Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：Springer Nature Switzerland  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-031-91179-8_5

researchmap

Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：Springer Nature Switzerland  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-031-91151-4_48

researchmap

Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Robotics Society of Japan  

DOI： 10.7210/jrsj.43.319

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：Springer Nature Switzerland  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-031-64553-2_4

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：Springer Nature Switzerland  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-031-64553-2_32

researchmap

Authorship：Last author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：IOP Publishing  

Abstract

The non-linearity of shape memory alloy’s (SMA) input vs. output relationship has been a significant barrier to their broader application for actuators. In this article, we introduce a novel activation approach with the objective of improving the output nonlinearity in SMA actuators by using a liquid temperature gradient for activation. This gradient, with a narrow inflection point, selectively activates and deactivates different portions of the SMA, allowing control of the overall actuator’s output by adjusting the inflection point’s position. Two prototypes with the proposed concept were constructed and tested for force and displacement output. Their inner shape design facilitates the creation of a temperature gradient, whose inflection point is adjusted by varying the mix ratio of the inlet of hot and cold water. The performance of the prototypes was evaluated, including their ability to generate a temperature gradient, output linearity, activation dead time and time constant, and compatibility with a linear controller. The output linearity, activation dead time, and time constant were also compared with traditional wet activation. Our findings suggest that this technique significantly enhances the performance and predictability of SMA-based actuators and is compatible with PID controllers without additional feedforward or modeling techniques, offering a practical solution to a long-standing challenge in the field.

DOI： 10.1088/1361-665x/ad5e4e

researchmap

Other Link： https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-665X/ad5e4e/pdf

Authorship：Last author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：IEEE  

DOI： 10.1109/sii58957.2024.10417629

researchmap

Publishing type：Part of collection (book)   Publisher：Springer Nature Switzerland  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-031-32322-5_34

researchmap

Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1109/LRA.2022.3144778

Web of Science

researchmap

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-030-91892-7_57

researchmap

Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.3390/machines9010014

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：Japanese   Publisher：The Robotics Society of Japan  

This paper describes the kinematics, motion planning and mechanism optimization of the dual-arm type cable traversing robot on spatially-structured cable way. Since the inverse kinematics cannot be perfectly defined due to one of the orientation parameters is determined by static condition, its inverse kinematics algorithm utilizing both the kinematics of 3R serial spherical mechanism and the static equilibrium condition of the whole system was developed. The motion planning method to traverse cable node is based on the kinematics and Spherical Linear Interpolation using quaternion. Furthermore, mechanism optimization for avoidance of collision with cables and improvement of characteristics is also conducted.

DOI： 10.7210/jrsj.39.767

CiNii Research

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：Springer Science and Business Media B.V.  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-030-55807-9_69

Scopus

researchmap

Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.3390/robotics9040096

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：English  

CiNii Research

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：Springer Science and Business Media B.V.  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-030-30036-4_16

Scopus

researchmap

Language：Japanese   Publisher：The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers  

In order to realize a high speed and high space use efficiency transportation system in a vertical plane, authors conceived a concept to compose the system by multiple vertical rails and multiple self-propelled loading platforms so that such platforms can independently move along each rail and transfer between them. This paper focuses on the design of drive mechanism for such a self-propelled loading platform utilizing the friction force between the rail and the driving wheels. In order to enable to generate a large grip force enough to support and move the platform with payload without using additional actuators while flat rails with small unevenness and gaps are used, the following three principles of operation are applied: the friction drive wheels with less vibration and noise, grip force generation using self-servo effect, and wheel load equalizing based on the rocker-bogie. Through the kineto-static analysis of the proposed mechanism, the relationship between the design parameters such as the angle of the self-servo link and the dimensions of the wheel load equalizer link, operating conditions such as the loading weight, the eccentricity of the center of gravity, and the inclination of the body, and the grip force and the wheel load is studied, and the design parameters and their tendency which enable to run vertically have been clarified. Furthermore, based on the knowledge obtained through the analysis, a prototype was designed, and the stable and high-speed vertical running and running over unevenness and gap has been successfully achieved. From the above, it was shown that the design of drive mechanism based on the principle proposed in this paper was effective as the mechanism that can run on flat vertical rail.

DOI： 10.1299/transjsme.20-00141

CiNii Research

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.  

DOI： 10.1109/IROS40897.2019.8967618

Scopus

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1007/S12369-019-00594-Z

Web of Science

researchmap

Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：MDPI AG  

This paper proposes a new shape memory alloy (SMA)-driven compliant rotary actuator that can perform both passive and self-actuated motions. This SMA actuator is suitable as a redundant actuation part in a parallel robot joint to assist with singularity postures where the robot might lose the ability to maintain the position and orientation of the end effector. The double helical compliant joint (DHCJ) was chosen as a candidate mechanism; it can act in soft compliance with linear characteristics and a wide range of motion. The experimental results validated that the proposed model can be used to simulate the DHCJ behavior. The use of this mechanism exhibits advantages such as one-axis rotational motion, linear behavior even for a compliant mechanism, stiffness in the other axes of motion, and compact size. SMA leaves (strips) were used as actuation parts, and a single SMA leaf was tested before combining with the double helical frame as an SMA actuator. The prototype was fabricated, and necessary parameters such as deflection angle, temperature, torque, and stress–strain were collected to define the model for a controller. This actuator is controlled by a feedforward controller and provides rotational motion for both forward and reverse sides with a maximal range of 40 degrees.

DOI： 10.3390/robotics8010012

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：Springer Science and Business Media B.V.  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-030-17677-8_17

Scopus

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Part of collection (book)   Publisher：Springer International Publishing  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-319-78963-7_33

Scopus

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：Springer Science and Business Media B.V.  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-030-00365-4_20

Scopus

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：Springer Science and Business Media B.V.  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-030-20751-9_35

Scopus

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.  

DOI： 10.1109/IROS.2017.8206539

Scopus

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-319-33714-2_21

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1007/s12369-015-0287-x

Web of Science

Scopus

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.20965/jrm.2013.p1097

Web of Science

Scopus

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：IEEE  

DOI： 10.1109/MHS.2011.6102237

Scopus

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/IROS.2012.6385747

Web of Science

researchmap

Authorship：Last author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：IEEE  

DOI： 10.1109/robio66223.2025.11376001

researchmap

Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Cambridge University Press (CUP)  

Abstract

Sit-to-stand (STS) motion is an essential daily activity. However, this motion becomes increasingly difficult for older adults as their muscle strength declines with age. To assist individuals in standing up while maximizing their muscle strength based on the assist-as-needed (AAN) strategy, assistive devices must detect early STS intent, specifically before the buttocks leave the chair, to ensure timely assistance. This study proposes a novel method for detecting STS intent by applying external mechanical stimuli to the toes and analyzing the resulting changes in heel and toe-reaction forces. Moreover, a structured detection framework was developed by utilizing predefined thresholds for the change rate and magnitude of the heel and toe-reaction forces to detect STS intent. Offline tests for threshold setting of STS-intent detection were established in the offline tests: change rate and magnitude of the reaction forces on the heel and toes. The thresholds for each criterion were determined using the Pareto optimization method. Using the determined thresholds, these criteria were then applied in online tests to evaluate the performance of the proposed intent detection method. The results demonstrated that mechanical stimuli improved the performance of STS-intent detection, providing accurate and stable detection. This method can be applied to STS-assistive devices to effectively implement AAN functionality for standing assistance.

