2017-Ⅱ
This photograph was taken on May 8, 2017.

Exhibition to Present New Products
On April 11 and 12, FANUC hosted an exhibition to present new products at the Nature Hall located on the campus of ourheadquarters. On the first day, despite the bad weather with chilly rains, this year’s exhibition also attracted over 7,000
customers, making for a lively and animated exhibition site. In addition to the display of FANUC’s IoT, which was moreadvanced than last year, the exhibition featured offerings under the new theme “FANUC’s AI.”The cutting-edge product lineups, which achieve three goals—“Connect,” “Visualize,” and “Think”—at customers’
manufacturing sites and turn them into “Non-Stop Factories” attracted the attention of many visitors and were highly
appreciated.

In the exhibition area for “FANUC’s IoT,” the FIELD system, was on display. This system makes it possible to connect not
only old and new FANUC products but also various kinds of equipment, enabling the monitoring and analysis of theiroperation, preventive maintenance, and the like. Many visitors commented that they wanted to use FANUC’s IoT-related
offerings immediately.
In the “FANUCʼs AI” corner, engineers explained that FANUCʼs AI systems can be implemented in stand-alone machines
installed at the edge, and can be used without network connection. They also explained that these systems oﬀer high level
AI functions, which enable extraction of characteristics using machine learning and deep learning. Visitors praised theirconvenience and level of advancement.

The FA area exhibited actual samples of machining using ﬁne surface technology, which is the culmination of FANUCʼstechnologies related to high-quality machining, and this attracted the attention of many visitors. The new ﬂat indicator for
the 0i-F Series with its sophisticated design was also highly rated. The ROBOT corner allowed many visitors to experiencecollaboration with a green robot, which does not require safety fences. In addition, a new controller with a higher
processing speed that changes the screen more quickly was presented, and the demonstrations of a laser welding robot
combined with a ﬁber laser were highly regarded. Meanwhile, demonstrations of scratch inspections for mobile phonecases using deep learning functions ﬁlled visitors with awe.
In the ROBOMACHINE corner, exhibits of thermal displacement compensation by ROBOCUT and ROBODRILL, which haveboth raised their accuracy levels using machine learning, constantly drew large crowds, and engineers received manyinquiries. ROBOSHOTʼs lineup of Quick Simple Start-up Package, which realize robotization easily, and ROBONANO, which
specializes in nano-tech machining that is most suitable for all types of optical molds from small to A4-size, were also wellreceived.
2

The Service booth presented functions displaying alarm guidance and maintenance guidance at information sites,
developed by using machine learning in reorganizing big data on maintenance, which has been accumulated over many
years. Many favorable feedback were received. Visitors commented that these functions could reduce the time needed formaintenance, and could easily be used at worksites too, because they support mobile terminals.

【Key exhibits】
one FANUC FANUC’s initiatives in IoT and AI
FA・CNC and Servo technology for high quality machining
・Moderniced Series 0i-F Design・Compact and lightweight unit for Manual handle feed in safety
・AI functions for FA
・Factory visualization・‌Accurate simulation of machining of workpieces withcomplex shapes
・Total support for tasks in the workshop
・Optimized control according to machine status changes
・‌Ultra high speed/ultra high precision machining
through Servo Learning Control
・‌High speed/high output motor that realizes highefficiency machining・‌Further size reduction and support for 200 V/400 V
power supplies
・‌Easy selection of servos and provision of the latest
model information
・‌Fast, highly responsive, and multi-axial synchronous
control of industrial machines
・Fiber laser that supports various applications
ROBOTs・AI functions of robots
・‌Collaborative robots assembly demonstration andhands-on experience sessions
・Vehicle body welding systems using spot welding robots
・Intelligent arc welding system
・Parts feeder system, high speed aligning system
・Bin picking by 3D matching
・Painting systems for vehicle panels・‌Finished vehicle body transportation systems with anultra-large robot
・New controller and vision function
ROBOMACHINEs
・Automation through fusion with ROBOTs
・AI functions of ROBOMACHINEs
AI backflow monitor for ROBOSHOT・Applications of IoT to ROBOMACHINEs
・High-efficiency/high-quality machining with ROBODRILL
・Composite molding and precision molding with ROBOSHOT・Fast and precise machining with the new functions of ROBOCUT
・New ROBONANO machining models with sub-nano-level precision

FIELD system
FANUC AI
Fine surface technology
10.4” LCD/MDI Unit for Series 0i-F
Portable manual pulse generator
MT-LINKi and Trouble Diagnosis Function, automatic servo
adjustment
Machine status monitoring function + multi sensor I/O unit
iHMI new machining simulation
Various iHMI applications
Smart machine control
Linear motor LiS-B series
Built-in spindle motor Bi-B series
Servo amplifierαi-B/βi-B series
Servo sizer
Power Motion i-MODEL A
High speed/high precision complex lasers
Fiber laser welding robot system
Flaw inspection and bin picking through deep learning
Zero Down Time function
CR-4iA, CR-7iA, CR-7iA/L
CR-35iA, hand guides
R-2000iC/165F, R-1000iC/120F-7B
ARC Mate 100iD
M-1iA/0.5A, M-2iA/3S
M-10iA/10M
P-250iB
M-2000iA/1700L
R-30iB Mate Plus, iRVision
Easy startup packages QSSP (Quick & Simple Startup Package)
AI thermal displacement compensation for ROBODRILL and
ROBOCUTLINKi function of ROBOMACHINEs
ROBODRILL α -DiB series
ROBOSHOT α -SiA series
ROBOCUT α -CiB series
ROBONANO α -NMiA
3

2017 Round-Table Talk

On April 14, we invited professors and researchers who provide us with continued support to look at new products at theexhibition and later hosted a round-table talk.
Attendees
Toshiro Higuchi

Professor Emeritus of the
University of Tokyo

Hidenori Shinno

Professor of the Tokyo Institute ofTechnology

Hideki Aoyama

Professor of Keio University

Shigetaka Takagi

Professor of the Tokyo Institute ofTechnology

Keiichi Shirase

Professor of Kobe University

Atsushi Matsubara

Professor of Kyoto University

Hiroyuki Sasahara

Professor of the Tokyo Universityof Agriculture and Technology

Masatoshi Ishikawa Professor of the University of Tokyo
Hajime Asama

Professor of the University of Tokyo

Shigeki Sugano

Professor of Waseda University

Takayuki Okatani

Professor of Tohoku University

Tojiro Aoyama

Professor Emeritus of Keio University

Tsunemoto Kuriyagawa Professor of Tohoku University
Eiji Shamoto

Professor of Nagoya University

Takashi Matsumura Professor of Tokyo Denki University
Hitoshi Omori

Chief Scientist of RIKENFANUC Corp.
Yoshiharu Inaba

Representative Member of theBoard, Chairman, and CEO
Kenji Yamaguchi
Representative Member of theBoard, President, and COO (Moderator)
Hiroyuki Uchida
General Manager, ROBOMACHINE
Business Division
General Manager, ROBOT Business Division
Kiyonori Inaba
Shunsuke Matsubara General Manager, Research &Development Administration Division
Yoshiki Hashimoto General Manager, CNC Hardware Laboratory
Hidehiro Miyajima
General Manager, CNC Software Laboratory
Mitsuyuki Taniguchi General Manager, SERVO Laboratory
Yuji Nishikawa
General Manager, LASER Laboratory
Kenichiro Abe
General Manager, ROBOT
Mechanical Development Laboratory
Tetsuro Kato
General Manager, ROBOT Software
Development Laboratory
General Manager, ROBODRILL Laboratory
Tong Zheng
Satoshi Takatsugu General Manager, ROBOSHOT Laboratory
Yuji Takayama
General Manager, ROBOCUT Laboratory
Hon Yonpyo
General Manager, ROBONANO
Research Department
Akihiko Fujimoto
Deputy General Manager,
ROBOMACHINE Business Division
Kazunori Ban
Deputy Director, Basic Research Laboratory
Masako Sudo
Chief Engineer(Titles are current as of April 14)

