Hitachi High-Tech (Singapore) and Singapore robotics firm QuikBot Technologies have signed a strategic agreement to let autonomous robots move through buildings on their own — starting with elevators.

The two companies announced the partnership on 14 September, aiming to connect QuikBot’s QuikSync platform with Hitachi elevators and building systems across Southeast Asia. Today, most robots can’t request lift access or open doors without a person’s help, which confines them to a single floor or task.

Starting with elevators, scaling to whole buildings

QuikSync is designed to let autonomous systems identify themselves, get permission and interact with building infrastructure under set safety rules. The initial project will test whether QuikSync can talk to Hitachi’s elevators, letting authorised robots request floors and move between them without a human operator.

The companies say the scope could later expand to doors, access gates, loading docks, parcel rooms and security systems — infrastructure relevant to hospitals, factories, logistics centres and mixed-use developments, all sectors where QuikBot and Hitachi see early demand.

“Nothing moves inside a hospital ward or a cleanroom without permission, identity and accountability,” said Alan Ng, Founder and CEO of QuikBot Technologies.

“Hitachi High-Tech (Singapore) aims to take a front-line role in connecting customer needs,” said Christopher Han, Director of Hitachi High-Tech (Singapore).

Under the deal, Hitachi High-Tech (Singapore) becomes QuikBot’s first Strategic Founding Infrastructure Partner. The companies plan to start with a demonstration site in Singapore before moving to pilots and reference deployments elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

QuikBot, a Singapore-based Physical AI and robotics company, already runs autonomous delivery and smart-locker services. The elevator integration marks its most direct attempt yet to get robots moving vertically through buildings, rather than staying confined to ground-floor operations.