DOI： 10.1017/s0263574725102555

researchmap

Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Elsevier BV  

DOI： 10.1016/j.mechmachtheory.2024.105908

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Frontiers Media SA  

Introduction

Transferring a patient from one place to another is one of the most strenuous works in nursing care. To address this issue, we proposed a concept for a lifting assistance device that uses two cables to perform operations such as translation, rotation, and stay. It facilitates direct touch between the caregiver and the care receiver, allowing intuitive adjustments of position and posture based on the caregiver’s intention, detected through variations in cable tension.

Methods

To investigate the effectiveness of this concept, lifting experiments using a fabricated prototype were conducted. Twelve subjects, including four physical therapists (PTs) and eight subjects having no transfer experience, acted as caregivers, and a dummy was used as the care receiver.

Results

Results show that regardless of the transfer experience, the caregiver’s intention detection and adjustment of the care receiver’s position and posture were successfully achieved with an accuracy of over 70%.

Discussion

Survey feedback collected after the lifting experiments confirmed that utilizing direct touch between the caregiver and the care receiver was highly valued by all subjects, with a 5-point Likert scale rating both PTs (average score: 4.8 points) and non-experienced subjects (average score: 4.3 points).

DOI： 10.3389/fbioe.2025.1556501

researchmap

Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：IEEE  

DOI： 10.1109/icm62621.2025.10934949

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Part of collection (book)   Publisher：Springer Nature Switzerland  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-031-67383-2_21

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：Springer Nature Switzerland  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-031-64569-3_9

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：IEEE  

DOI： 10.1109/embc53108.2024.10782645

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：IEEE  

DOI： 10.1109/embc53108.2024.10782011

researchmap

Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：IEEE  

DOI： 10.1109/amc58169.2024.10505443

researchmap

Publishing type：Part of collection (book)   Publisher：Springer Nature Switzerland  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-031-45770-8_76

researchmap

Publishing type：Part of collection (book)   Publisher：Springer Nature Switzerland  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-031-45770-8_70

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：Springer Nature Switzerland  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-031-32439-0_17

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：Springer Nature Switzerland  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-031-32439-0_18

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：IEEE  

DOI： 10.1109/ichms56717.2022.9980804

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：IEEE  

DOI： 10.1109/icma54519.2022.9856166

researchmap

Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：Springer International Publishing  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-031-10776-4_29

researchmap

Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：Springer International Publishing  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-031-08140-8_25

researchmap

Language：Japanese   Publisher：The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers  

In order to develop a cable-driven continuum robot having a large workspace without using a large number of segments, which leads to construction complexity and requires the use of many actuators, this paper presents a mechanism design for increasing the orientation workspace volume of a one-segment continuum robot by realizing multiple elastic rod shapes of different lengths, which have one inflection point. The proposed design is that an elastic rod of variable length is used as a backbone and two cables are routed in parallel to the elastic rod and the other two cables are connected to the tip of the elastic rod attachment point on the end disk. This design was obtained by deriving cable routings that meet the necessary conditions for the elastic rod to be in static equilibrium in the shape with one inflection point. Then, numerical analysis and experiments were performed to investigate the effectiveness of the proposed design on the increase of the orientation workspace volume. Considering that the length of the elastic rod is variable and the elastic rod deforms into the shape with one inflection point, the procedure for static analysis to derive the relationship between the length of the elastic rod, each cable tension and the position, orientation of the end disk, was presented. By this procedure, forward and inverse static analyses were conducted. Through the numerical calculation of the orientation workspace based on the static analysis, it was shown that the orientation workspace volume was increased by the proposed design. Furthermore, using the experimental apparatus based on the proposed design, a large orientation workspace was realized and measured configurations were in good agreement with the numerical calculation results.

DOI： 10.1299/transjsme.22-00205

CiNii Research

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Part of collection (book)   Publisher：Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-030-58380-4_41

Scopus

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：Springer International Publishing  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-030-58380-4_62

Scopus

researchmap

Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：MDPI AG  

Our research aims at developing a meal-assistance robot with vision system and multi-gripper that enables frail elderly to live more independently. This paper presents a development of a chopstick-type gripper for a meal-assistance robot, which is capable of adapting its shape and contact force with the target food according to the size and the stiffness. By solely using position control of the driving motor, the above feature is enabled without relying on force sensors. The gripper was designed based on the concept of planar 2-DOF under-actuated mechanism composed of a pair of four-bar chains having a torsion spring at one of the passive joints. To clarify the gripping motion and relationship among the contact force, food’s size and stiffness, and gripping position, kineto-elasto-static analysis of the mechanism was carried out. It was found from the result of the analysis that the mechanism was able to change its gripping force according to the contact position with the target object, and this mechanical characteristic was utilized in its grasp planning in which the position for the gripping the object was determined to realize a simple control system, and sensitivity of the contact force due to the error of the stiffness value was revealed. Using a three-dimensional (3D) printed prototype, an experiment to measure the gripping force by changing the contact position was conducted to validate the mechanism feature that can change its gripping force according to the size and the stiffness and the contact force from the analysis results. Finally, the gripper prototype was implemented to a 6-DOF robotic arm and an experiment to grasp real food was carried out to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed grasp planning.

DOI： 10.3390/robotics9030050

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Part of collection (book)   Publisher：Elsevier  

DOI： 10.1016/B978-0-12-815659-9.00002-0

Scopus

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：Springer Science and Business Media B.V.  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-319-98020-1_28

Scopus

researchmap

Language：Japanese   Publisher：The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers  

Origami Spring is one of the extendable Origamis which changes from a flat to a tower configuration. The important feature of the Origami Spring is that its whole structure simultaneously extends/contracts with a slight bending as a parasitic motion of the extension/contraction when only one of the segments is actuated. Therefore, such an observed macro motion of the Origami Spring can be regarded as a single DOF motion. Based on its folding diagram, the mobility of the Origami Spring was revealed to be three by the kinematic model obtained with regarding its folds as revolute joints. In order to figure out the discrepancy between the observation and mobility analysis, kinematic analysis of the Origami Spring has been carried out taking into consideration the collision and deformation of components. As the result of the analysis, it was clarified that the Origami Spring has actually three DOFs while one of the three DOFs generates a simple extension-contraction motion and the other two DOFs contribute to adjustments of its configuration to avoid collision of components within a small motion range. It was also presented that the observed behavior of the Origami Spring during extension and contraction can be explained by the internal energy based on deformation of components. Finally, the observed single DOF macro motion is reproduced with a model in which the deformation of the components is considered.