President: Thank you forgathering today despite your busy
schedules. Prior to this round-table
talk, you looked at our new
products. I would appreciate any
comments you have about them.
Chairman: Thank you for visiting
the Fanuc exhibition to see our new
products this year, too. Each year,
we exhibit the latest models andPresident
functions of FA systems, ROBOTs,
and ROBOMACHINEs, but as
developers, we tend to overextend ourselves whenexhibiting products because of our desire to give visitors
a glimpse of future technology. This year’s exhibits focus
4on the latest technologies that canbe used today. We put on display
high-speed, high-precision, highquality machining, the smoothnessof the machined surface, andvarious IoT technologies, which are
all FANUCʼs missions, but also tried
to make exhibits as practical as
possible as exempliﬁed by thesimpler and easier-to-use functions,
Chairmaneasy-to-view screens, failure
prediction, and search systems thatenable anybody to take measures against defects basedon huge databases of maintenance information. This year,
we focused on practical machine learning and deep

learning technologies, as well as AI technology that uses
them, as they are expected to meet the needs of thecoming age. In these areas, too, we ask for your continued
guidance in the future. Your frank comments are muchappreciated.
President: First, we would like to hear comments from
Professor Higuchi.
Professor Higuchi: I participate inthis exhibition each year, butduring the past several years, theway new products have been
exhibited has evolved rapidly andbecome more refined and easier tounderstand. One characteristic of
this year’s exhibition is that inaddition to the presentation of thelatest products, explanations are
Professor Higuchi
given about the basic technologies.
You explain things carefully so thateven engineers outside these fields can understand trends
in the fields. Since the exhibits are also extremely usefulin studying production engineering and automation
technology, I thought students should see these exhibits.
If possible, I hope that major exhibits from this exhibition
will be put on permanent display so that they can be seen
throughout the year.
The two titles of this yearʼs exhibition are “Ease of Use”
and “Minimizing Down Time.” In terms of “Ease of Use,”exhibits clearly indicated how much time and eﬀort you
put in to make it so that work could be performed without
error. This is probably related to the rapidly decreasing
number of skilled workers. As far as “Minimizing Down
Time” is concerned, at the front entrance of the exhibition
site, there were three slogans: Reliable, Predictable, andEasy to Repair. If I remember correctly, these wereannounced about three years ago. IoT in the
manufacturing industry as typiﬁed by Industry 4.0 was
brought up at the same time during the round-table talk.
At the time, I thought that these two had nothing to dowith each other, but in fact, when I thought more deeply
about them, I realized that they were closely related. In
other words, I came to think that no matter how muchprogress was made in using a high level of information
technology and artiﬁcial intelligence to connect machines
and factories, systems would not work right if there wasno guarantee that individual machines would not fail andoperate properly. I believe that as manufacturers makeprogress in making the most of IoT, they will more keenly
recognize the importance of “Minimizing Down Time”
and the technologies that underpin them. FANUC
constructed a large Reliability Evaluation Building as oneof its research and development bases. The company
emphasizes reliability evaluation, and research anddevelopment aimed at improving it, and such a stancemakes me realize how far-sighted FANUC is. I ﬁnally
started to understand the importance of the threeslogans, which made me wonder what they meant at theexhibition three years ago.
President: Thank you. Professor Shinno, please.
Professor Shinno: In mylaboratory, we are constructing
processing machines andmeasuring systems that are basedon new structural concepts notfound in the world and are
conducting research on them.
When I saw the various new
products on display today, I had
the impression that there wereconsiderable similarities between
Professor Shinno
them and what we are aiming for. I
myself am enjoying creating
various machines because when I hear people saysomething is taboo, I just have to try and make it. In the
future, I will continue to work on new projects as much as
possible.
Recently, while I was conducting research on ﬁber laser, I
felt that it had higher potential than what it is being used
for in the world. It has no tools that can wear away likemachines do. It is compact. It controls the tool itself,
makes them intelligent, and can be incorporated into
various machining systems, and therefore, we are looking
for ways of applying it to areas other than cutting andwelding, the two areas in which it is currently applied. I
looked at a system that combined a lathe with laser, but I
hope that at the next exhibition, you will show an excitingmachine that combines a ROBODRILL with a ﬁber laser.
Real-time laser monitoring was on display, but I wondered
if FANUC could propose something new as its own uniqueproduct. The reason is that a study of research theses on
FA sensors and monitoring of processing status indicatesthat there has been no substantial progress since the1970s, nor has there been any practical progress in FA
sensors used at manufacturing sites. In this sense, I hopethat you will try making sensors and signal processing
systems based on various measurement principles notseen before, and oﬀer new measurement systems unique
to FANUC, and intelligent spindles and similar productsthat combine machining, measurement, and control
functions.
When I looked at exhibits related to CNC controllers, I
found that they covered almost all conceivable functions
from the viewpoint of CNC technology, which made me
wonder if the engineers in charge of developing servo
technology and CNC controllers were faced with greatdiﬃculties in research and development. It may bepossible to oﬀer new CNC controllers that are diﬀerent
from existing ones by introducing the results of researchand development in areas other than CNC. I sincerely
hope that they will take such an approach.
One of the themes on which I had placed my expectations
before I visited the exhibition site was big data and CNC.
Exhibits focused on AI and deep learning, but I had theimpression that they were rather conservative. Since
FANUC covers many areas in which it can use big data
eﬀectively, I hope that the company will work actively
and make new proposals in those areas.
Finally, due in part to cost problems, manufacturers are
not making as much progress in applying new materials
as is publicized. On the other hand, in addition to CFRP,
various new materials are emerging, but none of themmeets industrial needs, and no progress is being made inﬁnding applications that serve as a trump card. A wide
range of FANUC products have many components towhich new materials can be applied, including ROBOTs,
ROBONANO, and spindles. If new materials had been
applied to speciﬁc new products in positive ways, I would
have been even more excited when I looked at them.
President: Thank you. As you said, when you really get
down to it, it does seem like sensor monitoring
technology has not changed much since the 1970s. With
respect to spindles, General Manager Uchida will explain
as he is responsible for technology in general as CTO.
Uchida: Although we could notpresent it at this time, we havestarted working on thedevelopment of failure prediction
for spindle motors and spindles
using ROBODRILL, and also as a
general-purpose servo product.
Among the various technologies
we have available, we decided topresent the thermal displacementcompensation function at this time.
UchidaIn ROBOSHOT, it is a wear
prevention function for portions subject to wear rather
52017 Round-Table Talk
than a compensation function, and the function is called
the AI backflow monitor. In this way, we are also working
on systems for preventing wear by performing
compensation for portions prone to wear. After collecting
a large amount of data and repeated trial and error in the
SERVO Laboratory and ROBODRILL Laboratory for a year,
we deeply understand how difficult it is to develop
products that can be guaranteed.
As a matter of fact, the thermal displacementcompensation for ROBOSHOT presented at this time iseasy to realize with certain materials and certain molds.
However, the real challenge to overcome forcommercialization is to make it possible to absorb
thermal displacement under many different conditions
when the function is used in general products. It is ourgoal to at least develop the framework of the function forthe spindle by next year.
President: Now, we would like to hear from Professor
Hideki Aoyama.
Professor Hideki Aoyama: I
viewed your exhibition withexcitement this year, as well. As
Professor Higuchi said earlier, it
seemed to me that the concept of"Reliable, Predictable, Easy toRepair" from three years ago has
served as the base, and that AI andIoT are being utilized as tools to
realize that concept. With that inProfessor Hideki Aoyama
mind, I read a newspaper article
stating that FANUCʼs ROBOTs usedin the factories of General Motors issue notiﬁcations
before they break down, which gave me the feeling thatthe technology is being steadily introduced into theworkplace. As I participate in this round-table talk today,
I look forward to ﬁnding out how applications of the
FIELD system, which you released a year ago, have been
expanding. In the exhibition, an application that performs
monitoring of the operating rate or visualization of theprocessing in response to machine alarms was presented.
However, I have not been able to gain a clear
understanding of what the applications for the FIELD
system are like.
As I saw many products on display that used AI, I had theimpression that your products are ahead of the times. For
example, technologies such as the identification ofthermal displacement, servo tuning, and failure diagnosis
were presented. It was explained that AI is used forrecognition; however, I thought that users would
appreciate it if you suggest how data utilization andoptimization control can be performed after recognition,
or data collection. AI is a mechanism that provides
desired information based on cause and effectrelationships. On the other hand, I was relieved to hearthat products developed based on engineering analyses
were also available. When I hear “AI,” I feel like thecontents of the functions are not quite clear. However,
you had various other technologies, including controls,
based on engineering analyses, and I thought that it wasa very down-to-earth and important approach.
As for the individual themes, I was most excited about
ﬁne surface technology. In addition, it was very
interesting to see the upgraded smooth tolerancefunction. I would love to see FANUC develop a mechanismthat links CAD, CAM, NC and servos with each other andenables more advanced machining by utilizing CAD data.
Another thing that really excited me was smart machine
control. I thought it was very interesting. Although I could
not understand how temperature and vibration were
controlled in real time, the explanation given on how themachined surfaces were totally different when suchcontrols were applied was very interesting.
President: Thank you for opinions covering various
6

