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Announcement of the Winners in the Tenth Robot Awards Program

- An awards ceremony and exhibition will be held featuring robots that are expected to play an active role in the future -

October 12, 2022

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Japan Machinery Federation (JMF) selected the winners of the Tenth Robot Awards program, which was held in collaboration with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC); Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT); Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW); Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF); and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT).
On October 19 (Wed.), an award ceremony and exhibition including the winning robots will be held at the Japan Robot Week 2022 venue (organized by the Japan Robot Association and Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, Ltd.).

1. Overview

The Robot Awards program is a system that recognizes outstanding companies and other organizations engaging in the active use of and research and development on state-of-the-art robots, related human resource development, and various other fields, with the aim of facilitating the development of robot technologies and public implementation of robots in Japan.
The first program was held in FY2006. As the program has been held once every two years since FY2008, this year’s program is the tenth such event.

2. Results of the Examination

From among the 112 applicants that applied during the period of the call from April 11 to June 3, 2020, the Tenth Robot Awards program examination committee—chaired by Dr. Kawamura Sadao, Specially Invited Research Professor, Deputy Director of Ritsumeikan-Global Innovation Research Organization, Ritsumeikan University—and other examiners selected the award-winning robots for the Ninth Robot Awards program as shown in the Appendix.

METI selected the Mobile Robot LD/HD Series developed by OMRON Corporation as the winner of the METI Minister’s Award.

METI Minister's Award

Title:

Mobile Robot LD/HD Series

Winner:

OMRON Corporation

Outline:

It has an automated driving function that allows it to drive while avoiding people and obstacles and ensuring safety, and it is able to manage up to 100 vehicles at once using operation management software. It does not require create of CAD data of factories in which it navigates, and it scans the surrounding environment by running the introduction route and automatically generates a map which it uses for navigation. It is also easy to use, so even users who are not familiar with robots can easily give transportation instructions. By using mobile robots to carry out simple tasks such as transportation, delivery, and routing, people can focus on more valuable tasks.

Reasons for the selection:

It boasts a high completion level, functioning as multiple AMR (Autonomous Mobile Robot) platforms. It creates a practical system by combining individual technologies (e.g., SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping), obstacle avoidance). There are already more than 3,000 units in 40 countries, making significant contributions to improving productivity at production sites. This transport platform is expected to be applied in various fields in the future in collaboration with System Integrators

3. Commendation ceremony and joint exhibition

The commendation ceremony and joint exhibition for the Tenth Robot Awards will be held at the Japan Robot Week 2022 venue from October 19 (Wed.) to 21 (Fri.), 2022. The venue is Tokyo Big Sight (3-11-1, Ariake, Koto City, Tokyo) West Halls 3 and 4).

Commendation ceremony

Date: October 19 (Wed.), 2022, 10:30 to 12:00
Venue: Tokyo Big Sight West, Hall 4, main stage

Joint exhibition of award-winning robots

Date: October 19 (Wed.) to 21 (Fri.), 2022, 10:00 to 17:00
Venue: Tokyo Big Sight West Hall 3 at Japan Robot Week 2022
           The Tenth Robot Awards joint exhibition booth (Booth number J-01)

(Reference)
Japan Robot Week 2022: Website
Date: October 19 (Wed.) to 21 (Fri.), 2022, 10:00 to 17:00
Venue: Tokyo Big Sight, West Halls 3 and 4
Organizers: Japan Robot Association and Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun

Related materials

Division in Charge

Robotics Policy Office, Industrial Machinery Division, Manufacturing Industries Bureau

Related website