Vstone
Vstone is a Japan-based, privately held robotics company in Osaka that designs, manufactures, and sells communication robots (Sota, HIROCHAN), ROS/ROS 2 mobile robot platforms, research bipeds, and STEM education robots, serving research, education, enterprise, and eldercare customers primarily in Japan.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2000
- HeadquartersOsaka, Japan
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Vstone does
Vstone Co., Ltd. (ヴイストン株式会社) is a Japan-based, privately held robotics company headquartered in Osaka that designs, manufactures, and sells a broad portfolio of robots and robot components. Founded in 2000 as an industry-academia venture to commercialize research from Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro's Osaka University laboratory and ATR, the company operates across five product categories: desktop communication robots (Sota, CommU, Kurumi-chan, HIROCHAN for dementia care), research bipeds (Robovie-Z, Robovie-R4), ROS/ROS 2-compatible mobile robot platforms (Mega Rover, Mecanum Rover, 4WDS Rover, Light Rover with options including NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX, 3D LiDAR, depth camera, lifting mechanism, and CAN bus), educational robots (Beaut Rover, Beaut Balancer Duo, Beaut Racer), and proprietary components (V-SERVO high-torque servomotors, omnidirectional vision sensors). Its core technology stack combines proprietary actuation and sensing hardware with the VstoneMagic visual development environment, a Java SDK, Sota Community developer portal, GPT dialogue integration, RoboPlat cloud platform, and ROS/ROS 2 compatibility across the mobile platform lineup.
Vstone monetizes through multiple channels: direct e-commerce unit sales via the Vstone Robot Shop for components and kits (e.g., omni wheels from ~2,300 JPY to ~103,000 JPY), quotation-based enterprise sales of Sota and mobile platforms, a commissioned development service via the ProtoRobo site launched November 2025, software licenses and recurring cloud services (Sota Cloud, RoboPlat), and distribution of third-party products such as JAKA Robotics cobot arms. Customers span four primary segments: education (schools using Beaut/STEM kits), research and academia (universities deploying Robovie-PC and ROS-compatible platforms for under 400,000 JPY versus 1.5-2 million JPY alternatives), business services (Sota deployed for reception, guidance, and presentations), and healthcare/eldercare (HIROCHAN with nationwide free 6-month rental in Japan). Marketing combines owned e-commerce, developer community, YouTube and social media, and active participation in RoboCup Junior, the Humanoid Rescue Robot Contest, the Robotics Society of Japan Annual Conference, IREX, and Expo 2025 Osaka Healthcare Pavilion.
Vstone firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Vstone
- Legal name
- ヴイストン株式会社
- Website
- https://vstone.co.jp
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2000
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Vstone is a Japan-based, privately held robotics company in Osaka that designs, manufactures, and sells communication robots (Sota, HIROCHAN), ROS/ROS 2 mobile robot platforms, research bipeds, and STEM education robots, serving research, education, enterprise, and eldercare customers primarily in Japan.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Vstone industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Service Robotics
- NAICS
- Electronics and Appliance Retailers (44921), Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (541), Software Publishers (51321)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Service & Hospitality Robots (HDAAAIAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Robot Software, Autonomy Stacks & Simulation (ROS, digital twins) (HDAAAIAK), Robot Hardware, Actuators & Components (sensors, grippers, motors) (HDAAAIAL), Industrial & Warehouse Robotics (HDAAAIAA)
Keywords
Where Vstone is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Osaka
- HQ country
- Japan
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices1 record
Markets served
Vstone business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Robot Hardware Sales: Sale of completed robots (Sota, CommU, Robovie-Z, Robovie-R series, HiroChan), mobile robot platforms (Mega Rover, Mecanum Rover, 4WDS Rover, Light Rover), robot kits, and components (wheels, servos, sensors, LiDAR options, GPU PC options). Revenue generated through the Vstone Robot Shop e-commerce platform.
- Software Licenses and Services: Sale of software licenses including VstoneMagic development environment, cloud services for Sota, and maintenance/support contracts. Professional services for system configuration and customization.
- Commissioned Development (受託開発): Custom robot design and prototyping services for enterprise clients through ProtoRobo dedicated website. Includes customization of standard products and new robot development.