DOI： 10.1299/transjsme.19-00005

CiNii Research

researchmap

Other Link： https://kaken.nii.ac.jp/grant/KAKENHI-PROJECT-17H03162/

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：Springer Science and Business Media B.V.  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-030-00329-6_15

Scopus

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：Springer Science and Business Media B.V.  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-030-20131-9_33

Scopus

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.  

DOI： 10.1109/ROBIO.2017.8324423

Scopus

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.  

DOI： 10.1109/ROBIO.2017.8324740

Scopus

researchmap

Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers  

DOI： 10.1299/jamdsm.2018jamdsm0017

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.  

DOI： 10.1109/AIM.2017.8014216

Scopus

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-319-45450-4_19

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：Japanese   Publisher：The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers  

In order to improve living space for stable walks by elderly people, this paper discussed assessment of living space with unique-shaped support objects. Four evaluation indices expressing capability of balance recovery corresponding to the support object were derived based on directionality of generative force by human's upper extremity and directionality of reaction force depending on surface shapes of the objects. Experiments were carried out to (1) obtain the parameters necessary to calculate the proposed indices and (2) carry out organoleptic evaluation of the support objects. Compared to the results obtained in these experiments (1) and (2), effects of the proposed indices were discussed, and an effective index among the four for evaluating the effect of the support objects was clarified. Assessment of a support object using the index was shown as an example.

DOI： 10.1299/transjsme.17-00282

DOI： 10.1299/transjsme.20-00063_references_DOI_BUanKVw96OyLzpeRFvLrokqy8fI

CiNii Research

researchmap

Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)  

DOI： 10.1109/lra.2015.2507705

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.12700/APH.13.1.2016.1.14

Web of Science

Scopus

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Part of collection (book)   Publisher：Springer International Publishing  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-319-33714-2_45

Scopus

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte Ltd  

DOI： 10.1142/9789813149137_0061

Scopus

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-319-33714-2_7

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1088/1748-3190/10/5/056011

Scopus

PubMed

researchmap

Language：English   Publisher：The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers  

Locomotive performance is one of the most important issues for land-based mobile robots, which is designed to be used in natural environment, such as grass fields or forests. We propose a novel method to change outer shape of the robot to increase locomotive performance in natural environment. The robots, which are designed using this method, does not require additional actuators, while conventional mobile robots obtain higher locomotive performance in natural environment using multiple actuators. The objective of this study is to propose a novel design method of outer shape of mobile robots, which is inspired from "icebreakers". Through experiments, we confirmed that locomotive performance is greatly affected by outer shape of mobile robots.

DOI： 10.1299/jsmeicam.2015.6.161

CiNii Books

researchmap

Language：English   Publisher：The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers  

In recent years, demands for outdoor mobile robots, such as those for agriculture or environmental monitoring, are increasing. Power supply is one of the most important considerations for these robots, and autonomous battery charging system can be one solution. The objective of this study is to develop a prototype battery charging system for outdoor mobile robots, using wireless power transmission technology. We developed a battery charging station and a power receiver for a mobile robot. The receiver coil was implemented in WAMOT-2, which had been developed for the monitoring. Operation of the system was verified through an experiment.

DOI： 10.1299/jsmeicam.2015.6.110

CiNii Books

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1109/TMECH.2014.2356595

Web of Science

Scopus

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

Web of Science

researchmap

DOI： 10.1109/ROBIO.2014.7090590

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/ICRA.2014.6906972

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：Japanese   Publisher：Robotics Society of Japan  

In this article, an extended Kalman filter based estimation method is proposed for positional relationships between a vehicle and robots for a car transportation system using two robots. This system lifts only the two front wheels of a front wheel drive vehicle, which is commonly used and cannot move automatically, and positions it. Therefore, the system can be made more compact than previous car transportation systems using multiple robots. To control the system transporting cars, some parameters related to positional relationships between robots and a car's nonholonomic constraints are required. However, it is difficult to obtain accurate positional relationships using laser range scanners because the car's body is complexly curved and hides one robot from another.<br>
This estimation method uses force sensors and encoders on robots instead of laser range scanners. A force based cooperative transportation control enables the system to transport cars with nonholonomic constraints without positional relationships. The positional relationships between the robots and conditions of a car's nonholonomic constraints are derived by the extended Kalman filter and a state space model relating robotic motions and positional relationships.

DOI： 10.7210/jrsj.31.816

CiNii Books

CiNii Research

researchmap

Language：Japanese   Publisher：The Society of Instrument and Control Engineers  

In this article, a new car transportation system which consists of two MRWheels (a Mobile Robot for a Wheel) is proposed. The system grasps only two front wheels of a front-wheel-drive vehicle and positions it. Therefore, it is possible that the system make smaller than the previous car transportation systems using multiple robots. However, the system has nonholonomic constraints because rear wheels of the vehicle are not lifted by the system. And it is necessary to transport vehicles that the system lifting front wheels knows their rear wheels' position. Therefore, to transport the vehicle, a motion control algorithm for the system and a vehicle's wheelbase estimate algorithm by mechanical interaction are proposed. First, a motion control algorithm based on the chained system is illustrated. Next, the system is applied Impedance Control to achieve the passive motion along its nonholonomic constraints when it doesn't know the vehicle's size. After that, the wheelbase estimate algorithm based on Impedance Control and its convergence are described. Finally, through preliminary experiments, the concept of the system is illustrated and the effectiveness of proposed algorithm is confirmed.

DOI： 10.9746/sicetr.48.373

CiNii Books

CiNii Research

researchmap

Language：Japanese   Publisher：The Society of Instrument and Control Engineers  

The authors proposed a car transportation system, iCART (intelligent Cooperative Autonomous Robot Transporters), for automation of mechanical parking systems by two mobile robots. However, it was difficult to downsize the mobile robot because the length of it requires at least the wheelbase of a car. This paper proposes a new car transportation system, iCART II (iCART - type II), based on “a-robot-for-a-wheel” concept. A prototype system, MRWheel (a Mobile Robot for a Wheel), is designed and downsized less than half the conventional robot. First, a method for lifting up a wheel by MRWheel is described. In general, it is very difficult for mobile robots such as MRWheel to move to desired positions without motion errors caused by slipping, etc. Therefore, we propose a follower's motion error estimation algorithm based on the internal force applied to each follower by extending a conventional leader-follower type decentralized control algorithm for cooperative object transportation. The proposed algorithm enables followers to estimate their motion errors and enables the robots to transport a car to a desired position. In addition, we analyze and prove the stability and convergence of the resultant system with the proposed algorithm. In order to extract only the internal force from the force applied to each robot, we also propose a model-based external force compensation method. Finally, proposed methods are applied to the car transportation system, the experimental results confirm their validity.

