Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Timeline

Events

• 2026-09-16 - Market Signal - Preferred Networks discloses ¥10B capital alliance with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries - The partners began joint development in June for autonomous machinery used in social infrastructure and national-security settings. MHI brings equipment, control and field-operations data; PFN contributes chips, computing infrastructure and foundation… - source: preferred.jp
• 2026-09-10 - Demonstration - ABEJA begins UAV autonomy verification work for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries - The work advances a February feasibility study on applying vision-language-action models. ABEJA is evaluating AI agents and related methods for autonomous unmanned-aircraft functions. The engagement is commissioned by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. - source: abejainc.com
• 2026-09-02 - Partnership - NEC and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries form unmanned-systems alliance - The strategic partnership covers operational planning, command-and-control and unmanned assets. NEC contributes data, AI, network and C2 capabilities. MHI contributes defense platforms and physical mission systems. - source: nec.com
• 2025-12-18 - Demonstration - Shield AI and MHI complete Hivemind Enterprise flight demonstrations in Japan - MHI used Hivemind Enterprise for AI development, simulation, hardware-in-the-loop testing and UAV integration. Flight demonstrations occurred on 7 November and 18 December 2025 in Japan. MHI said the programme moved from AI development through UAV… - source: mhi.com
• 2025-02-13 - Demonstration - MHI completes EX ROVR ASCENT trial at TotalEnergies TADI site - Testing covered stair navigation and autonomous control-panel operation. The integrated six-axis arm was used to evaluate remote plant operations. Feedback from the trial informs further usability and functionality development for onshore and offshore assets. - source: mhi.com
• 2023-11-09 - Demonstration - MHI completes EX ROVR ASCENT inspection trial at ENEOS Oita refinery - The robot traversed uneven floors, narrow spaces, grass, gravel and pooled water, including night-time operation. The trial collected instrumentation images, thermal scans and acoustic information during refinery patrols. A six-axis explosion-proof arm… - source: mhi.com
• 2022-04-11 - Product Launch - MHI launches second-generation EX ROVR as ASCENT - IECEx and ATEX certification supports Zone 1 combustible-gas operation. The robot combines autonomous plant inspection with a six-degree-of-freedom manipulator. Visible, thermal, gas and audio sensing feed remote inspection records. - source: mhi.com