- Education and Training Materials: Sale of programming education robots and learning materials including Beaut Rover, Beaut Balancer Duo, Beaut Racer, and Light Rover for STEM education in schools and training centers.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Individual consumer and hobbyist purchases through Robot Shop e-commerce |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Enterprise and commissioned development pricing |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
Vstone product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Vstone develops, manufactures, and sells a vertically integrated robotics portfolio including desktop communication robots (Sota, CommU, HIROCHAN), mobile robot platforms with ROS/ROS 2 support (Mega Rover, 4WDS Rover, Mecanum Rover, Light Rover), biped research platforms (Robovie series), educational robots (Beaut series, Kurumi-chan), the VstoneMagic visual programming IDE, RoboPlat cloud services, and proprietary components such as V-SERVO motors and omnidirectional sensors. The company distributes products through its own Robot Shop e-commerce, dedicated enterprise stores, and commissioned development services via ProtoRobo, targeting research institutions, educational facilities, commercial customers, and healthcare providers in Japan.
Product overview
Vstone is a Japanese robot company specializing in communication robots, mobile robot platforms, educational robots, and robot components. The product portfolio includes Sota and CommU desktop communication robots, Robovie-Z biped walking robots, Mega Rover and Light Rover mobile platforms, HIROCHAN care robots, and various accessories including servo motors, omni-directional sensors, and robot arms. The company provides VstoneMagic development environment for programming robots, supports ROS/ROS 2 compatibility, and offers cloud services through RoboPlat. Products serve research, education, healthcare, and business applications.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Presentation Sota: A robot presentation system that combines the Sota robot with PowerPoint for automated presentations with voice and motion.
- ProtoRobo
- Sota
Products and services
- Sota Small desktop communication robot with WiFi, camera, speaker, and LED indicators that supports voice interaction, face recognition, and gesture-based communication. Used by offices, exhibition venues, stores, and care facilities for reception, product introductions, translation, surveys, and presentations.
- CommU Tabletop communication robot platform designed for human-robot interaction research and dialogue studies. Used by researchers and developers studying communicative AI and embodied agents.
- HIROCHAN Communication device for elderly people with dementia providing companionship, engagement, and dialogue. Available in standard, Niconico version, and HIROCHAN-R developer models. Distributed under a nationwide free 6-month rental program in Japan for dementia care.
- Mega Rover V3.0 ROS/ROS 2 compatible mobile robot platform with large payload capacity, available in standard and outdoor-compatible editions. Used by researchers and engineers building autonomous mobile robots, AGVs, and service robotics prototypes.
- 4WDS Rover X120A / X120A-LB ROS compatible mobile robot platform with four-wheel independent steering mechanism; X120A-LB variant offers approximately 120kg payload and large-capacity battery for heavy-duty research and AGV prototyping applications.
- Mecanum Rover G120A Mecanum-wheel mobile robot platform with approximately 120kg payload capacity for holonomic motion research, AGV development, and mobile manipulation prototyping.
- Mega Rover F120A Mobile robot platform with approximately 120kg payload capacity supporting ROS-based mobile manipulation research and prototyping.
- Light Rover Compact learning mobile robot equipped with LiDAR, ROS 2 compatible, designed for desktop STEM education and learning programming/measurement-control fundamentals.
- Robovie-Z Biped walking robot available in standard and hand unit versions, ROS compatible, for humanoid research and HRI studies. Used by research institutions and universities.
- Robovie-R4 Robot platform designed for development and research purposes in human-robot interaction studies. Successor to the Robovie-R3 used for academic and corporate R&D.
- Robovie-PC Research biped walking robot platform priced under 400,000 JPY, replacing prior research robots priced at 1.5-2 million JPY. Includes Intel Atom-based PC board, Wi-Fi, and sensor/internet expandability.
- Kurumi-chan Small custom robot with customizable appearance, now programmable in Python, used as a presentation/character robot including the Presentation Kurumi-chan variant for PowerPoint-driven demonstrations.
- Presentation Sota Automated robot presentation system combining the Sota robot with PowerPoint, supporting coordinated voice, facial expressions, and body motion for unattended presentations. Supports simultaneous control of up to 5 Sota units for multi-robot performances.
- VstoneMagic Visual development environment for robot programming with block-based programming and Java SDK support, including virtual robot simulator, GPT dialogue block, sample code, and libraries for controlling robot motion, voice synthesis, speech recognition, and camera functionality.
- RoboPlat Cloud-based robot platform service enabling remote robot management and cloud-integrated robot applications for enterprise customers.
- AMIR 740 ROS compatible robot arm designed for integration with Vstone mobile robot platforms to enable mobile manipulation research and prototyping.