DOI： 10.9746/sicetr.48.389

CiNii Books

CiNii Research

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：CISM-IFToMM  

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/ICRA.2012.6225291

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/IROS.2012.6386043

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/AIM.2012.6266040

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/ROBIO.2012.6491240

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：Japanese   Publisher：The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers  

This paper describes derivation of required torques and selection of actuators and reduction gears for a multi-wheel stair-climbing wheelchair. Based on the necessity of mobility aid technology with "minimal invasiveness for use in an historical environment" for elderly and handicapped people, a multi-wheel stair climbing mechanism with variable configuration four-bar linkage has been proposed in first report. Reduction gear ratios for transformation and for driving can be made different values in proposed mechanism. In this paper, derivation of required torques in stair climbing, driving slope and getting across a ditch is illustrated. And based on these torques, motors, brakes and reduction gears are selected.

DOI： 10.1299/jsmermd.2012._2a2-m05_1

CiNii Research

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/ROBIO.2012.6491241

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers  

DOI： 10.1299/kikaic.77.4204

Scopus

CiNii Research

researchmap

Language：Japanese   Publisher：Robotics Society of Japan  

This paper proposes the concept of a novel multi-wheel stair-climbing wheelchair. The necessity for mobility aid technology for elderly and handicapped people that has ``minimal invasiveness for use in an historical environment'' are described. With this goal in mind, a prototype of a novel wheelchair having a stair-climbing function resulting from transformable wheeled four-bar linkages is proposed, and the principle of operation, mechanism design, kinematics, statics and basic performance confirmed through a experiment are illustrated in this paper.

DOI： 10.7210/jrsj.29.599

CiNii Books

CiNii Research

researchmap

Other Link： https://jlc.jst.go.jp/DN/JALC/00377663105?from=CiNii

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/ICRA.2011.5979974

Scopus

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/ICRA.2011.5979974

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/IROS.2011.6094889

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/AIM.2011.6027075

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：Japanese   Publisher：The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers  

We have been developing a novel human-friendly/cooperative work support robot. This system named PaDY (in-time Parts/tools Delivery to You robot) supports worker by delivering parts and tools to worker based on statistical analysis of the worker's work in an automobile assembly line to reduce the worker's physical workload and improve work efficiency. In this paper, the quantitative evaluation of the effectiveness in this system is proposed.

DOI： 10.1299/jsmermd.2011._2a1-b05_1

CiNii Research

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Fuji Technology Press  

DOI： 10.20965/jrm.2011.p0338

Scopus

researchmap

Language：Japanese   Publisher：The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers  

A vehicle transportation system by grasping vehicle's drive wheels, which consists of two omni-directional mobile robots, has been proposed. In this article, a novel decentralized cooperation control algorithm for the system maneuvering a vehicle with nonholonomic constraints is proposed, because several conventional decentralized cooperation control theories with force control are developed for maneuvering holonomic objects. First, the system configuration and a mobile robot for a wheel are illustrated. Next, the decentralized cooperation control algorithm based on the impedance control and on the caster-like motion algorithm is described. Finally, the effectiveness of the algorithm is examined through preliminary experiments by using a front-wheel-drive vehicle.

DOI： 10.1299/jsmermd.2011._2a1-q14_1

CiNii Research

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

researchmap

Publisher：VDE Verlag  

researchmap

Other Link： http://dblp.uni-trier.de/db/conf/isr/isr2010.html#conf/isr/KashiwazakiSIKKY10

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers  

DOI： 10.1299/kikaic.76.103

Scopus

CiNii Books

CiNii Research

researchmap

Other Link： https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/kikaic1979/76/761/76_KJ00005982939/_pdf

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-642-14743-2_15

Web of Science

Scopus

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/ROBOT.2010.5509390

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/IROS.2010.5648906

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/IROS.2010.5649875

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

researchmap

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers  

DOI： 10.1299/kikaic.75.2028

Scopus

CiNii Books

CiNii Research

researchmap

Other Link： http://hdl.handle.net/10097/52834

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/IROS.2009.5354517

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/ROBOT.2009.5152785

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-642-00644-9_27

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/AIM.2009.5230020

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/AIM.2009.5229895

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.20965/JRM.2008.P0775

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Fuji Technology Press Ltd.  

Biped walking is easily adapted to rough terrain such as stairs and stony paths, but speed and energy efficiency on flat surfaces is less effective than wheeled locomotion. We propose new control for swizzling by biped walking robots using inline skates. Swizzling uses friction force generated by regular passive wheel movement. Our proposal is based on the reaction force on the foot, and new reference position is changed based on reaction force not to be large internal force. Through hardware experiments, the effectiveness of the proposed method was confirmed.

DOI： 10.20965/jrm.2008.p0413

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/BIOROB.2008.4762844

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：Japanese   Publisher：Robotics Society of Japan  

Many researchers have been studying on walking control methods for biped robots. However, the effectiveness of these control methods was not verified in outdoor environments such as pedestrian roads and gravel roads. In this paper, a landing pattern modification method adaptable to uneven terrain in a real environment is proposed which is based on a predictive attitude compensation control and a nonlinear compliance control. This method does not require any other sensors except force sensors. Also, a new biped foot system is described, which can form larger support polygons on uneven terrain than conventional biped foot systems. Using the pattern modification method and the foot system, WL-16R11 (Waseda Leg - No. 16 Refined II) achieved a stable walk on bumpy terrain with 20 mm height and 10 degrees inclination. Furthermore, a stable dynamic walk was realized in outdoor environment, when a human rode it. Through various walking experiments, the effectiveness of the method is confirmed.

DOI： 10.7210/jrsj.25.851

CiNii Books

CiNii Research

researchmap

Other Link： https://jlc.jst.go.jp/DN/JALC/00299748997?from=CiNii

Language：Japanese   Publisher：Robotics Society of Japan  

This paper describes a passive dynamic model of a passenger for a biped walking vehicle. The model consists of a lower-limb's model fixed on the robot's waist and a particle model of an upper body connected to the robot's waist through springs and dampers. The stiffness and damping coefficients are verified through waist-shaking experiments by using a force/torque sensor under the seat that is mounted on the robot's waist. A walking pattern generation that enables stable walking even if a passenger sits naturally on the seat is also described. This stable walking pattern is generated by an iteration method based on Fourier Transformation. The effectiveness of the proposed method is confirmed through walking experiments.

