Intrinsic Elastic, Dielectric, and Piezoelectric Losses in Lead Zirconate Titanate Ceramics Determined by an Immittance-Fitting Method

The material coefficients of "soft" and "hard" lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramics were determined as complex values by the nonlinear least-squares-fitting of immittance data measured for length-extensional bar resonators. The piezoelectric d -constant should be a complex value to obtain a best fitting between observed and calculated results. Because the elastic, dielectric, and piezoelectric losses determined in this process were not "intrinsic" losses, a calculation process to evaluate the "intrinsic" losses was proposed. It was confirmed that the intrinsic losses were smaller than the corresponding extrinsic losses. The intrinsic piezoelectric loss existed in both soft and hard PZTs; ∼50% of the loss of piezoelectric d -constant was derived from the elastic and dielectric losses. The most notable difference between the soft and hard PZTs was observed in their elastic losses.     

Development of a high‐resolution RGBW flexible display using a white organic light‐emitting diode with microcavity structure and that of a side‐roll touch panel

In this study, white organic electroluminescent devices with microcavity structures were developed. A flexible high‐resolution active‐matrix organic light‐emitting diode display with low power consumption using red, green, blue, and white sub‐pixels formed by a color‐filter method was fabricated. In addition, a side‐roll touch display was developed in combination with a capacitive flexible touch screen.     

High‐resolution technology for FPD manufacturing

Using shorter wavelength for exposure light is one way to achieve high resolution while keeping sufficient depth of focus. We show exposure results for high resolution to confirm the effect of deep UV exposure light. With deep UV light, 1.2‐µm line and space pattern and 1.8‐µm contact hole pattern are resolved while keeping sufficient depth of focus.     

Vibration control of load for rotary crane system using neural network with GA-based training

A neuro-controller for vibration control of load in a rotary crane system is proposed involving the rotation about the vertical axis only. As in a nonholonomic system, the vibration control method using a static continuous state feedback cannot stabilize the load swing. It is necessary to design a time-varying feedback controller or a discontinuous feedback controller. We propose a simple three-layered neural network as a controller (NC) with genetic algorithm-based (GA-based) training in order to control load swing suppression for the rotary crane system. The NC is trained by a real-coded GA, which substantially simplifies the design of the controller. It appeared that a control scheme with performance comparable to conventional methods can be obtained by a relatively simple approach. This work was presented in part at the 13th International Symposium on Artificial Life and Robotics, Oita, Japan, January 31–February 2, 2008     

Simultaneous bipedal locomotion based on haptics for teleoperation

ABSTRACT

This paper proposes a novel, simultaneous bipedal locomotion method using haptics for remote operation of biped robots. In general, traditional biped walking methods require very high computational power and advanced controllers to perform the required task. However, in this proposed method, a master exoskeleton attached to the human’s lower body is used to obtain the trajectory and haptic information to generate the trajectory of the slave biped robot in real time. Lateral motion of the center of mass of the biped is constrained in this experiment. Also, it is considered that no communication delay is presented in between the two systems in this experiment, and they are not discussed in this paper. Since a direct motion transmission is used in the proposed method, this method is quite straight forward and a simultaneous walking can be realized at the same time with high performance. Also, it does not require an exact dynamic model of the biped or specific method to plan the trajectory. The gait pattern of the biped is directly determined by that of the human. Also, the operator can feel the remote environment through the exoskeleton robot. Results obtained from the experiments validate the proposed method.     

Delivery of medical multimedia contents through the TCP/IP network using RealSystem

We developed a low cost, user-friendly multimedia delivery system, to provide medical lectures saved as multimedia contents to persons engaged in medicine. This system was created using the RealSystem package with the TCP/IP network. Users can review lectures and medical meeting presentations with video and audio through the Internet, whenever convenient. Each medical source of video and slide has been clearly displayed on a screen. Members of medical associations or medical students can easily review the most interesting parts of these files. This system is being used efficiently in distance learning and aids the diffusion of the latest information and technology to busy physicians and medical students.     

PACAP-mediated sperm-cumulus cell interaction promotes fertilization

The developing acrosome in spermatids contains pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP). However, the role of the acrosomal PACAP remains unclear because it has not been detected in mature spermatids and sperm. We reinvestigated whether the sperm acrosome contains PACAP. An antiserum produced against PACAP reacted to the anterior acrosome in epididymal sperm fixed under mild conditions, suggesting that PACAP acts on oocytes and/or cumulus cells at the site of fertilization. Immunolabeling and RT-PCR demonstrated the presence of PACAP type I receptor, a PACAP-specific receptor, in postovulatory cumulus cells. To investigate the role of PACAP in fertilization, we pretreated cumulus-oocyte complexes with the polypeptide. At a low concentration of sperm, the fertilization rate was significantly enhanced by PACAP in a dose-dependent manner. Sperm penetration through the oocyte investment, cumulus layer, and zona pellucida was also enhanced by PACAP. The enhancement was probably due to an enhancement in sperm motility and the zona-induced acrosome reaction, which were stimulated by a cumulus cell-releasing factor. Indeed, PACAP treatment increased the secretion of progesterone from the cumulus-oocyte complexes. These results strongly suggest that in response to PACAP, cumulus cells release a soluble factor that probably stimulates sperm motility and the acrosome reaction, thereby promoting fertilization.     

Hopping height control for hopping robots

In recent years, legged robots have progressed and are able to walk just like human beings. Hopping offers a possibility of moving faster and avoiding larger obstacles than walking. Thus, hopping becomes more significant. Copyright © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. In this paper, to take account of torque limits of motors, we propose the method of controlling the hopping height by changing the leg length at bottom. Considering an actual environment, the environment will change as the robot moves around. Therefore, we describe a way to estimate the actual thrust force. Using the estimated thrust force, command value of leg length in the landing phase is determined. The effectiveness of the proposed method is confirmed by simulation and experimental results. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 155(1): 64–71, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20172