom 5 to 6 days to few hours.
In Europe, the application for radioactive waste
treatment facilities inspection has been started byVinçotte / KIWA group, the largest testing, inspection, and certification organization inBelgium. In Japan, on-site verification by steel and chemical manufacturers is underway.
In addition, the Float Arm project has been selected for the Nippon Foundation's DeepStar
Collaborative Technology Development Grant Program, and is attracting a great deal ofinterest from companies that are involved in offshore oil and natural gas exploration,
development, and production around the world, including Chevron (U.S.), Petrobras (Brazil),
Shell (UK), ExxonMobil (U.S.), and INPEX (Japan), therefore it is expected to expand its
business to the United States in the future.
<About hibot>
Hibot’s role is to save lives and help maintain the safety of society's infrastructure throughits integrated robotic systems. Following the launch of its RaaS business in Japan, this year
hibot have established a subsidiary, hibot europe GmbH, in Aachen, Germany, as its
European base of operations, and began full-scale RaaS operations in Europe. Through thisbusiness collaboration with Fuyo Lease, which is also a shareholder of hibot, we will further
accelerate the mass production of robots and the global expansion of the RaaS business,thereby contributing to the realization of a safer and more sustainable society.
<About Fuyo Lease Group>
Under Fuyo Lease Group's medium-term management plan, Fuyo Shared Value 2026,
which began in fiscal year of 2022, the Fuyo Lease Group aims to achieve sustainable growth
as a corporate group by simultaneously solving social issues and creating economic value
through the practice of Creating Shared Value (CSV).
In addition, we promote M&As and capital and business alliances with companies that2 / 3

possess unique technologies and know-how, such as R&D start-ups. Through investment in
new areas and incubation, we will accumulate know-how that will lead to solutions topotential issues in the markets and customers that will emerge in the future, thereby
contributing to the realization of a sustainable society.
EndContact Points
hibot Corporation
Public Relation Iijima、Takenokuchi
TEL：03（5791）7526 URL： https://www.hibot.co.jp/
Fuyo General LeaseCorporate Planning Div. Corporate Communication office Yamazaki、Watanabe
TEL：03（5275）8891 URL： https://www.fgl.co.jp/3 / 3