DOI： 10.7210/jrsj.25.842

CiNii Books

CiNii Research

researchmap

Other Link： https://kaken.nii.ac.jp/grant/KAKENHI-PROJECT-16760208/

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.20965/JRM.2007.P0272

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/IROS.2007.4399285

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/ROBOT.2007.363594

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/ROBOT.2007.363591

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：IEEE  

DOI： 10.1109/ROBOT.2006.1641874

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1109/ROBOT.2006.1641875

researchmap

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Doctoral thesis  

researchmap

Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

CiNii Research

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1109/BIOROB.2006.1639090

Web of Science

CiNii Research

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/IROS.2006.282213

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/IROS.2006.281695

Web of Science

researchmap

Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

CiNii Research

researchmap

Language：Japanese   Publisher：The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers  

This paper describes one method to stop suddenly and safely without falling for biped walking robots. It can be implemented with only hardware and without a computer system. This method consists of a braking function attached to leg actuators and a fall avoidance mechanism attached to the robot's foot. Using the human-carrying biped locomotor WL-16RII (Waseda Leg - No.16 Refined II), the effectiveness of the method proposed in this paper was confirmed through an emergency stopping experiment during walking, while carrying a heavy load.

DOI： 10.1299/jsmermd.2006._2p1-b12_1

CiNii Research

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1109/ROBOT.2005.1570403

Web of Science

CiNii Research

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1109/IROS.2005.1545185

Web of Science

CiNii Research

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1109/ROBOT.2005.1570565

Web of Science

CiNii Research

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1109/IROS.2005.1545500

Web of Science

CiNii Research

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1109/IROS.2004.1389912

CiNii Research

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

CiNii Research

researchmap

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers  

DOI： 10.1299/kikaic.70.790

Scopus

CiNii Books

CiNii Research

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1109/ROBOT.2004.1307526

Web of Science

CiNii Research

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/ROBOT.2003.1242272

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/AIM.2003.1225471

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/AIM.2003.1225470

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/IROS.2003.1250694

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/ROMAN.2002.1045631

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

Web of Science

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/IRDS.2002.1041671

Web of Science

researchmap

Authorship：Lead author,　Last author,　Corresponding author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Article, review, commentary, editorial, etc. (scientific journal)   Publisher：日本知能情報ファジィ学会  

DOI： 10.3156/jsoft.31.1_13_1

CiNii Research

researchmap

J-GLOBAL

researchmap

Language：Japanese   Publisher：バイオメカニズム学会  

DOI： 10.3951/sobim.41.2_44

CiNii Research

researchmap

Other Link： http://t2r2.star.titech.ac.jp/cgi-bin/publicationinfo.cgi?q_publication_content_number=CTT100742302

J-GLOBAL

researchmap

Language：Japanese   Publisher：一般社団法人 日本機械学会  

DOI： 10.1299/jsmemag.115.1122_277_3

CiNii Research

researchmap

Authorship：Lead author,　Last author,　Corresponding author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Article, review, commentary, editorial, etc. (scientific journal)   Publisher：Japan Society for Design Engineering  

CiNii Books

CiNii Research

researchmap

Authorship：Lead author,　Last author,　Corresponding author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Article, review, commentary, editorial, etc. (scientific journal)   Publisher：Japan Society for Design Engineering  

CiNii Books

CiNii Research

researchmap

Language：Japanese   Publisher：The Robotics Society of Japan  

DOI： 10.7210/jrsj.26.38

researchmap

Language：Japanese   Publisher：一般社団法人 日本ロボット学会  

DOI： 10.7210/jrsj.25.325

CiNii Books

CiNii Research

researchmap

Publisher：The Robotics Society of Japan  

DOI： 10.7210/jrsj.25.374

CiNii Books

CiNii Research

researchmap

Event date： 2022.9

Language：Japanese  

researchmap

Event date： 2022.8

Language：Japanese  

identifier:oai:t2r2.star.titech.ac.jp:50631080

researchmap

Event date： 2022.8

Language：Japanese  

identifier:oai:t2r2.star.titech.ac.jp:50634036

researchmap

Event date： 2022.8

Language：Japanese  

identifier:oai:t2r2.star.titech.ac.jp:50634041

researchmap

Event date： 2022.8

Language：Japanese   Presentation type：Oral presentation (general)  

researchmap

Event date： 2022.7

Language：Japanese  

A fall prevention device that aims to protect user from injury when fall happens has been proposed. In the previous research, Origami Spring was proposed as an extendable mechanism to implement the fall prevention device and an extendable rigid link mechanism based on Origami Spring has been developed. However, the extendable mechanism was too large to equip for people because of the thickness of links and actuators. Also, the repeatability of its extension motion was rather low due to rattling and less constraints. In this research, improvement of portability of the extendable mechanism and repeatability has been investigated from mechanical design point of view. From the perspective of portability, a new prototype of the extendable mechanism has been fabricated by using thin links and thin actuators. As for the improvement of repeatability, constraint elements using spiral spring has been designed to implement desired relative motion between links. The feasibility of desired relative motion of the extendable mechanism was confirmed by kineto-static analysis of a planar model. Through experimental study of extension, effectiveness of proposed elements was validated.

researchmap

Event date： 2022.7

Language：English   Presentation type：Oral presentation (general)  

researchmap

Event date： 2022.6

Language：Japanese  

researchmap

Event date： 2022.6

Language：Japanese   Presentation type：Poster presentation  

Throwing is an effective means of delivering robots to locations that are difficult for humans to approach directly. For more efficient monitoring, it is sometimes desirable for a thrown robot to remain attached to a wall without bouncing back when it collides with it.The goal of this research is to develop a robot that can attach to rock and concrete walls using adhesive resin and metal claws. In this paper, the claw parts made of soft and hard materials based on the design principle of Asbeck[5] were repeatedly attached to rocks, and the adhesive force was measured and evaluated. As a result, the 6 claws were able to generate more than 1.5[N] of adhesive force with 88% probability.

researchmap

Event date： 2022.6

Language：Japanese  

identifier:oai:t2r2.star.titech.ac.jp:50617887

researchmap

Event date： 2022

Language：Japanese  

An independent arm type assist device is proposed to provide assistance to the ankle joint plantar flexion torque while being driven independently of the ankle joint motion. A structure of the device was proposed and the required specifications were determined using walking data. Based on these specifications, a redundant motor actuator for this assist device was designed with a focus on light weight and compactness. Using this actuator, a prototype of the assist device was designed, and the ankle joint plantar flexion torque assistance was investigated experimentally.