points. Regarding your comments on the applications of
the FIELD system, we are currently working diligently on
the development of the FIELD system, and will hopefully
be able to respond to your expectations next time. As forlinking CAD and CAM data, we also think it is important,
and we would appreciate your guidance at anotheropportunity in the future. The development of finesurface technology is led by Mr. Uchida, so Iʼd like hiscomments on that matter.
Uchida: I think it would have been interesting if you saw
the results of applying various controls using ROBONANO
and ROBODRILL. We are considering ways of linking
CAM with tools and machining conditions. When amachined surface comes out badly, issues such as a bad
NC or machine are mentioned. However, when we
examined this matter a few years ago, we found out that
all the elements of CAM, NC, servos, machine
configuration, tools, and machining conditions wererelated to the conditions for linkage. There are cases inwhich CAM is bad and streaks occur due to dust, cases inwhich the NC interpolation period is too long and it needs
to be shortened, cases in which servo rigidity is
insufficient and gain adjustment or filtering is needed,
and cases in which machine rigidity is insufficient. In
addition, tool selection, tool feed speed, spindle speed, or
machining conditions are involved. This being the case,
we have made it our goal at one FANUC to develop
comprehensive technologies that will cover all these
aspects so that we can offer consulting services in
addition to products and functions.
President: Thank you. Now, may I ask for yourcomments, Professor Takagi?
Professor Takagi: I was more
surprised than excited to see yourexhibition. you introduced the
FIELD system. This time, AI was
added, which has seen increasing
popularity in recent years, and I
was impressed with how well yourproducts are made using deeplearning. What surprised me themost was that machining can be
performed with commands in units
Professor Takagi
of 0.1 nanometers in mirror surface
machining. I heard that the actual precision is 1
nanometer. However, I specialize in integrated circuits,
and the minimum wire width in integrated circuits thesedays is about 10 nanometers. So, compared to that, theprecision of 1 nanometer is amazing. On the other hand,the fact that FANUC still provides maintenance for its
products that were developed 36 years ago showed me
the broad-mindedness of the company.
In addition, your exhibition on collaborative robots wasparticularly interesting to me, since I helped with thecircuit configuration at the launch of the collaborative
robots. Last time, I talked about the necessity of noise
reduction technology in order to increase the accuracy of
the force sensors of the collaborative robots, and thepossible options to accomplish this, including
visualization of noise through simulations, multiplexingof the channels, and, if the signal frequency is low, noise
canceling. On a side note, I have been serving as thechairman of the committee of The Institute of ElectricalEngineers of Japan for researching noise reduction
technologies related to integrated circuits for several
years, and have many opportunities to hear about noise
reduction. Just the other day, I heard from a person froman auto manufacturer that the performance ofautomobiles is known even without prototypes nowadays.
It seems that the method of arranging the wiring inside
the vehicle to reduce noise can be visualized by analyzing
noise through three-dimensional electromagnetic field
analysis. In addition, a person from a component

