Physical pressure with the compression cone is effective to get clear tripe and fold image in the X-ray diagnosis of the gastric region. However, moving the compression cone during pressing body would be dangerous actions such as bone fractures. In this study, we have developed the area-variable compression cone mechanism using the expansion of the balloon. The fabricated compression cone could pressure safely because a balloon has high flexibility. We confirm this effectiveness by pressuring the phantom of the stomach.

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We've been working for developing scaffold free cell delivery system, and show good regeneration of rabbit osteochondral defect until more than three years by implantation of molded mesenchymal stem cells construct without use of exogenous factors. The entire procedure is simple, yet, it takes time and labor to build a single construct by even experienced hands. Therefore, this study was aimed to develop a cell processing robot for building Scaffold free HD MACs (High-density mesenchymal stem cell autologous constructs) for cartilage regeneration. In result, the scaffold free HD MACs could be obtained as same as manual procedure without contamination. We also implanted the construct into rabbit osteochondral defect in the knee. In this study, we developed the cell processing robot for cartilage regeneration. The entire system is almost GMP ready. We are preparing clinical trials in Kyushu university hospital for HD MACs implantation to cartilage defect with this robot system.

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In the hospitals, since a lot of medical equipment are manually managed, the load for medical staff is large. To improve it, the medical equipment management systems by two-dimensional symbol or RFID have been introduced in some hospital. However, it is difficult to apply there systems to the existing equipment. In this research, we develop a new recognition and management system with image processing for existing medical equipment. This system constructed by the database and the software. Then, this software provides the functions which are registration, deletion, management, confirmation, prints, and so on of equipment information. We developed such the system which recognized and management equipment without working it into them.

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Endoscopic surgery is one of the minimally invasive surgical procedures. However, this surgery has the low operability problem during operation by using surgical tools. In this paper, we newly propose a microarm for endoscopic surgery inspired by insects or crustaceans such as a crab leg. This microarm is made by PDMS(polydimethylsiloxane) and SU-8(nega photoresist) which are biocompatible materials and have different stiffness characteristics. We use photolithography for the fabrication method to make layers with the micropattern, and the structure of the microarm is fabricated by stacking these layers. By using this approach, we developed wire-driven microarm with the diameter of less than 2 mm. It is important that fabricated microarm is flexible to avoid damages to tissue of internal organ during operation.

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At the present day, the work for the medical equipment parts after the operation that medical staff performs becomes the big burden of the medical staff. Also there is the danger of the in-hospital infection so that the medical staff intervenes in the dirtiness section. In the medical field, which is a demand to automate the reprocessing of medical appliances. When I am automatic and work on washing, the recognition of the image and the picking of equipment parts are essential in each work. In this research, we presented development that focused on the picking robot with new picking point.

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A skill assessment system has been developed to quantify microsurgical skills. Infrared optical makers, an inertial measurement unit and strain gauges were mounted on tweezers to record surgical tasks, and a preliminary experiment was conducted. The trajectory, hand tremor and applied force during a suturing task were measured, and the results showed significant differences between skilled and novice surgeons. During the anastomotic task, skilled surgeons manipulated the needle with much smaller force once the needle penetrated the artificial blood wall. Further analysis will be conducted to extract the motion elements unique to the skilled surgeon so that surgical training systems and intelligent surgical robots can be developed.

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Computer- and robot-assisted Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) can achieves the accurate bone cutting while the operation time is increased. Meanwhile, minimally invasive surgery (MIS-TKA) has been attempted recently, but there are some issues to realize the acceptable machining precision. To achieve the accurate MIS-TKA, the authors have developed the robot-assisted MIS-TKA system. One of the difficulties to achieve robot-assisted MIS-TKA is the decision of incision location. It is difficult to determine the optimal incision location for the robotic system and that cause the incision many times and longer the surgical time. In this study a system is proposed to present the optimal incision location before the actual incision and the efficiency is evaluated. The experiments with pig leg and model bone showed that the incision length could be less than 80 mm and the experiments were completed with 45 minutes from leg fixation to bone cutting.

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This paper proposes a new model for estimating dynamic viscoelasticity of peripheral arterial wall using arterial pressure and photoplethysmogram. The proposed model is able to suppress the well-known pressure dependency of arterial stiffness using a log-linearization technique and estimate the changes of viscosity as well as stiffness of peripheral arterial wall induced by autonomic nervous activity. The validity of the proposal model is discussed by estimating the change of stiffness values during arm position tests and during endoscopic thoracic sympathectomies (ETSs). As results of the arm position tests, the position-dependent change of the stiffness was very little between arm positions during at rest and during loading (Up: 3.8 [%], Down: 5.6 [%]). Then, as results of the ETSs, the variation of the stiffness was significantly changed between before and during the ETS procedure (p<0.005), and between during and after the ETS procedure (p<0.025). Thus we concluded that the proposed method enabled to assess changes in the autonomic nervous activity.