researchmap

Event date： 2022

Language：Japanese   Presentation type：Poster presentation  

In order to make assist devices light, compact and easy to customize, we proposed to apply redundant motors (RMs). RM consists of many small motors with reduction gears in parallel instead of one large geared motor. Thanks to the composition of RM, compact design will be enabled by arranging many small motors with in the allowable space, and its mass can be reduced by distributing load torque to multiple working teeth pairs. This paper presents a theoretical analysis result to show the mass-reduction principle of an actuator by RM concept. Practical design and construction of RM is discussed.

researchmap

Event date： 2021.12

Language：Japanese  

The water jet impact acoustic method is the wall inspection method to detect the concrete flaking by analyzing the sound generated by the water hit on the structure. The authors are developing the completely constrained planar CDPR (cable-driven parallel robot) to move and position the device for this method facing the wall. In general, the planar CDPR has relatively low rotational stiffness about the axes on the motion plane, which gives a non-negligible effect on the positioning accuracy of the water jet. Therefore, in this paper, the fin-like chains which mechanically improve the rotational stiffness about the axes on the motion plane are proposed. They are rigid-body chains, which can rotate only around the normal axis of the motion plane. The effect of the mechanism is discussed through the analysis using the stiffness matrix and the stiffness measurement experiments using the prototype.

researchmap

Event date： 2021.12

Language：Japanese  

identifier:oai:t2r2.star.titech.ac.jp:50602904

researchmap

Event date： 2021.11

Language：Japanese  

identifier:oai:t2r2.star.titech.ac.jp:50600754

researchmap

Event date： 2021.9

Language：Japanese  

identifier:oai:t2r2.star.titech.ac.jp:50596405

researchmap

Event date： 2021.6

Language：Japanese  

researchmap

Event date： 2021

researchmap

Event date： 2021

researchmap

Event date： 2021

Language：Japanese  

As a device for pasting film objects on curved surfaces, this paper proposed a device, composed of a shape adaptable mechanism and an elastic electrostatic chuck, which is operated by two robot arms. As the shape adaptable mechanism generating a wide range of variable curvature radii, a single-DOF scissor mechanism with an elastic element was presented. It was shown through a numerical analysis and prototyping that the proposed scissor mechanism without an elastic element can generate pure circular curves of curvature from zero to a certain value. Forward kineto-static analysis has been conducted for the proposed elastic scissor mechanism to clarify the effect of the location and characteristics of the elastic element in the mechanism on its generated shape. The results showed that the proposed mechanism can generate a wide range of multiple curvature radii.

researchmap

Event date： 2020.5

Language：Japanese  

Mobility device is important for the people with disabilities. In the previous research, we developed a hands-free mobility, a nonholonomic mobility, which included the operation system using interactive learning system between human and robot, and found that when discussing interactive learning system between human and robot, we need to consider the individual motor learning ability and its stage. The purpose of this study is to suggest a simple parameter related to human motor learning ability and the stage of the motor learning. we proposed two parameters related to motor learning and its stage and assessed these parameters through the experiment in the virtual space. From the results, it is confirmed that the proposed parameters are related to the stage of motor learning and motor learning ability.

researchmap

Event date： 2020

Language：Japanese  

On the Moon, several deep pits that probably associates with large igneous caves like lava tubes have been found. The lunar pits and caves are significant for lunar science and as candidates for lunar bases. In this trend, we are investigating a small robot system WAseda PIt exploring roboT (WAPIT) to explore the lunar pits. WAPIT has two wheels for its running on the surface of the Moon, and a winch for its vertical descent of a lunar pit. During descent to the bottom of the hole, WAPIT is supported by a tether connected with the lander system or a base settled near the rim of the pit. The robot gets over overhangs on the wall of the hole by jumping from the wall and free falling at a distance from the overhangs. Since the wall jumping is realized by rotating drop-shaped wheels, the shape of the wheels greatly affects their jump performance. To find appropriate wheel shapes, we investigated dynamics of jumping wheels. Wall jumping is modeled as an interaction between a wall and a double rigid pendulum consisting of a wheel and a body. Numerical simulation resulted in that the longer the shape, the better the jumping performance.

researchmap

Event date： 2020

researchmap

Event date： 2020

Language：Japanese  

In this research, a concept of robotic wheelchair which automatically follows a human caregiver side by side is proposed. This concept is aiming to promote the communication between a wheelchair rider and his/her caregiver since they can talk face-to-face while advancing forward. This research focuses on a derivation of a motion control law to achieve the autonomous side-following by the robotic wheelchair, determination of parameter values of virtual spring and dampers connecting the robot and caregiver to establish the side-following which is suitable for comfortable communication, based on an impedance method. The determination of the parameter values has been done by considering the two physical conditions regarding the communication, loudness of the voice, elevation angle of one’s neck to see other’s face, and convergence of the relative position and orientation are considered. Finally, an experimental prototype robotic wheelchair having a LRF and a bird’s eye view camera, and four-active caster modules is fabricated to perform side-following motion control experiment in a room-environment. The obtained results demonstrated that the prototype wheelchair robot converged to a commanded relative position against a human subject, and proposed the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method.

researchmap

Event date： 2019.12

Language：Japanese  

researchmap

Event date： 2019.12

Language：Japanese  

researchmap

Event date： 2019.9

Language：Japanese  

researchmap

Event date： 2019.8

Language：Japanese  

researchmap

Event date： 2019.6

Language：English  

researchmap

Event date： 2019

Language：Japanese  

In order to enable designing assistive devices/tools which are connected to some part of human body directly or through some attachment parts, such as wearable power-assist suits, joint rehabilitation devices and walking sticks, taking into consideration the deformation of the connection parts and slippage between them, the concept “dynamic pair” is introduced. The dynamic pair is a kinemato-dynamic model of the connection parts between the assist device and human body. By introducing the dynamic pairs to the model of the human-device system, an effective and practical design of the assistive devices will be made possible. Demonstrative examples on the rehabilitation devices and stick walking are shown and discussed.

researchmap

Event date： 2019

researchmap

Event date： 2019

researchmap

Event date： 2018.12

Language：Japanese  

researchmap

Event date： 2018.9

Language：Japanese  

researchmap

Event date： 2018.6

Language：Japanese   Presentation type：Poster presentation  

In this paper, clanking effort reduction method for the single-DOF human-powered joint mechanism having regenerative servo clutches, by the power assist using regenerative energy and continuously variable transmission is proposed. Through the experiments, it was confirmed that the assist motor compensated external torque immediately and CVT reduced the clanking torque and power of assist motor, when an external force applied on the output shaft and its torque suddenly changed.

