The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has been advancing efforts to develop technologies required for the commercialization of robots and to ensure their safety, with an eye to fostering the robot industry to become one of the leading industries in the world.

As part of such efforts, METI, together with co-organizers, presents “The Robot Award 2008” with the aim of promoting R&D and application of robotic technologies in the private sector, and promoting the creation of new markets for them. This award program was established in 2006.

From among the 65 entries submitted, eight robots were selected as First Prize-winners by the selection committee (Chairman: Hirofumi Miura, President of Kogakuin University) for their outstanding service this year and contribution to and potential for future market development.

1. Award program outline
The goal of the program is to promote R&D and application of robotic technologies in the private sector and to create new markets for them. Robots that have provided outstanding services in the past year* are eligible for the award. The program selects and recognizes robots that have made, or are highly likely to make, significant contribution to future market development.

In this program, a robot is defined as an intelligent mechanical system that incorporates three technological elements: sensing, intelligence and control, and drive. Robots (and their parts and software) that fall within the following categories are eligible.

• Service Robot category
  Robots designed for service in offices, homes and public facilities
• Industrial Robot category
  Robots designed to take part in manufacturing processes on the shop floor
• Public and Frontier Robot category
  Robots designed to work for special purposes, such as survivor search and recovery operations at disaster sites and space and deep-sea exploration
• Parts and Software category
  Parts and software used in robot manufacture

In the selection process, the selection committee consisting of experts evaluates entries from the viewpoint of contribution to and potential for future market development. The selection criteria include: (a) social needs, (b) value from the user’s point of view, and (c) technological innovativeness.

This program is jointly organized by METI and related institutions.

Eight First Prize-winning robots in The Robot Award 2008

Service Robot category
Omnibot 17μ i-SOBOT（Omnibot One-Seven Mu i-Sobot）
Developer
Tomy Company, Ltd.
Description
The world’s smallest bipedal humanoid robot in mass production, as certified by Guinness World Records. With 17 ultra-small servo-motors, which have been custom-developed based on Japan’s high-precision manufacturing technologies, the product has about 200 action patterns, yet has an affordable price, and is sold worldwide. Coming with AAA rechargeable NiMH batteries and a recharger, this robot can operate for more than one hour between battery recharges, providing excellent energy efficiency.

Automatic page turner “Book Time”
Developer
Nishizawa Electric Meters Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
Description
A reading aid robot that allows the user to flip pages forward and backward with the simple push of buttons. It uses a page isolation mechanism to successfully replicate the human finger movements to flip pages, for the first time in the world. The robot enables people who cannot turn pages by themselves to read books at their own pace, thereby improving their quality of life and easing the burden on caregivers. It is designed to provide outstanding usability, including ease of use and safety, and can be used to read books in A4 to pocket-edition sizes, with a thickness of not more than 3 cm.

Rice-planting robot conducive to food safety and security
Developer
National Agricultural Research Center, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization
Description
With a high-accuracy GPS and attitude measurement devices, this robot transplants rice seedlings along the work route defined based on the prior GPS measurement of the shape of the target paddy field. It can finish rice-planting in a 30-are field in about 50 minutes through nonstop operation with no human intervention at all. The robot allows farmers to easily record how much fertilizer and pesticide have been used in which parts of the field as rice grows. It is therefore expected to contribute to food safety and security, help society cope with the aging and reduction of the farming population, and facilitate the improvement of Japan’s self-sufficiency in food.

ZMP e-nuvo Series engineering education solution based on robotics
Developer
ZMP Inc.
Description
A series of robotic engineering educational products that covers almost every engineering element that corporate development engineers are expected to know. It harnesses features of the robot, in a fusion of diverse technologies such as mechanics, electrical and electronic engineering, control and software. The series consists of four robots so that students can start from basics and proceed gradually to advanced levels to eventually acquire sophisticated practical engineering skills. The solution also offers a curriculum to support learning. In Japan, most science and engineering universities and technical colleges have purchased this product, and so have many automakers and home appliance manufacturers.

Industrial Robot category
XR-G Series built-in robots
Developer
Denso Wave Incorporated
Description
A series of compact robots for assembling and feeding that helps manufacturers significantly improve the productivity of their automated production plants. With a combination of slide and swivel motions, it moves significantly faster than conventional products. High-speed handling is enabled by its ceiling-mounted structure, which minimizes the travel distance of the object being carried. This structure also allows manufacturers to design a smaller production plant. This series, directed at the auto, electrical and electronic, and machine tool industries, has been on sale since April 2008.

10th-generation LCD glass substrate handling robot “MOTOMAN-CDL3000D”
Developer
Yasukawa Electric Corporation
Description
A robot designed to handle LCD glass substrates, which are becoming larger and larger in size, to increase the productivity of flat-panel LCD TV manufacturing processes. The company has adopted a custom-developed double-link column for the lift shaft for the first time in the world, which allows the handling of 3 m x 3 m extra-large LCD glass substrates called the 10th generation (the latest and the largest ever). The product leads the world in its speed, accuracy and handling stability.

Public and Frontier Robot category
Active Scope Camera
Developer
Tohoku University
International Rescue System Institute
Description
A search robot that can slither through crannies as narrow as about 3 cm in width (such as a space under rubble or anywhere humans cannot enter) for a distance of up to 8 m, and can show what is inside on video. It moves forward by the vibration of cilia that cover the cable, and changes direction when the operator twists it where he or she holds it. In January 2008, this robot was used for investigating the cause of a building collapse in the U.S. and successfully collected information from under the debris. It is expected to be commercialized in the future.

Parts and Software category
Ultra-small three-axis tactile sensor chip based on MEMS
Developer
University of Tokyo
Panasonic Corporation
Description
An ultra-small three-axis tactile sensor chip that can detect not only pressure but also shearing force (frictional force) along two axes. Its miniature structure of 2 mm x 2 mm x 0.8 mm has been achieved through the use of MEMS technology. For example, this sensor chip can be embedded in a robotic hand to allow it to recognize the slip and the center of gravity of the object being held, thereby improving the reliability of handling. The product is expected to go into volume production around 2010.

(Listed by category, in Japanese alphabetical order)

Release Date

November 21, 2008

Division in Charge

Industrial Machinery Division, Manufacturing Industries Bureau

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