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When the human keep the same postures for a long time, e.g., after operation, sit on bed with same posture, there is a possibility to cause deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) of which the most serious complication is that the clot could dislodge and travel to the lungs and death. In order to prevent DVT, we have been developing a prototype of the lower limbs movement assistant robot which forcibly moves a foot so as to improve blood circulation. We compared the bloodstream using the developed robot by changing the trajectories of foot movement patterns. In this paper, we verify trajectory pattern to promote the bloodstream.

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In this paper, we developed multi-DOF forceps for pediatric laparoscopic surgery. Pediatric laparoscopic surgery has many advantages for patents, but it is difficult for surgeons to perform. The motion of the instruments is restricted by the insertion points, and the workspace of children is smaller than that of adults. Therefore, we have proposed and implemented a three-DOF and 3.5-mm-diameter needle driver for pediatric laparoscopic surgery. The grasping DOF of developed needle driver is piston type and actuated by wire. The deflection and rotation DOF are actuated by bevel gears. We checked the range of the deflection and rotation DOF and the grasping power. The experimental results showed that the developed needle driver fulfills all the requirements. Suturing experiment also implied that suturing tasks can be performed.

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Recently, a medical disparity in remote areas has been an emergent problem because of a shortage of doctors and the telemedicine approach has been strongly needed. In our laboratory, we have developed a "Telerobotic medical diagnosis system." This system will provide the primary care remotely for patients. In this research, we will develop a new diagnosis robot system based on passive safety design.

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Bi-planar fluoroscopy is a technique used in Interventional Radiology (IVR) combined with Digital Subtraction Angiography to visualize simultaneously blood vessels from perpendicular directions during endovascular interventions. Stereovision for a polarized light system used in in-vitro endovascular surgery simulation was constructed imitating a bi-planar fluoroscopy. Relying on the bi-planar imaging, software was developed for catheter trajectory quantitative analysis; this enabled the construction of reference trajectories for catheter insertion robot control considering three-dimensional tip tracking and bi-planar information of the blood vessel morphology changes and stress within the membrane. Additionally the cross-section diameter and centerline line position for the catheter and blood vessel model were obtained for each column of the captured images, enabling an elliptical approximation and three-dimensional visualization of the interaction between the catheter and the silicone model morphology.

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Our group has been developing an active catheter that can make the operation easier and be safely used in human blood vessels. To produce a compact active catheter which is not driven electrically, we have proposed and developed a micro valve for a water pressure-driven system with multi-degrees of freedom. This micro valve is called "Band Pass Valve (BPV)", and fabricated by using hybrid micro stereolithography that were proposed by Ikuta. In this report, we have developed a new set of optimized valves to control the bending angle at both of positive and negative pressure ranges. It enables to bend the active segments bi-directionally and expand the bending range of our active catheter.

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A new concept of the single port access (SPA) surgery by using a newly developed Hyper Guide Tube (HGT) was proposed. The HGT has four joints and two flexible tool paths. Each joint was designed for the use of flexible surgical tools Micro Fingers (MF) developed in our laboratory, or other commercial equipments. While the outlet of the tool paths expand in the radial direction not only to make the working space of the MF without conflict, but also to make the camera sight clear. The remote control of the HGT enables a surgeon access the deep, narrow area of interperitoneal organs, then two tool paths provide the MF stable bimanual motion and the quick exchange the end effectors through them. In this paper, the concept of the remote surgery with the combination of the HGT and the MF, the design of the HGT, and the feasibility test in-vitro are described. In the experiment, the exchange motion and the combination work of the MF were successfully demonstrated.

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We report a visual servo system which can search the position of a bleeding source by blood flow measurement. Conventional method of blood flow measurement using by ultrasound can't measure blood velocity under large vessel displacement. We developed a new visual servo system which contains two kinds of controls: a cyclic follow-up control and a control which decides the follow-up control start timing and position using by diameter comparison. As a result of experiments of following up a vessel and measuring blood velocity, proposed method appropriately worked and the possibility that we can measure blood flow under large vessel displacement using by ultrasound was suggested.

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We proposed built-in patient alert system on the bed which has actuators with built-in force sensors. This system estimates a patient's motion such as rising, seating and standing, based on the information of load variation on the bed. When the patient's motion with a risk of fall accident is detected, the bed sends the signal through the nurse call system to the staff room. The built-in patient alert system thus makes cure and care environment efficient and effective. Performance comparison of various patient alert systems in acute hospitals shows the proposed system has higher accuracy and lower false alert.

