The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Japan Machinery Federation (JMF) will hold the Ninth Robot Awards in collaboration with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). METI hereby announces that they will start a call for applicants on April 7, 2019.
Overview
The Robot Awards program is an award initiative aiming to facilitate the development of robot technologies and the social implementation of robots in Japan. This program will recognize outstanding companies and other organizations engaging in efforts for pioneering use, research and development, human resource development and other actions involving excellent robots and other advanced technologies which are expected to significantly contribute to creating new markets in the future. Inaugurated in FY2006 as the first awards program, the Robots Awards program has been held once every other year since FY2008, and this will be the ninth program this year.
Target fields, types of awards and other information
METI and JMF will call for applicants from nine fields including: monodzukuri; services; ICT utilization; nursing care, medical care and health; infrastructures, disaster responses and construction; and agriculture, forestry and fishery industries and food industries. In addition, it will also call for applicants from seven categories including: business and social implementation; and robot application systems.
Applicants’ robots and other advanced technologies will be sorted through a primary screening (document examination) and secondary screening (field survey and presentation examination), and then winners will be finalized around the fall of 2020 for: [i] Minister’s Awards (by the respective ministers concerned); [ii] SME Venture Awards (SMEA Commissioner’s Awards); [iii] JMF President’s Awards; [iv] Excellence Awards; and [v] Examiner Special Awards.
Future schedule
- April 7 (Tue.), 2020: Call for applicants begins
- June 5 (Fri.), 2020: Call ends
- Around the fall of 2020: Decide on and publicize winners of the awards, including the Minister’s Awards.
