Dexterity to provide truck-loading robot for Japanese parcel carrier

Sagawa Express, a logistics and delivery service provider in Japan, plans to deploy a truck-loading robot from the California tech firm Dexterity to handle parcels in the face of a looming labor shortage, the companies said today.

Sagawa will begin the process by teaching Dexterity’s artificial intelligence (AI) platform about its logistics operations before scaling up the deployment. That approach will ensure that Dexterity's dual-arm robot—the DexR—will fit seamlessly into Sagawa's existing logistics infrastructure.

Once it’s trained, the DexR will go to work loading trucks with randomized boxes. According to Sagawa, that physically demanding task could soon become difficult to achieve because of Japan's declining labor force.

The deal marks the latest deployment for Redwood City, California-based Dexterity, which launched a similar pilot project with FedEx Corp. in September, 2023.

Dexterity is rolling out the project with Sagawa by working together with Sumitomo, an exclusive distributor of Dexterity in Japan and an early backer of the firm. Sumitomo invested in Dexterity in 2020 through its corporate venture capital (CVC) arm, Presidio Ventures Inc. The partnership builds upon Dexterity and Sumitomo's previously announced partnership to deploy 1,500 robots in Japanese warehouses by 2026.