manufacturer told me that there are many standards
related to automobiles, including those for the
information transmission system, electric drive system,
and vehicle body control system, and they mainly use
differential signals that transmit signals using two paths.
By doing it that way, the same noise enters the two
positive and negative differential signals, and can becancelled by eliminating the difference between the two
signals. According to that person, multiplexing of thechannels is necessary and that was how they removed
noise.
Recently, I was consulted by a person from FANUC
regarding how to design circuits to reduce electricalnoise in sensors. For analog circuits, there are things wecannot see until we precisely calculate the effects of thesurrounding circuits. After calculating such effects, westart seeing what kind of circuit is resistant to noise.
Electronic circuits lack flair; even if they are given a good
design, their performance will not improve by 10 or 100
times. On the contrary, however, in designs related tonoise processing, without superior electronic circuitdesign, signals are buried in the noise. So, even if thework is not spectacular, it is necessary to perform good
circuit design. The content of the consultation fromFANUC at this time was a good example of this, and was
also a good experience for me.
President: Thank you. I appreciate your guidance
concerning sensors and circuits. There is still room for
improvement in that area.
Hashimoto: Professor Takagi gave advice concerning not
only the circuit configuration, but also part selection andarrangement. We realized anew that all such factors areneeded to achieve the desired accuracy of analog circuits.
We are counting on his continued guidance.
President: Thank you for your continued support. Now, I
would like to request your comments, Professor Shirase.
Professor Shirase: As thechairman said at the beginningthat the theme of the exhibition
was the latest technologies thatcan be used today, I thought all of
your technologies, such as finesurface technology and smart
machine control, were very
complete. Although technologies
such as tuning the gain orsmoothing tool paths have existed
Professor Shirase
from before, I got the impressionthat you have realized such technologies very effectively
with the improvement of the CNC processing capability.
In addition, although CNC has been evolving to faithfully
perform NC programs, it seems that enough development
has been performed to that end. As Professor Hideki
Aoyama said, greater coordination with CAD or CAM isdesired at this point. Since I am engaging in researchmyself on non-conventional operations that can be
enabled through the integration of CAM and CNC, I would
like to see FANUC become a pioneer in this area.
For example, when a CAD model is provided, the cutting
shape can be faithfully reproduced. To achieve a productone notch above that, however, it would be great if moredesign data could be incorporated; in other words, I
would like to see functions that change the machining
conditions or cutting method according to thedimensional tolerance or surface roughness.
However, as Mr. Uchida mentioned regarding thedifficulty of developing products that can be guaranteed,
there is an obstacle for companies in that they cannot
commercialize incomplete products as they will be held
liable for them. However, if 350 companies develop
applications for the FIELD system, I don’t think it's
possible for all applications to be highly complete. The
key in such a situation is whether the applications areused by users; in order words, if a situation can berealized in which users use the applications even if there
is some risk. Although some users may not want to takeany risks, there are users who are willing to take risks.
So, it would be great if you could provide a good systemthat enables users who are willing to take risks to use theapplications, rather than not commercializing theapplications due to their incompleteness. For example, if I
was the provider of an application and believed that myapplication was perfect, as it did not have any problems
in the test phase, problems may occur when it was usedwith other applications. If you are to tell the application
providers, “The platform is ready. Please develop
applications,” without offering a system that provides
compensation in such a case, the risk for the application
developers is too big and the platform will not spreadsmoothly. I heard that the FIELD system was madeavailable last August and the SDK (Software Development
Kit) will be distributed in April. I would also like to makemy research achievements available to users via the
FIELD system. I heard that the distribution of applications
will start in September. I will be watching how the FIELD
system advances.
President: Thank you. We also consider coordination
with CAM to be important, so we would appreciate yourcontinued guidance. Now, Professor Matsubara, may wehave your thoughts?
Professor Matsubara: At thistime, I would like to talk about
your green robots and AI, from theperspective of factory automation.
Your green robots have made muchprogress. When I saw the large
robots several years ago, I thought
it would be too difficult for them towork alongside humans, and I
remember frankly saying so. Now, I
have French staff members in my
Professor Matsubara
laboratory trying to conduct
research using robots. This being the case, a major issue
was how to convey matters concerning Japanese safety
standards to them, such as how to arrange fences or set
movable ranges. However, your green robots havecompletely eliminated such issues. I thought it was a very
innovative and wonderful thing. We can just concentrateon what we would like to do using the robots. For
research, they are a technology that can eliminate thebarrier between robots and us; so, I would love to see
their continued development. Another aspect I would liketo mention is AI. There were examples that were far more
specific than those in the last exhibition. For example, theAI function of your products can collect measurement
data and show correlations immediately. That's all
researchers like us in the measurement field for machine
tools are doing is just “measuring, collecting data, finding
correlations and utilize them.” I became a little concerned
that, if AI can even perform the task of finding
correlations, I might lose my job. However, on further
reflection, such tasks can be fairly complex. In the case ofthermal displacement compensation, not only thetemperature environment but also the operating
conditions need to be considered. Machinability iscompletely different between steel and aluminum.
Whether cooling water is poured or not makes adifference. Moreover, there are individual differencesamong machines, and there are differences in theenvironments of the factories in which the machines are
installed. For example, the environment differs amonglocations close to a door, those in the middle of thefactory or those close to an air conditioner. It is exciting
to think about what we can see when such data all comes
together. An issue that arises here is that of intellectual
property rights–namely, the issue of to whom the data7

2017 Round-Table Talk
belongs. What we really need to do now is determine how
to treat such data, new ideas or wisdom. Your exhibition
has made me think about all these things, and was very
exciting. Thank you very much.
President: Thank you for your comments. We havedeveloped our large green collaborative robots with a
35-kg payload with the thought that they would be highlymarketable, as they can reduce hard physical labor.
Actually, the smaller robots are also very popular, andmany customers are currently trying them out.
Uchida: I have the impression that the professors who
have come today are very familiar with actual work sites
and collecting data by conducting many experiments,
which is very reassuring. As you pointed out, thermal
displacement compensation is the most severe in actual
work sites. It happens in our factories as well; if we open
curtains at a location next to the truck yard, thetemperature suddenly drops or increases. What you
mentioned is very true for ROBODRILL; we need toassume many conditions for
ROBODRILL from now on. We need to develop manysystems that automatically collect data. It is a lot of work,and I am realizing how hard it is, especially at this time.
Once big data is obtained, analysis, rationalization, andassociation of data are in the field of deep learning.
However, development of the infrastructure for creating
the database, for example, performing measurements andobservation under many different conditions, must be
performed by humans with their wisdom, and I would
like your continued support in this respect; so I have thefeeling your work load will just continue to increase.
President: Thank you. Now, Professor Sasahara, I would
like your concluding thoughts concerning factory
automation.
Professor Sasahara: Since I
engage in research on cutting,
grinding, and additive
manufacturing, my comments may
be from a perspective closer to thatof a user. Although we enjoyedmany interesting exhibitions today,
I would like to talk about two ofthem now.
One is the fiber laser system, which
I mentioned last year as well. I wasProfessor Sasahara
looking forward to seeing what you
were going to present this year. In your systems, thelinkage operation between the spindle and feed axis isvery fast. There are no other machines in which marking
can be performed while rotating the workpiece using alathe spindle at a speed of 120 m/min; this can beachieved only by FANUC’s servo and laser technologies.
Since these systems are so great, I have been thinking
about in what direction you can further advance them. In
addition, it was the first time for me to hear about thetechnology for performing synchronous adjustment of
the laser irradiation point movement and laser power.
With this technology, for example, the power can besynchronously reduced as the speed reduces whenturning a corner. When melting materials, control of the
input heat of the laser directly affects the product quality.
If your technology can be applied both to fields such as
welding or cutting and to additive manufacturing, which
requires melting of metal materials, products with higher
accuracy and quality can be produced. So, I would love to
study this field.
The other point I would like to talk about may be
associated with fine surface technology in the future.
When engaging in experiments for cutting, the mostdesired thing is information such as the cutting force,
vibration, and temperature near the machining point. Of
course, it is important for a machine tool to operate
accurately based on a machining program through CNC
8or the servo. However, ultimately, machining with evenhigher accuracy or tool life can be realized if it becomes
possible to monitor the information on the cutting point
where the machining surface is being created and feedthat information back into the machine tool. I think thatusers would appreciate very much if you could develop asystem that enables monitoring of the machining point.
President: Opinions from the perspective of a user arevery helpful to us. Thank you for giving us something tothink about.
Nishikawa: There are various applications for fiber laser
systems. Professor Sasahara, it would be great to workwith you, so we ask for your continued guidance.
President: Now, to start the last half of this discussion,
may we have your comments, Professor Ishikawa?
Professor Ishikawa: I had a greattime at your exhibition today.
Although some of you might haveheard me say this many times, I
think that the speed of robots must
be increased by actively
introducing sensors and applying
feedback directly from the sensor. I
was able to see some potential for
this, so I am looking forward to therealization of fast robots.
Professor Ishikawa
After observing your products, I
think more importance and emphasis can be placed on
sensors. It is questionable that the sensors you currently
have will be able to achieve future functions, and there
should be a greater variety of them. Aside from themethod of stopping a green robot with a force sensor, themethod of stopping the robot by an all vision sensor isalso available. To that end, inexpensive and fast vision isrequired.
In addition, since vibrations can be "seen" using acoustic
sensors or images, failure prediction by vibration may
also become possible.
Though studies on robots and vision have been conductedin my laboratory, I have become interested in machining
recently. The machining accuracy can be improved byapplying 1 ms visual feedback to the machining control.
So, I think it is a good idea to introduce robot sensors in
FA or ROBOMACHINEs.
I would really like FANUC to promote the connection
between robots and robomachines. In addition, theconnection between them can be made more smoothly ifthey are connected with sensor information, rather thanconnecting them by a sequence function.
President: Thank you very much. We also think thatutilizing sensors in NC machines or ROBOMACHINEs as
Professor Ishikawa suggested, is an important
perspective, and we are currently conducting studies onthat matter.
Professor Ishikawa: When collecting data, various typesof sensors need to be installed. High-performance sensors
are expensive. However, sensors just for collecting data
do not have to be expensive, just highly reliable, as they
do not perform control. Although using many suchsensors to collect data may be different from theconventional concept, I recommend that you study it as
well.
President: Thank you for yourguidance. Now, Professor Asama,
may we have your comment?
Professor Asama: I mainly
observed your robots in the
exhibition, and thought that there
are three directions that FANUC
could take.
The first is the expansion of spatial
freedom; this can be achieved byadding one more axis to theProfessor Asamaexisting robots, or by widening applications by attachingarms to the top of the automatic guided vehicle (AGV).
The second direction is a “human axis.” After the newmodel of the green robots was released, applications that
do not require fences have been steadily expanding,including applications in collaborative assembly work. In
Japan, labor shortages are expected to occur in the future
due to the declining birth rate and the growing elderly
population; therefore, it is very important that robots canbe used by female or elderly workers. In addition, forelderly workers, vision also becomes an issue. When
workers are farsighted due to age, the range of tasks they
can perform becomes limited, and I think a work
environment that supports them in that respect can makeit easier for them to work. Moreover, for collaborative
robots, it becomes important to relieve the mental stressof the workers. I remember that FANUC conducted a study
on stress imposed on humans when they work
collaboratively with robots with Professor Arai, in the
Project for Strategic Development of Advanced Robotics
Elemental Technologies conducted by NEDO. Recently, we
have also been estimating the stress felt by workers when
they operate construction machines or the stress of car
racers while measuring so-called physiological indices,
including heart rate, perspiration, muscle activity, andbrain waves. I think it would be interesting to evaluate
whether people who are actually working are doing so
comfortably with delight and without feeling stress.
The third direction is networks. This is a direction ofobtaining more information through collaboration, and I
think FANUC is very advanced in this respect. Since
current AI is basically based on deep learning, obtaining
more information is the key. While many companies aresearching for ways to use it, you are working on
applications that are very appropriate. Your system isonly possible when you can collect useful data after firsthaving superior base technologies to move or process
various objects with high reliability and accuracy; this issomething that only FANUC could accomplish.
Lastly, I am engaging in robotization in fields such as
construction and civil engineering. There is aconsiderable need among general contractors for
robotization of tasks that are difficult for humans. For
example, there is a system called BIM (Building
Information Modeling) in the construction field and one
called CIM (Construction Information Modeling) in thecivil engineering field, and an approach called“i-Construction” to promote the adoption of ICT in thesesystems involving robots or drones is currently being
advanced by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure,
Transport and Tourism. I am really looking forward toseeing these systems and the FIELD system start being
linked together; if it goes well, FANUC may be able to diveinto the civil engineering and construction fields all at
once.
President: Thank you., and thank you for mentioning
AGV as a means of expanding spatial freedom.
Abe: In the exhibition of AGVs, the technology thatenables batteries to operate for at least 8 hours without
having to connect a power cable is one of the key points. I
believe that the advancement of AGVs and batteries isnecessary for the future development of robots.
President: Thank you. Now,
Professor Sugano, may I ask foryour comments?
Professor Sugano: I would like totalk about the relationship between
collaborative robots and humans,and IoT. Collaborative robots aremaking steady advancements eachyear, enabling them to be placedeven closer to humans. I believe
your green robots will be able toProfessor Sugano

