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- Announcement of the Winners in the 11th Robot Awards Program
Announcement of the Winners in the 11th Robot Awards Program
A commendation ceremony and exhibition to be held featuring robots that are expected to play an active role in the future
September 11, 2024
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Japan Machinery Federation (JMF) selected the winners in the 11th 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 Wednesday, September 18, 2024, a commendation ceremony for and exhibition of the winning robots will be held at the Japan Robot Week 2024 venue (organized by the Japan Robot Association and Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, Ltd.).
1. Outline
The Robot Awards program is an initiative 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 competition was held in FY2006. As the program has been held once every two years since FY2008, this year’s program is the 11th such event.
2. Results of the examination
From among the 85 applicants that applied during the period of the call from February 19 to April 12, 2024, the 11th 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 in the 11th Robot Awards program as shown in the Appendix.
METI selected the robot called "Full-fledged, highly accurate processing robot M-800: Large-scale but world's smallest processing machine" developed by FANUC Corporation as the winner of the METI Minister’s Award and selected "KUMADE-FORK (EC Series)" developed by Harmotec Corporation as the winner of the SMEA Commissioner’s Award (SME Venture Award).
METI Minister’s Award
Title:
Full-fledged, highly accurate processing robot M-800: Large-scale but world's smallest processing machine
Winner:
FANUC Corporation
Outline:
This robot is a highly accurate, 6-axis articulated robot capable of providing highly accurate processing, which was difficult to achieve with conventional processing machines. It is equipped with a highly rigid arm that can withstand large processing reaction forces in spite of its 60kg payload capacity, thereby achieving high trajectory accuracy. Its highly accurate calibration technology corrects errors of the arm, and this achieves absolute accuracy of ±0.1mm or less. In addition to highly accurate laser cutting and water jet processing, the robot is capable of maintaining high accuracy even when it receives processing reaction forces. Accordingly, it is capable of full-scale cutting, surface processing, and drilling processing, among other applications. As its installation space is minimal despite its wide operating range, it is capable of processing targets from a variety of directions, providing users with compact, economic equipment. The robot has increasingly been applied in processing automobile and aircraft parts, and it has achieved long-term stable operation even in harsh environments.
Reasons for the selection:
This robot is characterized by high rigidity, extremely high-level absolute positioning accuracy, and is able to maintain highly accurate operation even under the influence of processing reaction forces, all of which have been achieved with world-class technology. The robot is capable of performing various processing operations, which was impossible to achieve with conventional robots, and it is already being utilized in the automobile and aircraft industries. The space-saving effect and cost reduction that the robot delivers are outstanding, and more and more industries are expected to begin utilizing the robot, with the horizontal deployment of technologies that have been implemented by the robot being highly anticipated.
SMEA Commissioner’s Award (SME Venture Award)
Title:
KUMADE-FORK (EC Series)
Winner:
Harmotec Corporation
Outline:
This robot hand is capable of gently transporting a fragile, ultra-thin wafer by generating a wide range of negative pressures using a combination of a Bernoulli hand and an ejector technology. This technology is highly recognized, particularly in the field of power device manufacturing, and has been introduced in some major companies. The new EC series is capable of non-contact transport of a wafer, taking the curves and bends of the wafer into account. The series is adaptable to the manufacture of next-generation power semiconductors, as an effort to achieve carbon neutrality and a decarbonized society. As it has no consumable parts, no maintenance costs are incurred. Furthermore, the company is looking to apply the robot hand in other fields in addition to semiconductors. It has already demonstrated the technology’s capacity to transport a fragile product without damaging it in the food industry. This robot hand is expected to be applied in the field of automation in the future.
Reasons for the selection:
This robot hand is an unprecedented technology capable of not only attracting and fixing but also turning over a large, thin wafer—which was difficult to carry by conventional methods—without coming into contact with it. Taking advantage of the governmental program to promote and distribute patents, the company received a transfer of an unused patent right and successfully commercialized the patented technology. The market for semiconductor manufacturing is expected to expand in the future backed by the demand for semiconductor chips, e.g., for AI. This technology is unique to the applicant company and is expected to bring about a high ripple effect in the industrial field going forward.
3. Commendation ceremony and joint exhibition
The commendation ceremony for and joint exhibition of the 11th Robot Awards will be held as part of the Japan Robot Week 2024 from Wednesday, September 18, to Friday, September 20, 2024, at East Exhibition Halls 4 to 6, Tokyo Big Sight (3-11-1 Ariake, Koto Ward, Tokyo) as follows.
Commendation ceremony
Date: Wednesday, September 18, 2024, from 10:30 to 12:00
Venue: Main Stage, East Exhibition Hall 6, Tokyo Big Sight
Joint exhibition of award-winning robots
Date: From Wednesday, September 18, to Friday, September 20, 2024, from 10:00 to 17:00
Venue: East Exhibition Halls 4 to 6, Tokyo Big Sight, as part of Japan Robot Week 2024
The 11th Robot Awards joint exhibition booth (Booth number J-35)
Reference
Japan Robot Week 2024
Date: From Wednesday, September 18, to Friday, September 20, 2024, from 10:00 to 17:00
Venue: East Exhibition Halls 4 to 6, Tokyo Big Sight (including other side events)
Organizers:
Related Material
Related Link
Division in Charge
Robotics Policy Office, Industrial Machinery Division, Manufacturing Industries Bureau