[Digital Today reporter Jinju Hong (홍진주)] A small inspection robot, the Ugo Mini, has been unveiled targeting labour shortages in data centre equipment inspections.

On June 15 (local time), Japanese ITmedia reported that Japanese robot company Ugo highlighted its data centre inspection robot at Interop Tokyo 2026, held at Makuhari Messe from June 10 to 12.

The core of the Ugo Mini is its small body and adjustable camera structure. It has a compact main unit about knee height, topped with a telescopic pole that extends up to 186 cm. The height can be adjusted from an initial 68 cm, allowing a single unit to check everything from floor-side piping to instruments near the ceiling. The camera at the tip of the pole can be tilted up and down.

The device targets labour shortages at sites that inspect facilities such as data centres. Ugo projected that the number of maintenance engineers responsible for facility upkeep would fall by 260,000 by 2030 and by 400,000 by 2045 compared with 2000. That is at least 1.5 times faster than the decline in the working-age population. As regulations mandating visual inspections or on-site staffing are also being abolished, demand for automated inspections is rising.

The Ugo Mini memorises an on-site map and then patrols autonomously. It moves while avoiding obstacles using 3D lidar mounted on its body and films equipment with a 4K camera on the pole tip. It converts numbers on gauges into data by linking to external AI for reading and automatically drafts an inspection report. If needed, a thermal camera or environmental sensors can be added via a USB port to measure temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide.

The design also includes features intended for data centre use. Ugo said the robot has a low-noise, low-dust structure, allowing it to be deployed inside data centres where cleanliness is important. A key feature is that it is not just a filming device, but ties movement, measurement, reading and reporting into a single flow.

Deployment cases were also disclosed. Ugo said its Ugo series handled 75 percent of all inspection items in an electrical and mechanical room at one data centre and cut inspection time in half. NTT Data also introduced the Ugo series at its data centre power equipment room to automate and enable remote inspections. As a result, it cut daily inspection time by about 50 percent and made it possible to respond remotely to abnormal situations during times with fewer staff, such as at night, it said.

The companies' joint project won the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications award at the 2025 Infrastructure Maintenance Awards. For data centre operators, it can be considered a way to reduce not only inspection time but also the burden of maintaining on-site staff.

Ugo also operates a higher-end model, the Ugo Pro, targeting larger facilities. With two arms, the device can conduct card authentication and operate elevator buttons, allowing it to patrol across multiple floors. It also takes on security, guidance and transport tasks, but is larger than the Mini at 180 cm tall and weighing about 54 kg. Ugo is therefore expanding the range of robot applications from inspections at small data centres to patrols at large plants and office buildings.