- V-SERVO Proprietary high-torque servo motor delivering 327 kgf·cm at 16.8V, with chain-connectable configuration and serial communication control. Sold as a component for Vstone robots and robotics projects.
- Omni-directional Sensor Compact omnidirectional visual sensor (W47×H80×D47 mm) with USB connection and 800,000 pixel resolution, designed for small robot mounting. Originated from Osaka University/ATR research.
- Beaut Rover Programming teaching material and learning robot for educational use, supporting measurement and control fundamentals and STEM curriculum.
- Beaut Balancer Duo Inverted pendulum control learning material for education and STEM curriculum.
- Beaut Racer Measurement and control learning robot designed for educational purposes in schools and training centers.
- OmuniZero.9 World's first two-legged rideable humanoid robot platform, developed in collaboration with Robo Garage (Tomotaka Takahashi), marketed as a biped demonstration and entertainment platform.
- ProtoRobo Custom Development Service Commissioned custom robot design and prototyping service for enterprise clients, including custom character robots (e.g., Hello Kitty Robot), healthcare devices, and specialized industrial applications. Accessed via dedicated ProtoRobo website.
Quantifiable outcome
- Robovie-PC research robot priced under 400,000 JPY vs. previous market prices of 1.5-2 million JPY, reducing barrier to entry for robotics research
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Vstone
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Vstone technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
AI capability7 records
Feature7 records
Vstone partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- JAKA RoboticsminorVstone Robot Shop began distributing JAKA Robotics collaborative robot arm products in May 2024, expanding the shop's product portfolio to include industrial collaborative robots alongside Vstone's research and education robots.
- Kokoro Company Ltd.coreVstone collaborated with Kokoro Company Ltd. in manufacturing the 'Hello Kitty Robot', released as a collaboration product by Sanrio Co., Ltd. and NTT East. This represents a unique character robot development partnership combining Vstone's robotics expertise with Kokoro's animatronic technology.
- Osaka University - Ishiguro LaboratorycoreVstone is a core member of Team OSAKA consortium alongside Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro's laboratory at Osaka University. The partnership focuses on practical application of Professor Ishiguro's research on robot sensors, human-robot interaction, and social robotics, including development of omnidirectional sensors and the VisiON/Robovie robot series.
- ATR - Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute InternationalcoreATR provides motion editing and sensing technology to Team OSAKA and supports robot commercialization efforts. Vstone was established specifically to commercialize research成果 (results) from Professor Ishiguro's work at ATR/Osaka University.
- Robo Garage (高橋 智隆)coreKyoto University venture company Robo Garage, led by robot creator Tomotaka Takahashi, provides robot design and character development expertise. Takahashi designed the Sota character robot platform, and his design work is featured in Team OSAKA's competitive robots.
- Systemtec Akazawa Co., Ltd. (システクアカザワ)minorManufacturing company with 60 years of experience in precision parts processing (including aerospace components), providing development funding and manufacturing capability to Team OSAKA.
- Cross Effect Inc. (株式会社 クロスエフェクト)minorLight-forming (光成型) parts design and manufacturing company that produces complex-shaped robot exterior parts for Team OSAKA's humanoid robots.
- Sanrio Co., Ltd.coreSanrio Co., Ltd. collaborated with Vstone (via Kokoro Company) on the 'Hello Kitty Robot' project, providing the character IP for the healthcare/companion robot.
- NTT EastcoreNTT East was a collaborator on the 'Hello Kitty Robot' project alongside Sanrio and Vstone/Kokoro, representing a telecom company's entry into robotics for customer service applications.
- Osaka Electro-Communication UniversityminorVstone cosponsored the Humanoid Rescue Robot Contest (2022, 2023, 2024) organized by Osaka Electro-Communication University, supporting the annual robotics competition and education initiative.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Vstone competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- United Robotics Group (formerly Aldebaran): United Robotics Group produces NAO and Pepper (the latter formerly under SoftBank) humanoid robots for research, education, and service applications. Direct comparable to Vstone's CommU and Robovie-R series in human-robot interaction research and programmable platforms.
- ROBOTIS: ROBOTIS manufactures Dynamixel servo motors (Vstone's V-SERVO is a comparable actuator) and educational/research robot platforms (THORMANG, OP3, TurtleBot3). Direct competitor in the research and education robotics component and platform market that Vstone serves with V-SERVO, Beaut series, and Mega Rover.