perform operations that are more closely connected withhumans, such as teaching or transferring skills. Oncesuch systems are developed, big data or AI will become
involved, and they will also affect the design of the entire
production system. Therefore, I would like FANUC toadvance the development of robots that are closer tohumans, both in terms of distance and content.
When such systems start appearing, they will become
closely linked to IoT. Unfortunately, it is said that Japan isa little behind when it comes to IoT. However,though it may be true concerning the “Internet” part of
IoT, I believe Japan can become stronger concerning the“things” part. In order for Japan to take leading
initiatives in this area, discussions were held recently inthe “Society 5.0” working group of the Cabinet Office andthe Society of Instrument and Control Engineersconcerning how IoT can be advanced in the "super smart
society." In my opinion, in order for Japan to take leading
initiatives in areas including IoT or new big data,businesses need to work hard. In this regard, FANUC has
great potential. Moreover, you already have the green
robots, which have very deep connections with humans.
Using these products as a foothold, you can build a
reputation in standardization and all the other areas
related to the products. No amount of academic
discussion can accomplish this; it can only be
accomplished when businesses take the lead.
President: Thank you very much. We appreciate yourinsightful comments concerning the association between
collaborative robots and IoT.
Inaba: In the sense that the ultimate goal for machines is
to connect with humans, we believe that collaborative
robots are very important. We would like to start making
connections between the data of such products, andconnect them to machines, and then to humans.
Ultimately, it is our goal to eliminate borders between
machines and humans. So, since humans and robots will
be working together without fences in the future, I think
it will become very important to enable robots to operateautonomously by using AI or by inputting information of
their surroundings using sensors, in order to achieveautonomy of robots.
President: Now, Professor Okatani, please share yourthoughts with us.
Professor Okatani: I have been
engaging in research on image
recognition and computer vision,
which are the core technologies ofwhat is presently called AI. When I
participated in this round-table
talk two years ago, I remember
saying that it would become
possible for computers to recognize
things at a human level if thetechnology called deep learning
Professor Okatani
was used and it could possibly
become an innovative technology in the future, but that it
seemed like FANUC was not too interested in it. Soon
after that, FANUC announced its collaboration with
Preferred Networks, and in the exhibition this year,
machine learning and AI were used in a lot of products. I
was a little surprised by how quickly you have changed
your stance (laugh). However, it is not a laughing matter; I
think it is a very important attitude.
When it comes to research and development on AI,
Japanese companies and universities are all completely
losing to U.S. companies and universities. The reality is,companies making huge profits such as Facebook,
Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, which are ranked among
the top 10 companies by market capitalization, areinvesting a considerable portion of their profits into thisfield, and it is impossible to win over such companies incompetition, so the distance only increases. Nonetheless,92017 Round-Table Talk
I think there is no need for Japanese manufacturing
companies to be pessimistic at all. Because, althoughcompanies like Apple or Google have been secretive andhave not shown what they are doing externally before, it
has become common for such companies to allow
research papers to be publicized, so that they can obtain
good researchers for research on AI. This has made it
possible to gain a good grasp of what currently can andcannot be done in this field from research papers. So, I
think it is very good to have high sensitivity to suchareas, as well as to collaborate with other companies,
such as Preferred Networks, rather than carrying out all
development in-house.
As for deep learning, if there were 10 image recognition
problems that humans could solve but computers could
not in the mid 1990’s, the computers could solve one or
two out of 10 problems 15 to 20 years ago, and now they
can solve eight or nine out of 10 problems due to thedramatic advancement of research in the past five years.
There are issues that still remain to be resolved: one ismore advanced intelligence, or in other words, inference
based on something like universal common sense.
However, that would be a problem regarding language,
not images. The other is machining tools that can interact
with the real world, like robots. In this regard, AI has notbeen very successful yet. For studies in these two fields,
many smart people are now being employed using a vast
amount of money. So, even though we cannot tell at thispoint whether robots will become capable of freely
grabbing things or collaborating with humans at a deeplevel, I would not be surprised if a revolutionary change
occurs in these fields in the near future. I think it isimportant to pay close attention to any progress in thesefields, in order to be able to respond quickly.
President: Thank you. As you pointed out, we did nothave any such collaboration two years ago. So, we may
have changed our stance quickly. As you suggested, wewould like to promote research in the ﬁeld of AI at an
early stage, while trying to gain a good grasp of what canand cannot be done in this ﬁeld. We will need your help
to that end, so we appreciate your continued support andguidance. Now, we would like to move to the topic of
ROBOMACHINEs. First, Professor Tojiro Aoyama, may wehave your comments?
Professor Tojiro Aoyama: Today, I
would like to talk about how
ROBONANO, in particular, hasmade advancements in the past
year. To put it simply, I think thatthe performance of ROBONANO
has become stable. The actual
cutting demonstration that takes arather long period of time at theexhibition is evidence of thecompany’s confidence. I get theProfessor Tojiro Aoyama
impression that the value of
ROBONANO as a commercial product has increased.
Although it was a big decision to make to adopt
hydrostatic guideways a few years ago, I felt that it was
the right decision, particularly now.
For nano-machining tools, the ability to perform setup
easily in a short period of time is important. You alsooffer systems with well-coordinated measurements andtools, and I feel like your products have become moreuser-friendly as well.
In addition, I look forward to seeing your future growth,
as I hear that you are going to expand your business in
Europe. In Europe, they have their own culture and ideas
concerning the use of machine tools, and I believe there
is much to learn there.
Another thing I would like to mention is that I believe that
actively developing ultra-precision machining tools suchas ROBONANO and making constant efforts to improve10