researchmap

Event date： 2018

Language：Japanese  

This research focuses on developing a lower limb operated personal mobility vehicle for the elderly to provide transportation and to improve flail and sarcopenia. In this paper, the design of a pedal mechanism to apply an effective exercise load to the lower limbs is described. In order to realize an effective exercise load to improve the gait function, we designed a motion path of the foot so that the flexion motions of hip and knee joints is combined with the normal gait in order to stimulate those joints more and center of the rotation is located at around the thenar. Next, we applied a planar four-bar mechanism to the pedal mechanism. Using the curve comparison method, the kinematic constants were determined so that the difference between the path generated by the mechanism and the desired one would be minimized. The designed mechanism was illustrated to show the validity of the design process.

researchmap

Other Link： http://t2r2.star.titech.ac.jp/cgi-bin/publicationinfo.cgi?q_publication_content_number=CTT100766249

Event date： 2018

Language：Japanese  

<p>In this research, a new mobility vehicle for elderly is being developed, which combines lower limbs exercise effective for improvement of walking function, operation method enabling free upper limb movement, and movement support. This report summarizes the following three points; clarified target person and needs of movement activity, survey results of existing movement means and movement supporting equipment, and advantages of maintaining walking function and being able to freely use upper limbs during operation. Furthermore, after discussing the development requirements, the following points are regarded as functional requirements; mobility support is possible, giving passengers a suitable and sustainable load for maintaining lower limb function, being "hands-free" - not binding upper limbs for operation. Based on them, the concept of the new vehicle is proposed.</p>

researchmap

Event date： 2018

Language：Japanese  

In the present paper, the authors propose a reconfigurable multi robot system which consists of many robotic dolly units capable of transporting a heavy object in a group and a central unit for measuring the object's motion and distributing the acquired information to all dolly units. The system has no hierarchical control structure or supervising host computer, but is capable of achieving cooperative transportation by individual autonomous motion control of each dolly unit. A systematic calibration method of the position of each dolly unit and alignment of its local coordinate against the central unit's coordinate, and subsequent motion control algorithm to trace a target path given by a user are proposed. Result of the proposed methods is demonstrated by a series of experiments. Additionally, a feedback control scheme to reduce the effect of position estimation error is also proposed and demonstrated.

researchmap

Event date： 2018

Language：Japanese  

In this study, focusing on a positioning of an object using a parallel-wire mechanism, some kind of model for a wire state estimation had been proposed. Previously, a mechanical wire-model based on the catenary curve, a way to judge that a wire is tensioned or not and a way to estimate wires, which will lose its tension were proposed in this study. Based on such models, in this paper, a control method based on mechanical equilibrium is proposed. By the proposed control method, wire reels, which have been controlled wire length by angle of its rotation around the reel axis in previous researches, control torque around the reel axis. In this paper, an theoretical control method is described. And simulations valid the method.

researchmap

Event date： 2018

Language：Japanese  

In this study, design and control theories for a suspended parallel wire system has been researched. Previously, theories are confirmed by a numerical formula and a simulation. In this paper, torque-adjusting high powered wire-reel robot, which employs commercially available electric reel as a reeling mechanism is proposed and described its performance.

researchmap

Event date： 2018

Language：Japanese  

This paper proposed a chopstick-type gripper for a meal-assistance robot, which is capable of adapting its shape and the contact force with targets according to the size and the stiffness of the object. Solely using position control of the driving motor for the mechanism, this feature was enabled without relying on force sensors. The gripper was designed based on the concept of underactuation and a planar mechanism with 2 degrees of freedom made of a combination of 2 four-bar linkage mechanisms with a torsion spring at a passive joint. To clarify the gripping motion and the relationship among the contact force, object's size and stiffness, a simulation based on combined displacement and static force analysis was performed. Finally, to verify the theoretical analysis, a simple prototype was manufactured and an experiment to measure the contact force has been conducted.

researchmap

Event date： 2018

Language：Japanese  

In this study, Man-powered Robotics has been proposed and some applications has been developed. Man-powered Robotics realizes servo control of axes using not electrical energy but human power inputted to the system using a handle, a pedal and so on. In this paper, to realize handling an object, a griping mechanism is proposed. The mechanism employs four-joint link structures on its end of hand. By parallel transition of the four-joint structures, the mechanism realizes both griping and lifting up with one degree of freedom.

researchmap

Event date： 2017

Language：Japanese  

By Man-powered Robotics, a system controls motion intelligently using power served by a user. In previous works about man-machine cooperation, the user recognizes the environment and judges/decides motions of the machine, and the machine controls the motion based on local sensor-feedbacks. On the other hand, the system based on the man-powered robotics, is opposite. To execute simple tasks, such as locomotion, manipulation and so on, judges and decisions of the machine is better than the user, since computational hardware and algorithms has proceeded rapidly. The user only serves power: man-power. A smart-mobility, et. al., which are applied man-powered robotics, realizes not only intelligent motions, such as risk-avoidance, tracking a path, following an object and so on, but also safety according to the judgement of the user, who can stop supplying power of the system, health enhancement of the user and the protection of the environment. In this paper, focusing on the power supplying by pedaling motion of the user, an estimation method energy consumption of the user, based on a dynamical model, is proposed. In previous works, only energy consumption by the system was measured and discussed. By the proposed method, energy consumption on the human-structure is estimated. Experimental results show validity of the proposed method.

researchmap

Event date： 2017

Language：Japanese  

<p>The present paper discusses an approach for quantitative evaluation of physical property of obstacles called "ease of movement" in order to make it possible disaster response manipulators to deal with harsh environment. The physical property evaluates how much force is necessary to make translation and rotation of target obstacle with respect to each force direction and force application location. Evaluation scheme of this property called "haptic sensing" is discussed under the consideration of combining visual and haptic information acquired from physical contact of a manipulator having tactile sensation with variable stiffness function and vision sensors. In order to carry out the proposed evaluation scheme, a prototype manipulator having a variable stiffness shoulder joint was developed, and its capability for force measurement was validated. Consequently, the prototype manipulator with an image sensor was used to perform ease-of-movement measurement experiment. By using obtained result, it was demonstrated that optimum force application point and force application direction can be found to make different kind motion (translation and rotation) of the obstacle.</p>

