THE 30STARTUPS OF KANSAI

Robotics Sailing Lab (RSL) is a startup originating from Osaka Metropolitan University, specializing in autonomous navigation, remote vessel operation, robotic control, and custom small-vessel engineering. Its core businesses are robotic fishing vessels that improve productivity and reduce labor requirements in aquaculture, and a platform for customizing vessels under 20 meters. RSL plans to expand these technologies into marine surveying, monitoring, inspection, and specialized workboats, with the long-term goal of establishing a strong position in the emerging field of Marine Physical AI.

RSL’s technology helps aquaculture operators automate and remotely manage vessel-based tasks such as feeding, transportation, patrol, and monitoring. By combining autonomous navigation, remote vessel control, and various sensors, RSL can reduce labor shortages and physically demanding work while enabling safer and more efficient operations with fewer personnel. In the future, accumulated operational data can also be analyzed to improve aquaculture management, optimize daily operations, and enhance overall productivity and sustainability.

RSL’s unique strength lies in its academically grounded and rigorously developed vessel control technology, built on extensive university research. Its capabilities go beyond basic autonomous navigation, enabling advanced maneuvers such as autonomous docking, mooring, and collision avoidance while accounting for environmental disturbances such as wind and currents. By integrating this control technology with vessel design, propulsion systems, sensors, and robotic systems, RSL can develop highly functional autonomous vessels optimized for demanding real-world marine operations.

RSL aims to become a leading Marine Physical AI company by further integrating autonomous navigation, remote vessel operation, robotic control, and vessel-building technologies. In the fisheries sector, RSL will promote automation and labor-saving solutions centered on robotic fishing vessels, while establishing a strong business foundation in Japan. Looking ahead, the company also sees significant potential for international expansion, particularly into Asian countries with large aquaculture industries, while extending its technologies into marine surveying, monitoring, inspection, and other specialized workboat applications.