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In laparoscopic surgery simulators, to realize the operational sense as if a surgeon operates a forceps in the real surgery, the haptic parameters for a forceps are very important. In this paper, the model to estimate the reaction force for a forceps operation in laparoscopic surgery simulators is discussed to realize the operational sense in a laparoscopic surgery simulator. A sensor forceps in which various sensors is installed has been developed, and the movements and the reaction forces of the sensor forceps are measured when some surgeons use the forceps. The haptic parameters of the model are investigated based on the measured data. By using the obtained parameters in the laparoscopic surgery simulator, a trainer is able to realize more realistic reaction force.

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Since the Semmes-Weinstein aesthesiometory is mainly the work by hands, the long inspection time is needed and the quantitativity is not high. We proposed the new diagnostic support system which applied mechatronics and image measurement in order to solve the problem. In this paper, the composition of the system is explained. And, the measurement principle of the 3-D sensor which is a part of the system is explained. The 3-D shape in mandible is calculated by the 3-D sensor, and the movement control of the Semmes-Weinstein aesthesiometer is carried out based on the shape information. The sensor is composed of the CCD camera and the LED projector, and the 3-D shape is calculated based on the triangulation. In addition, it is shown that the 3-D shape in the mandible can be calculated actually.

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As medical technologies become higher and more complex, and an environment of surgical procedure inside operation room (OR) also become more complex. To understand problems on surgical staff workflow in OR, optimize the surgical procedures, and establish more safe environment of treatment in OR, an analysis of surgical workflow and trajectory analysis in OR is quite important to understand and analyze the surgical procedure. In this study, we developed basic concept and prototype of 3D trajectory measurement of surgical staff in OR using two cameras and video analysis using image subtraction and stereo matching. Experimental result shows a capability of our system for 3D trail measurement and a problem on occlusion due to multi-object condition.

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As the number of breast cancer patients increases, non- invasive and accuracy diagnosis of breast cancer is required. It is expected that there is diagnostic potential in examining the nonlinear elastic properties of soft tissues. The measurement method of the nonlinear elasticity of tumor in breast is needed. Therefore, we propose the robotic palpation system for diagnosis based the nonlinear elasticity. Here, we report the measurement of the nonlinear elastic properties of breast tissue components. The nonlinear elastic properties of breast tissue were investigated with a creep test. The three parameters of the nonlinear elastic model were acquired. In conclusion, two of these parameters are significantly different among the components. There was indicated that the magnitude of parameter is determined by tissue structure. There was suggested that the difference in parameter distribution causes the difference in dynamic response of breast tissue.

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One of medical issues of our country is not only increase of patient but also relative decrease of doctor by super-aging society. Diagnosis and Treatment support system is necessary to reduce the doctor's load. So, in this paper, we purpose the development of the diagnosis and treatment support system for Robotic echography. It is needed to workings high accuracy, high-speed and workings by extending to the large range to some degree. Then, we have developed hybrid pneumatic and electric Serial link type robot. Then, the range of the part that assumes various patient of body type that is diagnosed has been decided, and the length of the robot arm that can be worked had been decided, and the range has been simulated by the inverse kinematics. we established a hybrid system of them to examine the relation between electric, pneumatic and hybrid actuator. Then we found out that the advantages of electric actuator which that has good response and high-accuracy positioning can cover the faults of pneumatic actuator which that has bad response and bad-accuracy positioning.

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Recently, robotic systems assisting single port endoscopic surgery (SPS) was developed. Our laboratory also developed a SPS assisting robot. It enables surgeons to manipulate position and posture of the endoscope. Joystick and foot switches are used to manipulate endoscope, however, this system is not suitable for manipulating endoscope and operability of endoscope is bad. It's because manipulating posture is rare in robotic surgery and not discussed the way of manipulating posture. This paper presents a basic evaluation of operability about manipulating position and posture of endoscope. In the experiment, we evaluate operability of position and posture independently.

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Many studies which aim to develop the walk guidance system for persons with visual impairment have been conducted to assure their safety walk. The tactile walking surface indicator (TWSI) is one of the most important basic guide assist system for persons with visual impairment. The area on which persons with visual impairment can actively walk is directly affected by prevalence of TWSI. Today, TWSI has many varieties of size, shape, color and materials. Therefore, the standardization of TWSI is strongly recommended. In this study, we evaluated the influence of difference between square array TWSI and stagger array TWSI in indicating walking direction by conducting an experiment with subjects.

