A Location Management Scheme Supporting Route Optimization for Mobile Hosts

Using the Internet as a foundation for wirelessnetworking, there is currently a great deal of interestin providing IP networking support for mobile hosts. Asa result of IPs reliance on the entire Internet address for host identification, most proposalsdepend on a default route through the mobile host's homeaddress, which makes for unnecessarily long routes. Thispaper introduces two concepts, localregion and patron service, based on thelocality features of host moving and calling patterns.It then shows how these concepts work together torealize a location management scheme for achievingoptimal routing for most traffic while restricting costlylocation propagation. The proposed scheme wasimplemented using a network simulator and evaluated fromrouting effectiveness point of view, as compared withits location overhead.     

The development and control of a flexible-spine for a human-form robot

In this paper, the development of a robot which has a flexible spine is presented. By embedding a multi-d.o.f. soft structure into a robot body as a spine, the robot can increase its ability to absorb shock and to work in various environment such as narrow places. As a result of these abilities, the robot can expand its opportunity to work in the human environment. Moreover, its motion could be more natural. The developed full-body human-form robot has a five-jointed flexible spine. Each joint (vertebra) has 3 d.o.f. Between each vertebrae is a 'disk' made of silicone rubber. The spine is controlled by eight tendons, whose tensions can be controlled using tension sensors and locally distributed microcontrollers. This paper describes the development of the flexible spine and the control of the posture of the spine and body.     

Designing Synergistic Walking of a Whole-Body Humanoid Driven by Pneumatic Artificial Muscles: An Empirical Study

Our body consists of many body parts that are compliantly connected with each other by muscles and ligaments, and their behavior emerges out of the synergy of the whole-body dynamics. Such synergistic behavior generation is supposed to contribute to human adaptive movement such as walking. This paper describes designing synergistic walking of a whole-body humanoid robot whose joints are driven by artificial pneumatic muscles antagonistically. We propose to take an incremental design approach to deal with the complicated dynamics of the system. As a result, we can determine control parameters that govern whole-body behavior. We experimentally demonstrate that the humanoid walks stably with a simple limit-cycle controller.     

Closed-Form Inverse Kinematics for Continuum Manipulators

This paper presents a novel, analytical approach to solving inverse kinematics for multi-section continuum robots, defined as robots composed of a continuously bendable backbone. The problem is decomposed into several simpler subproblems. First, this paper presents a solution to the inverse kinematics problem for a single-section trunk. Assuming endpoints for all sections of a multi-section trunk are known, this paper then details applying single-section inverse kinematics to each section of the multi-section trunk by compensating for the resulting changes in orientation. Finally, an approach which computes per-section endpoints given only a final-section endpoint provides a complete solution to the multi-section inverse kinematics problem. The results of implementing these algorithms in simulation and on a prototype continuum robot are presented and possible applications discussed.     

Generation of efficient and user-friendly queries for helper robots to detect target objects

We are developing a helper robot that carries out tasks ordered by users through speech. The robot needs a vision system to recognize the objects appearing in the orders. However, conventional vision systems cannot recognize objects in complex scenes. They may find many objects and cannot determine which is the target. This paper proposes a method of using a conversation with the user to solve this problem. The robot asks a question to which the user can easily answer and whose answer can efficiently reduce the number of candidate objects. It considers the characteristics of features used for object identification such as the ease for humans to specify them by word, generating a user-friendly and efficient sequence of questions. Experimental results show that the robot can detect target objects by asking the questions generated by the method.     

Passive compliance for a RC servo-controlled bouncing robot

A novel and low-cost passively compliant mechanism is described that can be used with RC servos to actuate legged robots in tasks involving high dynamic loads such as bouncing. Compliance is achieved by combining visco-elastic material and metal parts. Joint response to dynamic loads is evaluated using real-world experiments and force data are obtained from a Lagrangian analysis of the system. The experimental results demonstrate the applicative potential of this mechanism.     

Design of a low-cost,highly mobile urban search and rescue robot

In this paper, we discuss the design of a novel robotic platform for urban search and rescue. The system developed possesses unique mobility capabilities based on a new adjustable compliance mechanism and overall locomotive morphology. The main facets of this work involve the morphological concepts, initial design and construction of a prototype vehicle, and a physical simulation to be used for developing controllers for semi-autonomous (supervisory) operation.     

Robot–human rescue teams: a user requirements analysis

Time-critical operations of equipment in emergencies require efficient human–machine interaction. In order to evaluate and rank the factors affecting search and rescue activities in emergencies, a requirements analysis among this professional community has been performed. The analyses presented here focus on cooperating robot–human teams. They have been performed on the basis of questionnaires and personal interviews with professionals in search and rescue from Germany, Finland and the Czech Republic. This includes professional fire fighters, plant fire brigades (nuclear power plants, airports, chemical factories), governmental disaster relief organizations and the military. The analyses identify the end-user requirements and provide guidelines for the development of rescue systems. On this basis, a system design for human–robot teams has been derived, with particular emphasis on telerobotics interface implemenation.     

Design of an Under-Actuated Exoskeleton System for Walking Assist While Load Carrying

This study proposes an under-actuated wearable exoskeleton system to carry a heavy load. To synchronize that system with a user, a feasible modular-type wearable system and its corresponding sensor systems are proposed. The design process of the modular-type exoskeleton for lower extremities is presented based on the considered requirements. To operate the system with the user, human walking analysis and intention signal acquisition methods for actuating the proposed system are developed. In particular, a sensing data estimation strategy is applied to synchronize the exoskeleton system with a user correctly. Finally, several experiments were performed to evaluate the performance of the proposed exoskeleton system by measuring the electromyography signal of the wearer's muscles while walking on level ground and climbing up stairs with 20- to 40-kg loads, respectively.