Robust positioning control of pneumatic servo system with pressure control loop

The goal of this paper is to attain a robust positioning control of a pneumatic driving system. A positioning control system positively focusing on the pressure control is investigated from the view that the pressure control is indispensable for improvement of control performances. A disturbance observer is employed to improve the pressure response and compensate the influence of friction force and parameter change. Consequently the improvements of robustness against payload and of positioning accuracy have been attained </p

Development of force displaying device using pneumatic parallel manipulator and application to palpation motion

&#60;P&#62;The goal of this study is to develop a mechanical system which display elastic characteristic like stiffness on the surface of human body aiming at applying to palpation simulator. Pneumatic parallel manipulator is employed as a driving mechanism, consequently, it brings capability of minute force displaying property owing to the air compressibility. Compliance control system without using force/moment sensor is constructed by introducing a disturbance observer and a compliance display scheme is proposed. The validity of the proposed scheme is verified experimentally. </p

Development of pneumatic human interface and its application for compliance display

The goal of this study is to develop a human interface that can display compliance for a human hand aiming at application in the field of virtual reality. A pneumatic parallel manipulator is introduced as a driving mechanism of the human interface, which yields the characteristic that the manipulator works as a kind of elastic body even when its position/orientation is under the control. Utilizing this elastic characteristic, a compliance display scheme is proposed. The validity of the proposed scheme is verified experimentally </p

Development of Wrist Rehabilitation Equipment Using Pneumatic Parallel Manipulator

In this study, we aim at developing a mechanical device to support humans rehabilitation motion of their wrist joint instead of or to help a physical therapist. Pneumatic parallel manipulator is introduced as the mechanical equipment from a view that pneumatic actuators bring minute force control property owing to the air compressibility and parallel manipulator’s feature of multiple degrees of freedom is suitable for a complex motion of human wrist joint. Impedance control system is introduced to realize several rehabilitation modes. The validity of the proposed system is confirmed through some experiments.</p

Development of compliance displaying device using pneumatic parallel manipulator

The goal of this study is to develop a mechanical system that can display elastic characteristic of an object aiming at the application in the field of virtual reality. Pneumatic parallel manipulator is introduced as a driving mechanism, which, consequently, brings capability of minute force displaying property owing to the air compressibility. Compliance displaying scheme based on the contact force and contact point detection is proposed. The validity of the proposed scheme is verified experimentally. </p

Application of pneumatic parallel manipulator as haptic human interface

When humans and robots implement a cooperative task, information (intention) transfer between them is an important problem as the task becomes complicated. In the paper, a haptic interface using a pneumatic parallel manipulator is developed to realize “information transfer by means of contact”. The contact information given by the human, namely contact force vector and contact point on the manipulator, is detected by the interface itself and such information is transferred to the robot by being connected with some reference signal. The pneumatic parallel manipulator works as a kind of elastic body even when its position is controlled owing to the air compressibility. Focusing on this characteristic and introducing an idea of compliance center with a spherical shell, contact force vector and contact point are detected without a force sensor. The validity of the proposed method is confirmed through some experiments

Characterization of a new rice glutelin gene GluD-1 expressed in the starchy endosperm

A new glutelin gene, designated GluD-1, has been discovered by comparing the seed storage proteins from 48 japonica and indica rice cultivars on SDS-PAGE gels. Evidence that GluD-1 is a member of the glutelin family was provided by Western blots using anti-glutelin antiserum and by mapping the gene to the chromosomal glutelin gene cluster. The limited GluD-1 size polymorphism among the rice varieties is due to amino acid substitutions rather than to post-transcriptional modification. GluD-1 is maximally expressed in the starchy endosperm starting at 5 d after flowering (DAF) and increasing through 30 DAF, a major difference from the other glutelins which are primarily expressed in the subaleurone from 10–16 DAF. Only about 0.2 kb of the GluD-1 promoter was sufficient to confer inner starchy endosperm-specific expression. The 0.2 kb truncated GluD-1 promoter contains a bifactorial endosperm box consisting of a truncated GCN4 motif (TGA(G/C)TCA) and AAAG Prolamin box (P box), and ACGT and AACA motifs as cis-regulatory elements. Gel retardation assays and trans-activation experiments indicated that the truncated GCN4 and P box are specifically recognized by RISBZ1 b-ZIP and RPBF Dof activators in vitro, respectively, and are synergistically transactivated, indicating that combinatorial interactions of these motifs are involved in essential endosperm-specific regulation. Furthermore, deviation from the cognate GCN4 motif alters tissue-specific expression in the inner starchy endosperm to include other endosperm tissues

Recognition of elastic characteristic of object using pneumatic parallel manipulator

The goal of this study is to develop a mechanical system that can display elastic characteristic of an object aiming at the application in the field of virtual reality. A pneumatic parallel manipulator is introduced as a driving mechanism, which consequently brings the capability of minute force displaying property owing to the air compressibility. A compliance control system without using force/moment sensor is constructed by introducing a disturbance observer, and a compliance display scheme is proposed. The validity of the proposed scheme is verified experimentally. </p