GBS K.K.

One of the main reasons for workers' inability to work and absence in the industry field is musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) in the lower back. MSD can arise from unergonomic lifting postures exerting uneven stress on the spine or repeated lifting motions. In an aging society such as Japan, employee absenteeism due to MSD results in an economic loss of 7 trillion yen and is a major social problem.

Developed to prevent MSD are exoskeleton power suits (Note 1). German Bionic Systems GmbH ("German Bionic") was founded in 2016 by engineers from KUKA, a German robotics company. The company’s power suit "Cray X" supports the wearer’s back and assists lifting motions with motors, offsetting the lower back burden by up to 28 kilograms. It can operate for up to eight hours with a single, quickly exchangeable standard battery. Compared to competing products, it reduces of the lower back stress by three to five times and operates twice as long.

The company developed the world’s first IoT software dedicated to power suits and named it "German Bionic IO." GBS K.K (GBS) has the RaaS (Robotics as a Service) business model, which offers combinations of power suits and IoT solutions in subscriptions from 84 thousand yen per month.

GBS, a Japanese subsidiary of German Bionic, was established in Tokyo in 2018. GBS announced its collaboration with Nidec Corporation in October 2019, and jointly displayed at the International Robot Exhibition 2019. In the same year, the company conducted a joint promotion with Bic Camera, and also introduced power suits to Bic Camera’s distribution warehouse.

With the expansion of work from home and rapid increase in online consumption at home due to the COVID-19 crisis, many mass merchandisers, logistics companies, and their suppliers need to respond to the surging demand by, for example, increasing the number of employees through new hires.

On the other hand, due to social distancing, businesses must operate the workplace with fewer people than in the past. The company believes that power suits will serve as one solution to handle more work volume by fewer workers. “Even in the post-COVID-19 era, GBS power suit and services can contribute to acquiring a stable labor force, participation of female and post-retirement older workers in the workplace, and efficient work management in industrial sites in Japan’s regions suffering from a labor shortage. Its potential in the Japanese market is enormous," Mr. Yamashita forecasts.

Regarding JETRO's support, Mr. Yamashita comments, "As GBS operates as the headquarters for the Asian region, including Japan, we are receiving useful information and proposals of business opportunities not only in Japan but also overseas from JETRO. We would like to continue active use of JETRO’s support in developing our business."