Denso goes workerless under new factory concept for Toyota Group

If tomorrow's software-powered cars don't need human drivers behind the wheel, then the factories building the cars also don't need workers operating the lines.

That's partly the reasoning at Toyota Group megasupplier Denso, which just announced a new manufacturing concept for workerless factories that will be ultradigitalized for hyperefficiency.

Denso Corp. will start building the first of these futuristic factories in Japan this year with the goal of starting production in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2028.

The ¥69 billion ($482.9 million) plant will make advanced on-board computers that bundle together control of multiple functions in the car, Denso said in a Sept. 9 news release. These next-generation electronic control units will replace current-generation processors that are dedicated to handling individual functions, such as controlling the engine or the air conditioning.

The factory will "be capable of 24-hour unmanned operation," Denso said, not only for production but for "the entire process, including unloading of materials and components, transfer within the plant, replenishment and feeding of materials, and packing of products."

It will be the first factory built under Denso's next-generation manufacturing concept.

The advance comes as Toyota Group prepares to reinvent its production process for a new era of software-defined electric vehicles. The goal is to streamline manufacturing for modularized production that leverages simplified giga-casting technology and robot-powered automation.

Among the new production techniques planned by Toyota Motor Corp. are vehicles that drive themselves through factories and fleets of delivery robots shuttling parts to and from the line.

Industry optimism for hyperautomated production is so feverish that companies such as Tesla and BMW are floating visions of humanoid robots actually replacing flesh and blood workers to build cars. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that his company hoped to have humanoid robots in production as early as next year. The robot, called Optimus, would be able to work in factories.

The paradigm shift is essential for Toyota to boost its cost competitiveness against a new wave of rivals from Silicon Valley, China and beyond. Transforming vehicles into computers on wheels with centralized processing units and overarching software operating systems is key.

Later this decade, Toyota plans to introduce such a software system in new-platform EVs. The technology is called Arene and is being developed by its Woven by Toyota software subsidiary.

"Software will keep growing with the advancement of software-defined vehicles and electrification, and large-scale integrated ECUs will be required for overall control of vehicle functions," Denso said, adding that the plant's electronic control units will power advanced driver-assist technologies.

Consolidating software functions into a smaller number of high-powered electronic control units will cut costs by reducing the number of components, including wire harnesses and connectors.

It will also reduce vehicle weight, and centralize and standardize software development, making the systems easier to code and troubleshoot.

That, in turn, will ideally improve the quality and performance of these digital systems.

Denso, Toyota's top supplier and the world's fifth largest, according to the Automotive News Research & Data Center, will expand the site of its Zenmyo Plant to add space for the new one.

The site is in Aichi prefecture, the central Japan industrial heartland Toyota calls home. Zenmyo makes electronically controlled fuel injection systems and employs about 1,300 people.

The new plant, which doesn't have a name yet, will have workers remotely monitor the automated manufacturing and step in for repairs.

But the goal is to make the factory floor free of workers by 2030, the company said.

To improve efficiency, Denso said products will use commonized materials and components and be manufactured on a single line that can be easily reconfigured to adapt to market changes.

Manufacturing engineers will use digital twin technology to build a virtual model of the plant, which will speed its construction and ramp-up.