Preferred Robotics
About
About Preferred Robotics
Preferred Robotics develops autonomous mobile robots and navigation software in Tokyo. Established in November 2021 as a Preferred Networks subsidiary, the company combines deep learning, visual recognition, SLAM and robot hardware for indoor transport and service applications. Its Kachaka range docks beneath compatible wheeled furniture or carts and carries them to selected destinations, connecting mobile transport with everyday storage and workplace material flows.
The range spans home-oriented Kachaka systems, Kachaka Pro for business use and the 100-kilogram-capacity Kachaka Evo, released for sale in Japan in October 2026. Developer interfaces support integration with other software and equipment. The company also co-developed the HAPiiBOT commercial cleaning robot with Amano and supplies autonomy technology for Amano's RAPiiTT. Its research with Preferred Networks on environment-understanding models is intended to simplify future robot setup and operation.
Products
Operations
Operating milestones
- Operating milestone
2026-10-15 - Preferred Robotics reports that Kachaka Pro’s component transport and empty-box returns free about one hour of employee time per day at SUBARU’s Oizumi plant. - Reported employee time reallocated by automating component and empty-box transport at one factory; not robot speed or fleet size - Oizumi Plant, Gunma manufacturing complex
Source
Observed use
- Kachaka with Elephant Robotics myPalletizer
Research Experiment - Mounted - Ryukoku University mounted a myPalletizer arm on Kachaka for its 2025 BabyTigers-R competition robot; the team moved to myAGV in 2026.
Source
Supply
Funding
- 2021-11-26 - Strategic investment - Preferred Robotics announces a JPY 2 billion Amano investment
Amano announced a JPY 2 billion investment in Preferred Robotics through a third-party share allotment; its later annual report confirmed the investment in November 2021. - source: amano.co.jp
Investors
- Amano - Participant - Unknown - 1 funding event - first seen 2021-11-26
Team
- Toru Isobe - Chief Executive Officer - Became CEO of Preferred Robotics when PFN established the autonomous-mobile-robot subsidiary in November 2021.
- Koji Terada - Chief Technology Officer
Resources
Curated durable documents and official technical references.
- Kachaka API and developer SDK
WEB · Kachaka API; Python, ROS 2 and gRPC · Preferred Robotics
Source
Timeline
Events
- 2026-10-15 - Deployment - Preferred Robotics deploys Kachaka Pro at SUBARU’s Oizumi plant
Workers trigger trips with a dedicated physical Kachaka button. The former manual workflow moved roughly two kilograms over about 130 metres per round trip, three times a day. Preferred Robotics reports that the automation frees approximately one hour per day for production work.
Source - 2026-10-01 - Product Launch - Preferred Robotics begins Kachaka Evo sales
The model had been announced in December 2025, with initial deployments beginning in March 2026. Evo extends the Kachaka series into heavier material movement in manufacturing and logistics. Users configure autonomous transport through an application without extensive facility alterations.
Source - 2026-09-09 - Partnership - Preferred Networks and Preferred Robotics begin PLaMo-SemGround development
The project targets navigable and prohibited-area understanding plus complex operating conditions to reduce mobile-robot deployment and operating effort. The model is planned at roughly two billion parameters or fewer and combines Preferred Networks’ foundation-model work with Preferred Robotics’ field experience operating Kachaka-series AMRs. Japan’s METI and NEDO selected the work for the GENIAC robot-foundation-model programme, covering development through practical implementation.
Source - 2026-07-16 - Product Launch - Amano launches RAPiiTT autonomous commercial cleaning robot
RAPiiTT combines LiDAR navigation with Preferred Robotics autonomy software. Amano integrates the robot with elevators, security infrastructure and AMANO Robot Cloud. The system is designed for autonomous multi-floor cleaning in commercial facilities.
Source - 2021-11-26 - Funding - Preferred Robotics announces a JPY 2 billion Amano investment
Amano’s board approved the investment on November 26 and scheduled execution for November 30. The investment supported robotics collaboration in commercial cleaning as demand for cleaning automation increased. Preferred Robotics had been established on November 1, 2021, through a company split from Preferred Networks.
Source
Relations
Relationships
- TOHEI Group
Kachaka Manufacturing Collaboration - TOHEI Group supports Preferred Robotics’ Kachaka manufacturing through its production assets and group connections.
- Preferred Networks
Robotics Subsidiary - Preferred Robotics is a major group company and robotics subsidiary of Preferred Networks.
Context
Comparable profiles
- Filics
comparable profile - Factory Material Transport AMR
- Ati Robotics
comparable profile - Factory Material Transport AMR
- KPC Electronics
comparable profile - Factory Material Transport AMR
- Quasi Robotics
comparable profile - Factory Material Transport AMR
- T-Robotics
comparable profile - Factory Material Transport AMR
Shared workflows
- Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR)
workflow adjacency - Internal Logistics AMR Transport
- Alto Robotics
workflow adjacency - Internal Logistics AMR Transport
- NXTBot
workflow adjacency - Internal Logistics AMR Transport
- KELO Robotics
workflow adjacency - Internal Logistics AMR Transport
- DF Automation & Robotics
workflow adjacency - Internal Logistics AMR Transport
- SESTO Robotics
workflow adjacency - Internal Logistics AMR Transport
- Robotize
workflow adjacency - Internal Logistics AMR Transport
- Sherpa Mobile Robotics
workflow adjacency - Internal Logistics AMR Transport
- Shiawase Mono Kobo
workflow adjacency - Internal Logistics AMR Transport
- Keenon Robotics
workflow adjacency - Service Robot Builder
- Richtech Robotics
workflow adjacency - Service Robot Builder
- LG Electronics
workflow adjacency - Service Robot Builder
Context tags
- Factory material transport AMR - Peer Group - Preferred Robotics builds Kachaka indoor cart and shelf transport robots and autonomy technology for commercial service robots.
- Mobile-robot autonomy stack - Stack Layer - Preferred Robotics builds Kachaka indoor cart and shelf transport robots and autonomy technology for commercial service robots.
- Internal logistics AMR transport - Workflow - Preferred Robotics builds Kachaka indoor cart and shelf transport robots and autonomy technology for commercial service robots.
- Service-robot development - Workflow - Preferred Robotics builds Kachaka indoor cart and shelf transport robots and autonomy technology for commercial service robots.