- Kokoro Company, Ltd. Kokoro (a Sanrio group company) manufactures animatronic character robots including the Hello Kitty Robot co-developed with Vstone. Comparable peer in character/entertainment robotics and a strategic collaborator of Vstone that competes in similar hospitality and character robot RFPs.
- SoftBank Robotics: SoftBank Robotics develops the Pepper and NAO humanoid communication robots for service, retail, and education applications. Directly comparable to Vstone's Sota and CommU in targeting the same desktop communication robot use case with humanoid form factors.
- Robo Garage: Robo Garage, founded by Tomotaka Takahashi, designs humanoid and character robots (including contributions to Vstone's Sota platform). Operates as both a Vstone partner and a comparable boutique humanoid robotics designer competing in character robot and education segments.
- Sharp Corporation (RoBoHoN): Sharp's RoBoHoN is a small humanoid communication robot with voice, face recognition and smartphone integration. Competes head-to-head with Vstone's Sota in the Japanese desktop communication robot segment targeting enterprise reception, presentation, and consumer use cases.
Emerging players
- Preferred Networks: Preferred Networks develops AI and robotics software/hardware including autonomous mobile robots and the Kachaka platform. Partial overlap with Vstone's Mega Rover mobile platforms via software-driven autonomy and Jetson-class edge compute, but more software-focused and emerging in commercial robotics.
Broad incumbents
- Sony Group (aibo, KOOV): Sony offers aibo (consumer companion robot) and KOOV (STEM education robotics kit), overlapping with Vstone's HIROCHAN dementia-care companion robot and Beaut Rover/Light Rover STEM kits. A far larger incumbent with substantially greater marketing and distribution resources in Japan.
- Omron (Mobile Robot / LD series): Omron's LD-series autonomous mobile robots target factory and warehouse AGV/AMR use cases that overlap with Vstone's Mega Rover and 4WDS Rover mobile platforms. Larger incumbent with global distribution versus Vstone's Japan-centric R&D-platform positioning.
- LEGO Education (SPIKE / Mindstorms): LEGO Education's SPIKE Prime and former Mindstorms lines compete with Vstone's Beaut Rover, Beaut Balancer Duo, and Beaut Racer in the STEM/robotics education segment. A vastly larger incumbent in classroom robotics with global curriculum integration.
Market position
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks1 record
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Vstone social profiles
Digital presenceVstone financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Vstone leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Vstone funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Vstone M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments2 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Vstone
What does Vstone do?
Vstone develops, manufactures, and sells a vertically integrated robotics portfolio including desktop communication robots (Sota, CommU, HIROCHAN), mobile robot platforms with ROS/ROS 2 support (Mega Rover, 4WDS Rover, Mecanum Rover, Light Rover), biped research platforms (Robovie series), educational robots (Beaut series, Kurumi-chan), the VstoneMagic visual programming IDE, RoboPlat cloud services, and proprietary components such as V-SERVO motors and omnidirectional sensors. The company distributes products through its own Robot Shop e-commerce, dedicated enterprise stores, and commissioned development services via ProtoRobo, targeting research institutions, educational facilities, commercial customers, and healthcare providers in Japan.
Is Vstone a public or private company?
Vstone is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Vstone founded?
Vstone was founded in 2000. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Vstone based?
Vstone is headquartered in Osaka, Japan, in the Asia region.
How does Vstone make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Robot Hardware Sales are the primary driver. The others are software Licenses and Services, commissioned Development (受託開発) and education and Training Materials.
Who are Vstone's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are United Robotics Group (formerly Aldebaran), ROBOTIS, Kokoro Company, Ltd., SoftBank Robotics, Robo Garage and Sharp Corporation (RoBoHoN). Preferred Networks is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are Sony Group (aibo, KOOV), Omron (Mobile Robot / LD series) and LEGO Education (SPIKE / Mindstorms).
Does Vstone have an API?
Yes. VstoneMagic provides a development environment for Sota robots. The platform supports Java programming, allowing developers to create applications for the robot. Development resources include sample source code and libraries available through the Sota Community developer portal. The system includes SDK blocks and APIs for controlling robot motion, voice synthesis, speech recognition, and camera functionality.
What industry is Vstone in?
Vstone's product category is Service Robotics. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAAAIAB, Service & Hospitality Robots, with a secondary code of HDAAAIAK, Robot Software, Autonomy Stacks & Simulation (ROS, digital twins). Its NAICS code is 44921.