Tomy’s i-SOBOT, which the company just discontinued, was named Robot of the Year in Japan by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) .

Judges awarded this year’s Grand Prize to i-SOBOT due to its advanced technology, its high entertainment value, and its reasonable price of under 30,000 yen (around $300). Equipped with 17 miniature servo motors and a set of gyro sensors for balance, the 350-gram (12 oz), 16.5-centimeter (6.5 in) programmable humanoid can walk, play air guitar, dance the hula, and perform 200 other moves. The tiny hobby robot is also equipped with a set of gyro sensors for balance, and it can be controlled via remote control or simple voice commands. The robot runs for about an hour on 4 AAA batteries.

Recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as “The smallest humanoid robot in production, i-SOBOT is currently available in the United States from Hammacher Schlemmer for $99 as well as Amazon.

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 for their outstanding service this year and contribution to and potential for future market development.

Here are all winners:

Category: Service robots

Omnibot17µ i-sobot from Takara Tomy

“Booktime” from Nishizawa [JP], an automatic page turner

Rice-transplanting robot from Japan’s National Agriculture and Food Research Organization

Robotics-based engineer training solution ZMP e-nuvo from ZMP

Category: Industrial robots

Small assembly conveyance robot XR-G from Denso Wave

10th generation LCD glass substrate processing robot MOTOMAN-CDL 3000D from Yaskawa Electric

Category: Other robots and parts

Hose-shaped rescue robot from Tohoku University

Ultra-small MEMS 3-axial touch sensor chip from the University of Tokyo and Panasonic

The METI will select winners of the Grand Prize and the Venture Award for SMEs from these robots and announce them December 18.