Yokogawa to Assist the Scale Up of Tropical Climate AI Data Center Testbed into a Multi-megawatt Pilot Facility

- Contributing to Singapore's sustainable digital infrastructure initiative -

TOKYO and SINGAPORE, Sept. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Yokogawa Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6841) announces that its subsidiary Yokogawa Engineering Asia Pte. Ltd. has joined the Sustainable Tropical Data Centre Testbed Phase 2.0 (STDCT 2.0) Consortium, an initiative led by the College of Design and Engineering (CDE) at the National University of Singapore (NUS). Through participation in this initiative, Yokogawa will leverage its deep industrial automation heritage and leadership in autonomous operations to enhance operational efficiency, asset reliability, and energy optimization across the next-generation data center environments.

Driven by the rapid adoption of generative AI and cloud services, demand for data centers is growing worldwide. At the same time, industry faces significant challenges regarding energy consumption, operational resilience, and workforce constraints. These energy and operational challenges are even more pronounced in tropical regions such as Singapore, where hot and humid conditions place greater demands on cooling systems and energy efficiency, making sustainable data center innovation a crucial matter.

Singapore has identified the data center industry as one of its strategic growth sectors and is advancing plans to develop Jurong Island as a hub for next-generation data centers, an initiative led by government agency for industrial infrastructure, JTC Corporation, with a projected capacity of up to 700 megawatts.

STDCT 2.0 is a testbed initiative that brings together partners from academia, industry, and government to develop and evaluate advanced energy management and cooling technologies and establish a sustainable operating model suitable for AI data centers in a tropical climate. Beyond technology deployment and validation, Yokogawa will also work with the consortium to explore a joint research agenda to address emerging challenges where existing commercial solutions are insufficient to meet the demands of data center operators.

Through its participation in STDCT 2.0, Yokogawa aims to further strengthen its AI-powered technological capabilities and R&D expertise to develop comprehensive solutions that will support Singapore's journey towards a sustainable digital economy and also enhance the efficient and stable operation of AI data centers worldwide.

Professor Lee Poh Seng, Director of STDCT and Head, Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Design and Engineering at NUS, said, "AI is fundamentally changing the design and operation of data centers. As rack densities rise and infrastructure becomes increasingly complex, improving individual components will no longer be enough, we need to optimize the data center as an integrated system spanning computing, power, cooling, controls and operations. STDCT 2.0 provides a real-world platform to bring these domains together and validate solutions under the demanding conditions of a tropical climate. Yokogawa's deep expertise in measurement, industrial automation and autonomous operations adds an important capability to this effort. Through this partnership, we hope to develop and demonstrate new approaches that make AI data centers not only more energy- and resource-efficient, but also more intelligent, resilient and scalable for deployment in Singapore and other tropical markets."

Kin Wah Chay, President and CEO of Yokogawa Engineering Asia, commented, "This initiative reflects Yokogawa's vision of enabling industrial autonomy and extending our expertise into the rapidly evolving digital infrastructure sector. We are honored to join the STDCT 2.0 Consortium and work alongside leading partners to accelerate and co-innovate solutions for next-generation AI data centers. Leveraging decades of experience in industrial automation and energy management, we aim to help drive smarter, more efficient, and sustainable data center operations in tropical regions."

For more information
Yokogawa's Data Center Solutions: https://www.yokogawa.com/industries/data-centers/

About the Sustainable Tropical Data Centre Testbed (STDCT)
The Sustainable Tropical Data Centre Testbed (STDCT) is a joint research initiative led by the National University of Singapore (NUS) and hosted by its College of Design and Engineering, in collaboration with leading industry partners.
STDCT 2.0 focuses on developing energy-efficient data centre designs that can operate reliably in tropical climates. The programme serves as a live testbed to evaluate, validate, and deploy sustainable innovations that reduce energy and water consumption while supporting dense, AI-driven operations.
For more information, visit https://cde.nus.edu.sg/stdct/

About Yokogawa
Yokogawa provides advanced solutions in the areas of measurement, control, and information to customers across a broad range of industries, including energy, chemicals, materials, pharmaceuticals, and food. Yokogawa addresses customer issues regarding the optimization of production, assets, and the supply chain with the effective application of digital technologies, enabling the transition to autonomous operations.

Founded in Tokyo in 1915, Yokogawa continues to work toward a sustainable society through its 18,000+ employees in a global network of 136 companies spanning 63 countries.

For more information, visit www.yokogawa.com

The names of corporations, organizations, products, services and logos herein are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Yokogawa Electric Corporation or their respective holders.