their performance will make great contributions to theperformance enhancement of other products including
ROBODRILL and ROBOSHOT. Needless to say, suchdevelopments and efforts are greatly contributing to theperformance enhancement of CNC as well. Therefore, I
think your constant approach to state-of-the-art
technologies, such as technological developments for
ROBONANO, can be expected to have a great ripple effecton other technological developments.
When I checked the cutting surface roughness at the
ROBODRILL exhibition, I was surprised that a cutting
surface of the past ultra-precision machining level wasachieved by a machine that mainly performs roughing.
Although the ROBONANO won't lose its markets to the
ROBODRILL, I thought that the development of
ROBONANO had an excellent ripple effect on thedevelopment of ROBODRILL.
President: Thank you. We also feel that ROBONANO has
made pretty good progress.
Hong: Professor Aoyama gave us advice concerning thehydrostatic guideways and specifically to me when I did
not know what to do after that. Since then, he hascontinued to help us. I think that by demonstrating actual
cutting, we were able to advertise ROBONANO as amachine that is harder to break compared to the past
ROBONANO. We will probably encounter many issues in
the future, so we are counting on your continued
guidance.
President: Now, professor Kuriyagawa, please share yourthoughts with us.
Professor Kuriyagawa: I am incharge of two laboratories: a nanoprecision mechanicalmanufacturing laboratory and abiomedical engineering laboratory.
Until now, manufacturing only
referred to the creation of shapes.
However, in the future, the creationof functions will become important
as well. For example, technologies
such as a “functional interface
Professor Kuriyagawa
generation” that fabricates
functional surfaces or “functional intelligent interfaces”
in which intelligent functions are incorporated into
surfaces will be attracting attention. In the medical field,
an implant surface with a structure to which bone caneasily be attached can be realized. Or, in the case of adental implant, it is possible to give an antiseptic effect tothe extruding portion on the gums to prevent
inflammation. The concept of “form generation + function
generation” that realizes such things is very important.
With an ultra-precision of 100 picometers (0.1
nanometers), ROBONANO is excellent equipment. Withpicometer-level precision, various functions andperformance have been achieved from the perspective offunction generation. This function generation technology
is about to be used in various places, including thesurfaces of high-speed mobile objects such as airplanes,or to reduce wear resistance of the spindles of machine
tools, or, in the medical field, in implants as describedearlier. I think that manufacturing that adds various
functionalities will become important in the future.
In February, a symposium on picotechnology was held by
the Science Council of Japan. When describing
picotechnology in English, it would be Pico Precision
Advanced Processing, or PPAP—the same as the title of a
popular song by the Japanese comedian (laugh). The
professors who are here today gave lectures in that
symposium too. Nanotechnology is a keyword proposedby Professor Taniguchi 50 years ago. Now that we areentering the picotechnology generation, I have highexpectations that your systems will play an importantrole.

Incorporating functions refers to how fine structure andcontrol underlying crystalline structures is to beincorporated rather than simply making the surface
smooth. In my laboratory, we are on the verge of doingsome interesting things, one example of which is to makethe strength of components anisotropic by controlling
crystalline structures using laser. Adding such a property
will enable you to provide components with higher
functions and higher added value.
Furthermore, as Professor Aoyama pointed out earlier, I
was amazed by the excellent progress ROBODRILL has
made as demonstrated at the exhibition.
President: Since ROBODRILL has produced extremely
favorable results using our CNC functions, we will be able
to recommend our CNC to customers with confidence.
Next, Professor Shamoto, please share your thoughts.
Professor Shamoto: I am
conducting research on cutting
and machine tools, and today, I
toured the exhibition site focusing
on ROBONANO and ROBODRILL.
Earlier, someone expressed theopinion that machine tooltechnology has reached a limit in
the sense that machine tools work
as instructed by NC programs, butduring the past several years, when
Professor Shamoto
I looked at the performance of
ROBOMACHINEs and the results of machining, I have feltthat machine tool technology was progressing at anextremely fast pace.
First, in terms of ROBONANO, I am deeply moved by thefact that 0.1-nanometer resolution is really put topractical use. This doesn't just mean that machine tools
work at the 0.1-nanometer level, but also that such
performance is properly shown in the results ofprocessing and their operation. I believe that this is the
combined result with fine surface technology, and also
due to improvement in the machines’ basic performance.
I feel that a new age has been opened up, and at the sametime, I also feel that recent machine tools are reallypractical because their prices are steady for the most parteven though the performance of all tools is improving. At
the next opportunity, we would like to consider thismachine as a candidate as well.
When I looked at ROBODRILL two years ago, it had
already produced machining results close to a mirror
surface, and I really wanted to use it for precision
machining if it was able to do that. Not only has
ROBODRILL achieved mirror-surface performance but
also developed technology to fully utilize the power of a
motor and realized iron system cutting, and heavy cuttingat that. Recently, I also visited a manufacturer of
automotive components and saw a ROBODRILL there.
FANUC is steadily advancing the really basic performanceof ROBODRILL such as high-speed, high-precision
processing, and furthermore, heavy cutting, and this iswonderful. I hope that you will continue this technology
development in the future.
Finally, I want information on cutting points in the future.
Certainly, machine tools are making progress little bylittle in the sense that they work as instructed, but it isquite difficult to make dramatic progress. The cutting
process is complicated, but conversely, if one can control
that process more skillfully, one would be able to moreeasily distinguish one’s cutting technology from others’. I
hope that you will obtain information on that process in
one way or another and establish a mechanism thatenables you to reﬂect such information in the control of
cutting machines.
President: Thank you very much. As mentioned earlier,
how to obtain information on cutting systems is anextremely diﬃcult issue, but this is also an issue wewould like to address from the standpoint of an NC
manufacturer.
0.1-nanometer feeding was achieved, but in fact, this was
knowledge we acquired only after we actually operated
our CNC and servo systems.
Uchida: It is true that the same kind of thing also
happened at the time of 0.1-nanometer setting and its
feedback. Even if we tried using ROBODRILL and NC, wewere not able to clarify the effects of actual cutting, but
ROBONANO showed clear differences. It is taken for
granted that technology does not advance unlessobservations and measurements can be done. After all,the role ROBONANO plays in making observations andmeasurements possible are important to develop the mostadvanced NC.
President: Now, Professor Matsumura, please tell us what
you think.
Professor Matsumura: First, I wasquite amazed to learn thatROBONANO had achieved
0.1-nanometer resolution. In
addition, ROBONANO can maintainits precision level even if there arechips and dust, and because of thispracticality, I found the machine
attractive. I saw two uses for
cutting with ROBODRILL: cutting
high-quality finished surfaces andProfessor Matsumura
heavy cutting in rough processing.
In particular, ROBODRILL can cut steel materials
efficiently, and this advancement is very attractive. In
addition, since the duration of continuous maximum
output is limited, the length of time during whichmaterials can be cut at maximum output is indicated, afunction that is extremely attractive to users. Anotherapplication is that the FIELD system gathers such dataand stores the history of machines’ torque and load
information, thereby diagnosing the deterioration of themachines and informing their users of the timing for
maintenance with details. There are differences amongindividual machines depending on the environment inwhich they are used and the way they are operated even
if they are of the same model. Moreover, since allmachines do not have exactly the same characteristics
even at the time of shipment, ROBODRILL is expected todevelop into a system that supports learning how tomaster individual machines taking differences among
them into consideration. If you further improve themaintainability of ROBODRILL, combined with the use ofrobots, by thinking about the maintenance of both robots
and processing machines, it will evolve into a mechanicalsystem that is even easier for users to use.
Another thing that interested me among this yearʼs
exhibits was that I witnessed thermal displacementcompensation technology for machine tools. This wasanother extremely appealing achievement to me. You
compensate for accuracy loss by attaching a sensor, but I
believe that that is going above and beyond what is
expected of a machinery manufacturer. Another issue toaddress is to correct for the thermal expansion of tools.
Essentially, tools expand due to cutting heat at locations
close to the machining point, but if a function that
corrects this is developed, even higher-precision
machining can be achieved. This is technically difficult,but I hope that such monitoring technology will be
developed in the future.
Finally, I also have expectations for your efforts toward AI
technology. But, I am also apprehensive about addressing
all production-related issues through AI and deeplearning. In particular, if machines learn unreliable data,
they would become unable to make stable judgments andresponses. It will become necessary to use modeling andsimulation technology in the learning process to11

