Hitachi Channel Solutions, Inc. announced on August 21 that its pilot project to automate the removal of degraded cushioning materials during the unit-cleaning process for its resource-circulation ATMs has been selected for Aichi Prefecture’s “Robot Underutilised-Domain Introduction Verification Subsidy” (a prefectural grant programme supporting feasibility studies for robot adoption in areas where robotics has yet to take hold).
The resource-circulation ATM is a model in which refurbished, quality-assured used parts and units are incorporated into newly manufactured ATMs. In the cleaning process, the removal of degraded cushioning materials has until now been performed manually. The pilot project will demonstrate robotic automation that uses force-sensing control technology—which detects and regulates the force applied when contacting a target component—to remove cushioning materials without damaging the parts. The company stated that this will reduce the physical burden on workers and lead to the realisation of full process automation.
With the aim of advancing the circular economy and contributing to the environmental initiatives of financial institutions, the company began shipping its resource-circulation ATMs in January 2024, and the model has since been adopted by multiple financial institutions. For the reuse of parts and units, the company has established its own selection criteria and a dedicated process: parts are extracted from recovered products and subjected to quality control, then sorted and diagnosed on a dedicated line, reassembled, and tested to restore them to a reusable condition—delivering functionality, performance, and quality equivalent to products using new parts. The company aims to raise the recovery rate of its own ATM products to 90% or more in fiscal year 2025, with a long-term goal of making more than 90% of ATMs shipped domestically resource-circulation models.
The “Robot Underutilised-Domain Introduction Verification Subsidy” for which the company was selected is an Aichi Prefecture programme targeting fields (applications) where robot adoption has not yet advanced. It is designed to support the costs of preliminary verification aimed at resolving cases where uncertainty around technical feasibility and cost-effectiveness acts as a barrier to robot introduction. In fiscal year 2026, a total of five projects (totalling ¥20 million) were selected across three categories—”Manufacturing and Logistics,” “Aerial Mobility Utilisation,” and “Commercial Service Robot Utilisation”—and Hitachi Channel Solutions’ project was chosen as one of the entries in the “Manufacturing and Logistics” category.
【Press Release】Verification of Robotic Automation for the Unit-Cleaning Process of Resource-Circulation ATMs — Selected for Aichi Prefecture’s “Robot Underutilised-Domain Introduction Verification Subsidy”
【Reference】Fiscal Year 2026 “Robot Underutilised-Domain Introduction Verification Subsidy” Selected Projects Announced
【Reference】Fiscal Year 2026 “Robot Underutilised-Domain Introduction Verification Subsidy” Selected Projects (PDF)
【Reference】Launch of Domestic ATM Resource-Circulation Model Shipments
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