Tokyo, May 11, 2026 – The Europe Today: A Tokyo-based university has launched a fully automated laboratory where robots are conducting medical experiments traditionally performed by human researchers, marking a major step toward end-to-end automation in scientific research.
The facility, located at the Yushima campus of the Institute of Science Tokyo, is known as the Robotics Innovation Center and currently operates with 10 robots, including a humanoid system called Maholo LabDroid. Notably, the lab has no human staff working inside the experimental area.
The university plans to significantly expand the number of robots in the coming years and integrate advanced automation systems with artificial intelligence, aiming to streamline the entire research pipeline.
Using dual-arm precision systems, the robots are capable of performing delicate laboratory tasks such as measuring and transferring reagents, handling temperature-controlled equipment, and moving samples in and out of storage units. Cell cultivation processes have already been programmed for full automation.
According to the university, the long-term vision is to scale up to around 2,000 robots by 2040, enabling automated execution of nearly all stages of research—from hypothesis generation to experimental validation.
“We want to make Japan’s science the best in the world,” said Keiichi Nakayama at the facility’s opening ceremony in April, highlighting artificial intelligence and robotics as key drivers of scientific advancement. Robots also participated in the ribbon-cutting event.
The initiative comes amid growing pressure on research institutions worldwide, including labor shortages and the need to reduce human error in laboratory experiments.
The Maholo LabDroid system is already in use at a hospital in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, where it supports ophthalmology-related clinical research, including cell culture work involving induced pluripotent stem cells.
Researchers involved in the Kobe deployment have also joined the new Robotics Innovation Center, contributing their experience to the expanded automation project.