2017 Round-Table Talk
determine whether training data are correct.
President: Thank you. In light of using the FIELD system
to gather diverse information from ROBODRILL, there is arobot application known as ZDT, and we presented it,
thinking that we would evolve it as a function for
ROBOMACHINEs and CNC systems in the future.
Chairman: Thank you for your comments on a wide
range of subjects. After all, I believe that sensing
technologies and AI technology, which combines them,
have extremely high potential. If we can develop machinecorrection technology by gathering basic data using
many sensors at the experimental stage and using as few
sensors as possible for actual products so that machines
can display the same capabilities economically, suchtechnology would be extremely practical. Your guidance
would be much appreciated.
President: Professor Omori, please share your ideas.
Professor Omori: Today, I saw
exhibits focusing on three areas:
ROBONANO, ROBODRILL, and AI. I
was a user of an early ROBONANO
and have long used ROBONANO for
my research. During the past
several years, an increasing
number of joint research projects
with businesses have focused on
difficult-to-cut materials. Various
challenges have emerged in three
Professor Omori
areas: curved surfaces, grooves,and large diameters. Some of these problems could not becompletely resolved by the previous ROBONANO, so when
I saw the new ROBONANO working at the exhibition site
today, I felt that it was excellent.
I often study optical components and evaluate many ofthem using roughness parameter RMS, but when it comesto cutting, evaluations at the nanometer level are difficult.
In particular, components that handle light reflect orcontrol light with an extremely short wavelength such as
X-rays. Since the increasingly high accuracy of surfaces isrequired in accordance with the wavelength of light, it ismore and more necessary to control surface accuracy at
the sub-nano or pico level to achieve a suitable surface
accuracy. At this year’s exhibition, I felt that ROBONANO
was giving shape to this.
Personally, I would also like to have a ROBODRILL. In
general, prior processing comes before final samples areprepared by cutting them using a ROBONANO. Since ittakes too long with the ROBONANO, I tend to consider
outsourcing the work instead, but this is extremely
inefficient in terms of work-related communication andpreparations. When I saw how far the ROBODRILL has
advanced, I realized the results would be satisfactory interms of accuracy if the ROBODRILL and ROBONANO
were used together to cover all processes from prior to
final processing, and furthermore, by minimizing
expenses for finish by using the ROBONANO, they will
reduce processing time, achieving higher cost
performance. I want both of them because they can
perform both rough and finish processing.
Then, AI thermal displacement for electrical dischargemachines was mentioned earlier. In my student days, I
was trained in measuring thermal displacement forelectrical discharge machines at FANUC, and therefore, I
can deeply relate to this subject. When I saw thermal
displacement compensation using AI today, something
stirred inside me. Returning to ROBONANO, skills are
required for preparations in ultra precision machining,
and without such skills, good products are hard to
produce. If preparations are made well, the next questionis cutting conditions. Meeting such conditions also
requires skills, and if you can make this area one that
requires no skills, you will be able to provide anenvironment in which anyone can use ROBONANO. In
12

that sense, the combination of AI with people will become
important. In my laboratory, too, we are conducting
research on the optimization of machining conditions,but what is important is prioritizing parameters. If it
becomes clear which conditions are most important andhow eﬀective they are in achieving high machining
accuracy, it becomes unnecessary to change otherconditions in various ways. If there is prior information in
the database for ROBONANO such as “this is very
eﬀective in processing this material”, it becomes easy forcustomers to set machining conditions. In addition, I feltthat if AI helped with that process, making it possible foreven unskilled persons to use ROBONANO, an age would
come in which processing at the nano to picometer level
would spread.
President: Thank you very much. We are glad that
expectations for ROBONANO are growing as you said,
and we are keenly aware that we must never fail in thisarea. We will continue toward completion of ROBONANO
technology with your guidance. Now, Professor Tojiro
Aoyama, please share your thoughts.
Professor Tojiro Aoyama: On behalf of the educationaland research institutions invited today, I would like tothank you again. Thank you very much for your invitation
today. One of the important roles of universities as
educational and research institutions is to develop
excellent people who will contribute to the formation of
an affluent society in the future. Those who are present at
this meeting are teachers who are taking leadership invarious places of society. At our university, we will makeevery effort to develop people who support
manufacturing in Japan. I hope that FANUC and all
educational and research institutions invited today,
including universities and research organizations, willcontinue to work together in the future.
Today, various subjects such as AI and hardware werediscussed, but among them, green robots (collaborative
robots) are increasingly attracting attention. It is expectedthat the population of Japan will decrease to around 80
million in the not-so-distant future, and the question is
how we should make up for the decrease. I predict thatgreen robots will play an even greater role at production
sites.
FANUC hosts a round-table talk each year to provide an
opportunity for serious discussions, and this indicatesthat FANUC’s policy is to listen to the opinions of people
from universities and other educational and research
institutions and apply them in future manufacturing. I
believe that this probably leads to the company’s stanceof considering it important to properly obtain a clear
understanding of the opinions and needs ofmanufacturing sites.
Manufacturing is faced with various technical challenges.
For example, one basic issue is to how to handle an object
being worked on, determine the position of the tool, andput its blade in contact with the object, and components
are machined by solving such basic issues, but I believethat this unsophisticated, basic part of the process is
closely connected to users. Then comes AI, but FANUC
has solidiﬁed the edge part of manufacturing. This stanceis extremely important in FA technology, which supports
manufacturing. I sincerely hope that you will focus on
your core business and work to develop production
technologies in the future. An extension of this issue is
how you should develop services for users. FANUC isdoing a good job addressing both issues.
Today, we were able to have a really in-depth discussion.
Let us continue to support manufacturing in Japan in the
future so that it can be applied globally. Your continued
efforts would be appreciated. Thank you for yourparticipation today.
President: Thank you all for attending.

