Atom — Tokyo, 2024
The hands Japan's factories were waiting for.
29 degrees of freedom. Compliant actuation at every joint. Demonstration-based task loading that takes hours, not weeks. Built for the manual workcells Japan's fixed-arm automation cannot reach.
The Problem
Japan faces a structural labour gap that fixed automation cannot fill.
Manufacturing positions projected at risk of vacancy by 2030 as Japan's working-age population contracts
— METI projections
Of logistics operators report chronically unfilled floor positions despite competitive compensation
— Industry estimates
Of factory tasks addressable by fixed-arm automation — irregular objects, multi-step sequences, and spatial constraints block the rest
— Industry estimates
The Gap
What fixed arms were never built to do
Fixed-arm robots transformed precision manufacturing, but they depend on parts arriving the same way, every time. The moment geometry changes — a new component, an irregular object, a task that requires a second reach — they stop.
Factory floors are full of these moments. Subassembly transfer. Bin-picking from unsorted trays. Quality-check repositioning. Multi-step sequences no one thought to program.
- Irregular and non-standard object handling
- Multi-step pick-place-rotate sequences
- Spatial constraints that change shift to shift
- Tasks requiring bilateral arm coordination
Fixed-arm automation requires parts to arrive in a predictable orientation. Everything outside that envelope is manual work — the work Atom is built for.
Capabilities
Three pillars of dexterous factory work
Motion Control
Proprioceptive torque sensing and compliant actuation. Atom feels the push-back from objects and adjusts grip force in real time.
Explore → Motion ControlPerception & Sensing
Multi-modal sensor array: depth, RGB, and tactile feedback. Sees unsorted bins and irregular objects as clearly as uniform parts.
Explore → PerceptionTask Adaptation
Demonstration-based task loading. Floor supervisors introduce new assembly steps in hours, not weeks of reprogramming.
Explore → Task AdaptationApplications
Where Atom works today
Two deployment environments, designed from the ground up for Japan's industrial reality.
Assembly Line
Precision subassembly and component transfer
Bolt assembly, subcomponent transfer, and quality-check repositioning. Works the stations fixed arms cannot reach.
Logistics Yard
Carton pick-and-place, sorting, and bin transfer
Truck docks, sorting lines, transfer points — the spaces between conveyors where labour shortages bite hardest.
Specifications
Prototype-stage hardware, built for real environments
Plausible engineering targets at current development stage. Final production specifications subject to change.
Height
170
cm standing
Payload
10
kg continuous carry
Battery
4
hr continuous operation
Degrees of Freedom
29
total articulated joints
Safety
Designed to work alongside people, not cage them out
ISO 10218 Design Pathway
Atom is designed with ISO 10218 collaborative robot requirements as a guiding framework — force limits, speed constraints, and physical separation protocols built into the architecture from day one, not retrofitted.
Collision-Detection Cutoff
Proprioceptive torque sensors detect unexpected contact within milliseconds. The robot decelerates to a controlled stop on any force exceedance — no external proximity barriers required for normal operation.
Field Override Protocol
Floor supervisors can pause, redirect, or shut down any unit via handheld device or floor-mounted emergency stop. No network connection required for the safety cutoff pathway.
The Team
Engineering-first from day one
Shunsuke Aoki
Co-Founder & CEO
Five years studying whole-body motion planning for humanoid systems at an industrial robotics research institution in Tokyo. Left to found Atom in 2024 when the gap between research capability and factory-floor deployment became a problem he could do something about.
Keiko Tanabe
Head of Mechanical Engineering
Designs Atom's joint architecture and kinematic chain. Background in series elastic actuator development for precision automation — the mechanical foundation of Atom's whole-body compliance.
Hiroshi Watanabe
Lead Perception Engineer
Built Atom's multi-modal perception stack: structured-light depth, RGB classification, and fingertip tactile fused into a single scene graph. Prior work on point-cloud processing for industrial bin-picking under occlusion.
Get in touch
Ready to put Atom to work?
Tell us about the workcell. Your floor geometry, your part types, your labour challenge. We will tell you honestly whether Atom is the right fit — or not. We read every message.
Request a Briefing