IR

Market Growth Potential

In Japanese society, where the birthrate is declining and the population is aging, responding to the shortage of young talent and the aging of the workforce is a chronic challenge in many industries.

Especially in the construction industry, against an annual infrastructure demand of approximately 60 trillion yen (*1), it is predicted that there will be a shortage of 900,000 skilled workers by 2025 (*2).

In addition to complying with the "Work Style Reform Related Laws" effective April 2024, there is a strong demand not only to secure human resources but also to create efficient work site structures.

Furthermore, 43.3% of all occupational accident fatalities in 2021 were elderly people aged 60 or older, and 30% of occupational accident fatalities occurred in the construction industry, making it an urgent task to move workers away from dangerous sites and implement safe working environments.

To address these challenges, industry-wide R&D on ICT construction aimed at labor-saving is progressing under the leadership of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

Initiatives for autonomous driving and remote automation of construction machinery have been researched and developed as a challenge for the entire civil engineering and construction industry, including major machinery manufacturers.

However, at sites where a wide variety of machinery is used, there are high expectations for versatile systems that transcend manufacturer boundaries.

This trend toward remote and automated construction machinery is occurring not only in Japan but also in developed countries and some Asian nations, and global market growth is expected in the future.

*1 Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism: Report on the Recent Situation Surrounding the Construction Industry
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/11201250/000992615.pdf
*2 Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism: "Current Status and Challenges of the Construction Industry"
https://www.mlit.go.jp/common/001149561.pdf

About the Strategy

Since its establishment, ARAV has been developing teleoperation and autonomous driving solutions for various machines and equipment, including construction machinery, by utilizing technologies such as software control and robotics, as well as the integration capabilities to implement them.

Our proprietary multi-vendor compatible teleoperation device, "ModelV," can be retrofitted regardless of the manufacturer and is compatible with 84% (*3) of commercially available construction machinery.

We have already conducted joint demonstration experiments with over 40 companies and are progressively strengthening our production system to increase the number of units provided.

Furthermore, supporting ModelV is the "Machine Gateway Hub," which deconstructs driver's seat operation equipment into elements and adds APIs that allow each item to communicate.

While promoting multi-vendor compatible remote devices like ModelV, we will expand into machines and equipment in various fields with remote/automation needs, not limited to the construction and civil engineering industries, by becoming an open platform connectable with third-party applications.

Additionally, to reduce risks in demonstration experiments for large machinery, we have released "OCS: Open Construction Simulator," Japan's first open-source development emulator for construction machinery utilizing simulator development technology that reproduces machinery and site environments.

By using our unique platform as a core and adopting an open-close strategy that also supports the development environments of other companies, we will contribute to solving societal and industrial challenges.

In addition to developing full-scale mass-produced products and launching services, we plan to horizontally deploy our proprietary platform technology to promote DX in other industries facing similar challenges like labor shortages, such as shipping, forestry, snow removal, agriculture, and ports.

*3 Based on internal research.