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This paper provides the study on the expansion reading device using image processing. The expansion reading device is very useful device for visually impaired persons. However the expansion reading device is very expensive device and has high performance. We attempt to produce the expansion reading device using the PC, USB camera and image processing software. We evaluate the usability of this device by means of the results of the questionnaire.

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This paper is described about a bump detecting system using a Laser Range Finder for an electric powered wheelchair. In recent years, the wheelchair diffuses for elder. Thereby the increase in an accident becomes problems. Especially the fall from a platform, derailment in a sewer, etc. have also caused a death accident as a serious accident. So we propose the detecting system that the Laser Range Finder is attached to the side part of the wheelchair, the front is scanned perpendicularly. The system can detect not only an obstacle but the bump. In the experiment, we have carried out experiments on flat, obstacle, bump, and have checked that it was correctly detectable.

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This paper is described about a study of an improvement of a response time using haptic interface. We have made a proposal for a music baton system for visual handicapped persons. The system is constituted by an acceleration sensor, a radio module, and a haptic interface device. We have carried out an experiment of comparing the visual and the haptic interface last time. The result declared that a pre-motion is important for the visual interface. In the paper, we make a proposal for new method of a pre-motion using the haptic interface device. The response time of haptic interface was improved by the method in the experiment.

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Tactile Walking Surface Indicators has been placed on road to guide directions and to give attentions to the visually impaired. Some of existing Tactile Walking Surface Indicators are, however, low contrast with surrounding road surface. To improve the problem of contrast described above, addition of lateral band to Tactile Walking Surface Indicators has been proposed. The persons with low vision capability sometimes misunderstand long objects on road surface as holes or ditches. As the first stage of the research, visibility of the lateral band of different color and width were experimentally measured by subjects with the persons with low vision capability.

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A study is described about an information support system for a wheelchair user. The user is difficult to find the objects for the moving, because the user's standpoint is narrower than standing standpoint. Persons with low eyesight are in the same situation too. This system has functions of the self position estimation using color markers for navigation and an offer of additive information. The feature of the system used three primary colors for the marker, and we have carried out an experiment of the recognition of the mark. Moreover, we have discussed how to combine the self position data with a database for universal design.

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In walk rehabilitation, there is a person who can walk in a training room, however the same person cannot other place. The reason is because the environment of the training room is totally different from everyday life environment. In this paper, we suggest a walking rehabilitation system showing activities of daily living environment.

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The purpose of this study is to evaluate the physical load of the wheelchair users by the oxygen uptake values and the wheelchair driving force while they are propelling a wheelchair upward on a slope. Unimpaired adult subjects were asked to propel the wheelchair on the slope that was used for the emergency escape route. The profile of the slope was 8% gradient, 120m distance, and 7.6m height. The Oxygen Cost Index of the wheelchair users while propelling manual wheelchair upward on the slope indicated approximately 0.017 (litter/one meter) and it was about three times higher than that of by flat floor in the room (0.006 l/meter). The averaged wheelchair driving power while ascending the slope presented approximately 58W, and it was needed by about four times as large as flat floor (15W). We conclude that 8% gradient and 120m distance of the slope cause extremely high physical load for the wheelchair users even in the case of unimpaired persons. So, we should improve the slope of sidewalk to reduce the physical load of wheelchair users.

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We presented the method to guide and control a mobile robot under the environment informationized by IC tags in ROBOMEC2010. The paper pointed out the problem with the success rate of reading of IC tags. This paper makes an investigation of the causes of the success rate of reading, and find out remedies. The result was obtained that intervals of IC tags was wide, the noise mixed from the power supply, and the communication procedure was wrong.

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In recent years, it is reported that the number of falling accidents of elderly pedestrians tends to increase. As one of this cause, it is considered that the center of gravity position with sole is changed. This is because that the elderly people are difficult to balance the center of gravity position by decline of their leg strength. Therefore, they become easy to fall. Thus, in order to solve these problems, developments of new products to prevent fall motion are desired. In this study, we propose high performance shoes to enable stable walking. That is to say, in order to develop the shoes, we use the Sponge Core Soft Rubber Actuator (SCSRA) as the pneumatic element. The SCSRA can control the stiffness with change of internal pressure of the element. Therefore this actuator can be used as an insole of the shoes. In this paper, the effectiveness of the proposed shoes is cleared through some experimental results.