FANUC Global ConferenceThis year's FANUC Global Conference was held for three days from March 15 to 17. Representatives of employees fromFANUC Group companies worldwide assembled in one place to discuss future product developments and sales strategies.
The Conference made full use of the FANUC Forum, which was completed last year, and the largest number ofrepresentatives ever participated.

Lively discussions continued about various subjects with the keywords “Transparency and Strict Preciseness,” “oneFANUC,” “Reliable, Predictable, and Easy to Repair,” and “Service First.”
In addition to various AI functions using deep learning and machine learning, and ﬁne surface technology for high-quality
machining, participants engaged in animated discussions about new
products and new functions that will be released in the future. They got
a strong sense that FANUC will lead the world in the evolution of
manufacturing sites around the world.
On the last day of the Conference, participants visited the Reliability
Evaluation Building where various evaluation tests are conducted. Theysaw the large evaluation equipment and spent time together in thewellspring that is FANUC, which makes all-out eﬀorts to pursue
reliability.

After all sessions ended, Chairman, Dr. Y. Inaba hosted a party
where all participants further deepened mutual friendships.

13Collaborative Robot Receives Okochi Memorial Production Prize
FANUC received the 63rd (FY2016) Okochi Memorial
Production Prize from the Okochi Memorial Foundation
for its highly eﬃcient assembly system using
collaboration between collaborative robots and people.
The reason for the Prize was that the highly eﬃcient
assembly system using collaborative robots in the
ROBOSHOT assembly factory was highly rated. On March
24, at the award ceremony held at the Industry Club ofJapan, Chairman Hiroyuki Yoshikawa of the Okochi
Memorial Foundation presented a certiﬁcate ofcommendation to President Yamaguchi of FANUC.
FANUC developed the world’s first 35-kg payload
collaborative industrial robot, FANUC Robot CR-35iA,
which uses safety functions based on its independently
developed sensor software. The CR-35iA became theworld’s first collaborative robot that acquired safety
certification according to the international standard
ISO10218-1, and its high safety enables it to be introduced
without safety fences. This robot enables users to achieve
greater work efficiency in various operations such astransport of heavy objects and assembly of components.
In the assembly of the ROBOSHOT, FANUC has introduced
collaborative robots into the assembly process in whichbearing units are inserted into ball screws, thus realizing
a highly eﬃcient assembly system in which robots
collaborate with people. This system achieves laborsaving by turning a two-man job into a one-man job, andsubstantially lowers the risk of work-related accidents byliberating people from heavy manual work and reducing
workloads.

President Yamaguchi (center) and Senior Managing Director
Inaba (right) were officially commended by Chairman Hiroyuki
Yoshikawa of the Okochi Memorial Foundation.

The collaborative robot CR-35iA makes the most of theworldʼs foremost high payload and long reach, and isbeing widely applied in various areas such as assembly of
automobiles, machining and assembly of machinery, as
well as logistics. The CR-35iA will accelerate theintroduction of robots into assembly processes that havethus far consisted mainly of manual work, and contributeto reducing labor shortages in advanced countries, which
are faced with declining birthrates and aging
populations.
FANUC has received the Okochi Memorial Prize several
times, and this is the fifth time it has received the prize.
The accomplishments for which it won the prize were the“commercialization of a large flexible production systemwith machining cells at its core” in FY1981, the“development of a fully automated production system for
multi-layered printed wiring boards” in FY1995, the“development of an unmanned long machining systemusing intelligent robots” in FY2002, and the “realizationof a highly automated motor assembly factory consistingof intelligent robot cells” in FY2008.

Highly eﬃcient assembly system using collaboration between
collaborative robots and people in the ROBOSHOT
assembly factory

Collaborative robot CR-35iA※ The Okochi Memorial Prize is a prestigious prize awarded each year to remarkable accomplishments in the area of
production engineering and production technology in commemoration of the great achievements by Dr. Masatoshi Okochi(1878-1952) to the academic and industrial communities, as head of the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, for
25 years, from 1921 to the end of World War II. The objective is to contribute to the promotion of science and technology
for production, which were the wishes of Dr. Okochi.
14

Information on Exhibitions
EXPOMAFE, Brazil

The International Machine Tools and Industrial
Automation Exhibition (EXPOMAFE) took place in São
Paulo, the capital of Brazil, from May 9 to 13, 2017.

FANUC South America and its distributor, Mitsui Motion
Maquinas, exhibited FANUC products, and in particular,oﬀerings for automation using ROBODRILL and ROBOTs
attracted the attention of visitors.

Machine Tools Africa 2017
Machine Tools Africa 2017, the largest exhibition ofmachine tools in Africa, was held at the Expo Center in
Johannesburg, the Republic of South Africa, from May 9
to 12, 2017. In this highly international event, over 60
companies from Japan, the Americas, Europe, China,
South Korea, Taiwan, etc. exhibited machine tools, robots,tools, and other products.
FANUC South Africa, FANUCʼs South African subsidiary,
exhibited ROBOTs and ROBOMACHINEs at one of theexhibitionʼs largest booths, emphasizing the fusion of FA.
ROBOTs and ROBOMACHINEs. FANUCʼs exhibits attracted
the attention of customers mainly from local enterprises.

Company entrance ceremony

Four seasons at FANUC

New employees

Asian skunk-cabbage

The company entrance ceremony was held on April 3,
and 191 new employees joined the FANUC workforce.
Chairman, Dr. Y. Inaba expressed his strong expectations
for the growth and lively activity of young people whowill lead the next generation.

Beautiful and cute Asian skunk-cabbages like whitefairies came into bloom. What looks like white petals arebotanically not flowers but leaves called “spathe.”15

F IELD system< Intelligent Edge Link & Drive system

PLC

CNC Laser

Robot

ROBOMACHINE
Machine tool, Industrial machinery

Sensor

A platform open to everyone, the FIELD system was developed foredge-heavy computing by bringing together the latest
IoT and cutting-edge AI technologies. By using this system,
FANUC aims to work with partners around the world to
make innovations in manufacturing.

FANUC News 2017-Ⅱ
Oshino-mura, Minamitsuru-gun, Yamanashi 401-0597 Japan
http://www.fanuc.co.jp/
Phone: (81) 0555-84-5555
Fax: (81) 0555-84-5512
Person in charge of publishing:
Naoki Yukisada, Vice Manager, Public Relations Department©FANUC CORPORATION October 6, 2017 Printed in Japan