researchmap

Event date： 2017

Language：Japanese  

<p>In this study, focusing on the sustainability of the environment and health, it has proposed a mobility that human-powered. The proposed system is designed on the "Man-powered robotics", which realizes the intelligent operation by controlling the power to be transmitted to the output shaft in the robot system. Manpower to implement the safety control in mobility to the power source, it puts control to allow prolonged exercise. As a result , to health by increasing the chance of occupant movement. Moreover, by making human power to power, it becomes environmentally friendly mobility. In this paper, the mobility of control is discussed. Specifically, when mobility operates in one dimension, Simulate the torque around the pedal axis. This confirms the effectiveness of control.</p>

researchmap

Event date： 2017

Language：Japanese  

<p>The goal of this study is to propose the concept "Human-powered robotics," which is a methodology to design the robotic system which can control the joint by directly using a power applied by the operator. This paper illustrates the proposal of the driving assist method not to lose safety using regenerative energy on 1-DOF human-powered joint control system using servo clutches with regenerative brakes and differential gears. We proposed an assist control system keeping unchanged the torque of input shaft and reducing the load of friction in the mechanism. We evaluated the proposed control system by using a prototype.</p>

researchmap

Other Link： http://doi.org/10.1299/jsmermd.2017.2a2-l04

Event date： 2017

Language：Japanese  

<p>In the previous paper, taking the non-linear Wing-In-Ground effect into consideration, the longitudinal dynamic model of Aero-Train after expanding it with a horizontal tail was developed for the purpose to clarify the relationship between the body frame design and its stability. This paper describes the development of the longitudinal dynamic model after expanding it with the lateral dynamic model.</p>

researchmap

Event date： 2017

Language：Japanese  

The present paper discusses a systematic approach to figure out a practical and functional design of sextuple 3D-magnetic tweezer system to perform physical property measurement of biological cell specimens. The authors carried out static and dynamical analyses of the electromagnetic system by using a theoretical model described with closed-loop magnetic circuit using concentrated magnetic charges and finite element analysis. From obtained results, suitable material, optimum tip radius of magnetic poles and number of turns of the driving coil are decided so that maximum magnetic field gradient at the workspace center and allowable anisotropy at outside edge of the workspace can be achieved while desired frequency can also be established. The above design process was applied for drawing out a prototype live-cell experiment system. By using a fabricated prototype, a series of output force measurement experiments were carried out with artificial specimens, silicon oil and grass micro-pipette, the maximum force strength of 140 pN were measured when exertion current of 225A-turns were given. Finally, the prototype system was used to measure the stiffness distribution of yeast cells having two different culturing condition to demonstrate the capability for live-cell experiments.

researchmap

Event date： 2017

Language：Japanese  

Wire-parallel mechanisms are categorized as two groups: fully constrained mechanisms and under-constrained mechanism. In this study, focusing on the under-constrained mechanism, a cable-suspended robot system have been developed. In such a mechanism, slacks of cables affects its design or control. In this paper, to improve them, slacks of cables are estimated by a model including the gravity and external forces as virtual cables. Experimental results valid the proposed method.

researchmap

Event date： 2017

Language：Japanese  

In order to assess living space for assisting stable walks by elderly people, this paper proposed an evaluation index for single support object which is calculated from four fundamental measures expressing capability of balance recovery corresponding to the support object, derived from the directionality of generative force by human’s upper extremity and the directionality of reaction force corresponding to the surface shapes of objects. Experiments were carried out to (1) obtain the parameters necessary to calculate the fundamental measures and (2) carry out organoleptic evaluation of the support objects. Compared to the results obtained in these experiments (1) and (2), effects of the indices were discussed, and an effective index among the four for evaluating the effect of the support objects was clarified and proposed. Assessment of sample support object using the proposed index was shown as a demonstration.

researchmap

Event date： 2017

Language：Japanese  

In this study, focusing on a transportation of heavy small objects, a transportation system using a robotic mobility based on the Man-powered Robotics, is proposed. The Man-powered Robotics realizes intelligent operation by controlling power sources supplied by human pedaling. Therefore, a driver or an user just only input the power by pedaling, and the system realizes a trajectory tracking control, an object avoidance and so on, then the object will be transported autonomously. In this paper, a mechanical design and drafts of the system based on the Man-powered Robotics is described especially focusing on a mobile-base to realize omni-directional movement using the human pedaling power source.

researchmap

Event date： 2016.3

Language：Japanese  

The goal of this study is to propose a concept of "Man-powered robotics," a design methodology for an intelligent robotic system powered by human's motion. In the system, the servo control of robotic joints is performed by controlling transmitted torque of the power given by human's motion. In this paper, for the developed prototype of the human-powered personal mobility KMM74, inverted pendulum attitude control method is described. The authors modeled the passenger and vehicle body as a rigid body, and designed the controller based on the linear quadratic regulator. The effectiveness of proposed method is confirmed through the simulation results.

researchmap

Event date： 2016.3

Language：Japanese  

This paper describes the mechanical design of the small amphibious mobile robot for environmental monitoring. To realize the body having amphibious locomotion performance by simple mechanism and principle of operation and high stability on the water, we proposed the amphibious propulsion crawler, the waterproof driving mechanism using commercially available case and magnet coupling, body shape which realizes the Limit of Positive Stability (LPS) of about 180 deg. Especially the body shape was designed by computing the position of the center of gravity and the center of buoyancy with various height of the draft and aspect ratio. The prototype of a small amphibious mobile robot was designed based on these concepts.

researchmap

Event date： 2016

Language：Japanese  

The locomotion ability of climbing steps and slopes are required for tiny mobile robot to move on rough terrain such as forest or river side area. A lot of studies proposed the specially shaped wheels to use in particular environment, but these mechanism is not clear to understand the ability of climbing steps and slopes. In this study, we proposed a notched wheel that has both high climbing abilities of steps and slopes and easily calculate its ability. We show some model of a notched wheel and describe its detail mechanism. In this paper, we also show some experimental results of mobile robot that have four notched wheels. This study is significant not only because it fills gaps in previous research, but also because it is useful to design the specially shaped wheels.

researchmap

Event date： 2016

Language：Japanese  

Due to an accident of TEPCO Fukushima 1st nuclear power plant, radioactive substances pollute a wide area of Fukushima prefecture. Since the government carries on decontamination of radioactive substances, radiation dose on almost all of residential area brought down less than safety border. Ponds and lakes, which include natural ponds or lakes, reservoirs and so on, however, contain radioactive substances deposited on their bottom, yet. In this study, for acceleration of decontamination, a mud vacuum system for decontamination of radioactive substances deposited on bottom of ponds is proposed. The system vacuums mud utilizing vacuum head, which is suspended by multiple wires. To position the head, system controls length of each wire. Since the wire does not push the object, strict analysis of the workspace is required. In this paper, based on Vector-Closure, the workspace is analyzed. By using genetic algorithm, winding position of all wires, which realizes positioning on whole surface of the bottom, is designed.

researchmap