The names of corporations, organizations, products, services and logos herein are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Yokogawa Electric Corporation or their respective holders.

 

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Yokogawa to Assist the Scale Up of Tropical Climate AI Data Center Testbed into a Multi-megawatt Pilot Facility

PITTSBURGH, Sept. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Sharpa, an AI robotics company focused on dexterous manipulation, today unveiled three flagship products at the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) 2026: D01, an integrated robot built for dexterous manipulation; W02, a compact, lightweight dexterous hand with full-hand tactile sensing; and AE01, a haptic exoskeleton data glove for teleoperation and data capture.

The new lineup addresses three connected needs in robotics development: executing coordinated physical tasks, sensing and controlling contact with objects, and collecting human demonstrations to support robot learning. Together, the products expand Sharpa's hardware portfolio for developing robots that can use everyday tools and work in environments designed for people.

D01: the First Integrated Tactile-sensing Robot Built for Dexterous Manipulation    

D01 brings together Sharpa Wave dexterous hands, seven-degree-of-freedom arms and whole-body electronic skin.

Built to combine strength, speed and precision, D01 offers an approximately 1:1 arm payload-to-weight ratio, a maximum end-effector speed exceeding 10.5 meters per second, a communication frequency of 1,000 Hz and end-effector repeatability of 0.2 millimeters. Human-scale spherical wrist joints support manipulation in workspaces and around tools designed for people.

D01's electronic skin extends contact sensing across the body, with a tactile sampling rate of 100 Hz and force resolution of 0.2 newtons. This additional feedback enables the robot to detect physical contact across its body and supports responsive interaction with objects and its surroundings.

W02: a Next-generation, Fully tactile, Ultra-compact and Lightweight Dexterous Hand

Building on Sharpa's W01 dexterous hand, W02 combines 21 active degrees of freedom with a compact structure weighing less than 750 grams. Its smaller, lighter design reduces loading on the robot arm and supports integration into workspaces built around human-hand dimensions.

W02 combines Sharpa's proprietary Dynamic Tactile Array at the fingertips with electronic skin across the fingers and palm. Fingertip sensors provide a force sensing range of 5 millinewtons to 30 newtons and spatial resolution of 1 millimeter. The electronic skin extends tactile coverage with a force sensing range of 0.1–20 newtons and spatial resolution of 5 millimeters.

The hand's zero-gap grasping capability supports the handling of slender objects such as chopsticks and fine cords. IP54-rated protection against dust and water splashes supports use in varied working environments. These features are designed to help robots handle everyday objects and tools while maintaining tactile feedback throughout the interaction.

AE01: a High-fidelity Haptic Exoskeleton Data Glove      

AE01 is a high-fidelity haptic exoskeleton data glove designed for robot teleoperation and egocentric data capture. Its 22-degree-of-freedom design incorporates 22 encoders to capture joint motion, providing movement data for real-time robot control and the collection of manipulation demonstrations.

AE01 provides 256 levels of dynamic vibrotactile feedback at each fingertip, giving operators tactile cues to support adjustments during teleoperation. It also offers fingertip position repeatability of less than 1 millimeter.

The glove requires no additional user calibration and is designed to resist environmental interference, simplifying setup and supporting data collection across different operating environments. By combining motion capture with haptic feedback, AE01 gives researchers and developers a practical interface for guiding robotic actions and collecting training data.

Advancing Dexterous Manipulation to Real-World Tasks

With D01, W02 and AE01, Sharpa is expanding the tools available to develop, control and train robots for tasks involving sustained physical contact. The portfolio supports the company's broader goal of making robotic manipulation useful across increasingly complex workflows, from handling individual objects to completing connected tasks in real-world environments.

Visitors can explore Sharpa's latest products at Booth 514, David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, through Sept. 30, 2026.

For more information, visit www.sharpa.com.

About Sharpa

Sharpa is an AI robotics company focused on dexterous manipulation, building robotic intelligence and full-stack systems designed for real-world deployment. By developing the foundational capabilities needed for general-purpose robots, Sharpa is working to bring them into practical applications. Sharpa believes robots should assist, not replace, humans—freeing people from repetitive and strenuous work so they can pursue more meaningful and inspiring endeavors. Now, Sharpa's products serve robotics companies, research institutions, and real-world applications such as food service. In the future, Sharpa's general-purpose robots will expand into a broader range of applications and, ultimately, into the home—giving people back time.
 

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Sharpa Unveils Three Flagship Products: D01 Robot, W02 Dexterous Hand and AE01 Data Glove at IROS 2026