Hitachi to Test Physical Artificial Intelligence for the First Time in India

Hitachi leverages India’s digital ecosystem to pioneer physical artificial intelligence solutions for smart infrastructure and medtech before expanding to global markets

Japanese conglomerate Hitachi recently announced plans to deploy its new generation of physical artificial intelligence solutions under development in India. This sets the base for its upcoming products in the pipeline, such as smart infrastructure and creating building-management systems in the country before scaling them to markets such as Japan and Europe. The company would drive its efforts through GlobalLogic, the digital engineering company it acquired in 2021, which is to be further integrated with Hitachi Digital Services under its Lumada 3.0 strategy. With this, Hitachi seeks to deepen AI and industrial digitalization capabilities globally.

According to Piyush Jha, Group Vice President and Head, APAC, GlobalLogic, the company is working on BuilMirai, a solution that focuses on smart building management and will be launched in India and Asia before Europe and Japan to address the great demand in these markets. It is looking to adapt to Indian consumers who are technology savvy, as seen with digital payments in an increasingly adaptive market. Hitachi is aiming to follow GlobalLogic’s strategy by securing gains in the Indian market. Its physical AI solutions would optimize:

• energy consumed by buildings

• occupancy

• lighting, and

• access systems

through connected devices and Bluetooth-enabled automation. At its core, physical AI involves AI converging with operational technology (OT), industrial systems, and real-world infrastructure.

Moreover, the company is also targeting improvements in mobility by facility-precise medicine deliveries powered by its AI-led retail and MedTech applications. Among these are geofencing systems for personalized in-store offers and neuromodulator-based IoT healthcare services. Jha noted that India offers the ideal experimentation market for such projects, owing to its digital adoption cycle, which allows companies to learn, adapt, and strengthen their offerings over time.

At the same time, multinational Global Capability Centers (GCC) are proving to be valuable ROI for the company in its efforts to transition from end-to-end product ownership towards innovation mandates in the Indian market. Industry experts explain Hitachi’s logic by highlighting the rising trend of global firms no longer restricting their India operations in terms of offshore engineering extension, but actively relocating leadership functions, product development, and business operations to the country. India’s vast pool of talented engineers, scale, and digital ecosystem maturity make it well poised to build spaces for global co-creation and innovation. CIO Bulletin views this experiment by Hitachi as a way for the company to enhance its operational efficacy, with successful physical AI trials setting a blueprint for other firms to follow.