抄録
With aging, human skin develops a dry condition called senile xerosis. The skin lesion can be prevented by daily skin care, for example, by applying an ointment containing moisturing factors several times a day. Aged persons, however, have difficulties in accessing their back and rely therefore on nursing care for such treatment. But note that in underpopulated areas such nursing care may not always be available. To tackle this problem, the concept of a skincare robot is first proposed. The feasibility of the concept is then confirmed by designing a real skincare robot and by performing experiments for applying ointment to a human's back. The developed system is able to recognize the shape of the body, to plan the appropriate motion paths for the end-effector, and to execute the task without applying any excessive forces.
