Highlanders shows a production prototype of its humanoid N at CEATEC as it readies 2027 shipments with Mitsubishi Motors
Highlanders said in a press release on Oct 13 that it is showing a mass-production prototype of its humanoid N, with live motion demos, at the AWS booth at CEATEC 2026 in Makuhari on Oct 13 and 14. The Tokyo startup, which builds N's mechanics, electronics, software and AI in-house, says shipments start in 2027 and that it is preparing mass production after a July joint press conference with Mitsubishi Motors.
Highlanders said in a press release on PR TIMES on Oct 13 that it is exhibiting a mass-production prototype of its humanoid robot N at CEATEC 2026, the electronics and technology show at Makuhari Messe in Chiba. The robot is on display with motion demonstrations at the Amazon Web Services booth (Hall 4, booth 4H535) on Oct 13 and 14 only.
N is designed for light work alongside people in factories and logistics. The release gives a payload of 8 kg per arm and 12 kg with both arms. Highlanders builds the mechanics, electrical circuits, embedded software and AI itself, a vertically integrated approach it presents as the basis for quick iteration toward volume output.
From a 2023 startup to a carmaker's line
The company was founded in May 2023 and is based in Toshima, Tokyo,. It held a joint press conference with Mitsubishi Motors on July 9 about mass production of N and says shipments begin in 2027. It was also selected for GENIAC, the generative AI programme run by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and NEDO, for research on robot foundation models.
MEKAWIRE analysis
A Japanese carmaker lending its production system to a three-year-old startup is the more important signal here than the prototype itself; Japan is trying to copy the Chinese playbook of car plants building humanoids.
IFR put humanoid sales at about 7,000 units in the World Robotics 2026 figures MEKAWIRE reported on Sep 30, and the large majority of that volume is made by Chinese suppliers. Highlanders is one of the few Japanese companies promising volume shipments on a date. The release does not give a price, a production target or the robot's height and degrees of freedom, so the claim that it is a production-intent design cannot yet be tested against rivals. The bear case is that a 2027 start leaves Highlanders entering a market where Chinese makers will already be on their third generation.
Signals to watch: a price or first customer for N, a production figure from Mitsubishi Motors, and the results Highlanders publishes from its GENIAC foundation model work.
- CEATEC 2026, Makuhari Messe, AWS booth 4H535, Oct 13 to 14
- Highlanders (Tokyo, founded May 2023)
- 8 kg per arm, 12 kg both arms
- Humanoid N, mass-production prototype
- From 2027
- Mitsubishi Motors (joint press conference Jul 9, 2026)
- GENIAC (METI and NEDO), robot foundation model R&D