A Simplified Teaching Method of a Playback-Type Industrial Robot

The present study is devoted to the development of a simplified teaching method whereby the control data of the 3-dimensional operations of a playback-type industrial robot can be stored in a personal computer. The control data of the 3-dimensional operations are given using an instruction wand handled by an operator. The operator\u27s task is only to track a desired robot path with the wand. The 3-dimensional position of the wand are measured by ultrasonic devices, the principle of which was developed for this study and is introduced in detail. In order to clarify the applicability of this method, experiments were performed with respect to a continuous-path teaching and a pick-and-place task teaching which are typical jobs of robot operators

3-D Measurement of a Human Body

This paper describes a system which enables a fast 3-dimensional profile measurement of a human body using a slit-ray projection method. One distinctive feature of this system is that a real-time video processor is employed in order to reduce the amount of image data to be processed without eliminating essential information and enable a fast measurement of the human body. Experimental results show that a calibrating method presented for the TV cameras and the slit-ray projector is convenient and enables sufficient accurate measurements

Input Devices to Support Communication for People with Serious Disability

Persons suffering from intractable disease like ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) and spinal cord injury often show deterioration in muscular function. Some of these patients are obliged to use artificial respirators and cannot have verbal communication with others. In order to support their communication, there exist various input devices like touch sensor input devices, capacitance sensor input devices and also vision input devices. In addition, computer controlled environment is helpful for such patients. By developing proper computer controlled environment which is controlled by the proper input device, even the patient with serious disability can live sound life. Due to the infrared network system, the computer controlled environment could be well organized.9th IEEE International Conference on Mobile Ad-Hoc and Sensor Networks, MSN 2013; Dalian; China; 11 December 2013 through 13 December 201

A sensor to measure hardness of human tissue

An innovative sensor is developed to evaluate hardness of human soft tissue. This sensor provides easy and accurate hardness measurements based on a unique sensing mechanism. Hardness of soft materials is often evaluated by using international standards of hardness such as IRHD (International Rubber Hardness Degree) and durometer hardness. However the conventional scales based on these standards requires a stable pressuring condition to the target. Therefore, these scales cannot be used for targets that are in motion or targets that require quick measurement such as human muscles during exercises and a liver exposed at a surgery. The prototyped sensor has a compact body and allows continuous hardness measurement with an arbitrary pressing force. This sensor always monitors the force exerted on the sensor and automatically eliminates the unintended effect from the fluctuation of the pressing force. Therefore, continuous time series of the hardness data is real-timely available. This paper reports results of a test as well as the detail of the mechanism and data processing technique of the latest version of the sensor.2006 5th IEEE Conference on Sensors : Daegu, Korea, 2006.10.22-2006.10.2

Development of an effective training machine using muscle activity information

In the field of providing safe and effective equipment for physical training appropriate adjustment of loading levels for the targeted users is very important. Most training machines to date offer only fixed and coarse load adjustment. This paper details an advanced leg muscle training machine that has an intelligent load control system. The load control is provided by monitoring the user\u27s muscular condition by means of a muscle stiffness sensor as well as pressure being exerted on the machine. The loading can then be adapted continuously to optimally suit the user\u27s needs. The prototype demonstrated that the proposed machine has excellent load control abilities providing effective and safe training using dynamic load control and automatic restriction of loading levels based on the user\u27s muscle contraction levels.IECON 2006 - 32nd Annual Conference on IEEE Industrial Electronics : Paris, France, 2006.11.6-2006.11.1

Acoustic Positioning System for Compact Underwater Vehicle

Currently a platform to investigate the underwater environment is required. In this paper, we propose an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) with an accurate positioning system. The positioning system is developed to be accurate enough to utilize the superior navigation ability of our AUV feature. The navigation ability is acquired by the variable vector propeller mechanism. The accurate positioning became possible by introducing two acoustic signals with different frequencies. The range data were obtained satisfactorily with maximum error less than 0.006m. Using the positioning system, the navigation trajectory of the AUV could be measured

Acoustic Positioning System for Compact Underwater Vehicle

Currently a platform to investigate the underwater environment is required. In this paper, we propose an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) with an accurate positioning system. The positioning system is developed to be accurate enough to utilize the superior navigation ability of our AUV feature. The navigation ability is acquired by the variable vector propeller mechanism. The accurate positioning became possible by introducing two acoustic signals with different frequencies. The range data were obtained satisfactorily with maximum error less than 0.006m. Using the positioning system, the navigation trajectory of the AUV could be measured