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The walking ability is very important for the life and living. Losing walking ability causes a decline in the Quality of Life (QOL). The walking assistant system named the intelligently controllable walker "i-Walker" is studied and developed in this paper. The i-Walker uses a MR fluid to brake the left and/or right wheels of the walker controlling walking speed and direction. The previous study has developed the 1st-generation of the i-Walker (i-Walker1) and several experiments were conducted. This study has developed the 2nd-generation of the i-walker (i-Walker2), and conducted several experiments for i-Walker1 and 2. First, the line-tracing algorithm is changed from previous study. Second, the control-box for i-Walker2 is loaded in the machine. Third, the new controllable wheels using a compact MR fluid brake is developed. Finally, the experimental comparison between i-Walker2 and i-Walker1 through motion capture system (Arena) is made.

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Passive dynamic walk is one of the walking schemes for a biped walking robot. sole shape is an important factor for the stability since it is the point on which a walking robot receives a torque from a floor. A recent study shows that, a specially designed sole shape exhibits constraining effects under overturning situations and thus enhances stability for passive dynamic walk. In recent years, more and more aging people face a risk of accidental fall down during walking. It is expected to support walk stabilization by a natural way without help by others. This research proposes a shoe design to stabilize a human's walk. The sole shape of the shoe is based on a stabilization mechanism for a passive dynamic walk.

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In order to cope with the unprecedented aging society, senior citizens need to support themselves and maintain their health. Although there are many electric vehicles such as electric wheelchairs or senior cars, few of them maintain the health of senior citizen. They sometimes restrict senior citizen's sphere of activity. In this paper, a power assisted bicycle with supported wheels is developed with stabilizing control at low speed or crashing, and velocity control on slope.

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Recently, the aging society is advancing very rapidly. An increase of apoplexy and brain infarct patients is expected because of aging. It also causes an increase of hemiplegic patients too. Many basic actions such as walking, standing, and so on are difficult for hemiplegic patients. So they are supported from family, nurse and so on in many situations. In this paper, the knee assist device that can detect condition of lower limbs by foot sensor and encorder of knee joint is developed. This device can prevent a collapse of knee joint and assist safe standing by that lower limbs' conditions.

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The low step way disturb the wheelchair travel. The movable area of the wheelchair will be expanded if the wheelchair can get over the high step by light power. This paper describes about the feasibility study whether the caster of the wheelchair is improved and the high step is got over by light power. The experimental result shows that the improvement of the step surmounting capability has been achieved. And, the utility of the proposed wheelchair caster was revealed.

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In this research, we are currently developing a robotic arm which is mounted on a wheel chair to help disabled people in daily life. But it is difficult for these people to manipulate it by using a joystick. So we aim to make an automatic manipulator, and this year, we developed a robot hand which can grasp objects automatically. This time we tried 3 tasks. They are to grasp a PET bottle, a straw and a handle. To realize these tasks, this robot hand has 30[N] grip force produced with four-bar linkage system, and carries a supersonic sensor, infrared proximity sensors and pressure sensors. Finally we succeeded to create a map of environment, and to carry out them.

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In this paper, we propose a practical robotic follower adopting "Hyper-Tether" concept for detecting a foregoing person to support daily life for a patient with Home Oxygen Therapy. And to achieve the purpose, we developed a prototype robotic follower and verified its effectiveness by an evaluation test which is implemented to certain number of persons. And last, we tried to improve the performance of the controller of its own.

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Power assist robots need to estimate human motion to extend human physical abilities appropriately. In this paper, a control method for a knee power assist device using Electro-Hydrostatic Actuator(EHA) is proposed by using the fact that EHA is a singular perturbation system. The controller is based on singular perturbation control and uses disturbance observer to estimate external torque applied by operator. The estimated torque is used to increase sensitivity of the system by feedback control. The efficacy of the proposed method is evaluated by measured iEMG.

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We report the fall detection sensor system that can detect a person falling down on the ground. The fall detection sensor system monitors the vital sign, accelerometers and angle velocities. The person's pulse is used as the vital sign. The fall detection algorithm using these signals enables us to detect the fall correctly. Especially, the fall detection algorithm using the vital sign was able to distinguish the case which person didn't fall to keep their balance though the fall began.

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Walking assistance is necessary for the elderly and patients who rehabilitate paralysis of apoplexy. In order to meet the social requests, a walking assistance apparatus used a spatial parallel link mechanism has been developed. Without making special constraints on person's legs the proposed apparatus can assist whole legs of a person including soles. Furthermore, a lifter which can not only bear the weight both the apparatus and equipped person but also prevent equipped person to stumble was developed. By using this lifter, all subjects felt that the assist power of the apparatus and the height of the trajectory while swing phase was increased. Muscle activity of the TA, RF, GMH was decreased by wearing the apparatus. Finally, the concept of the walking ratio was introduced to the compensated method of the apparatus, and the walking cycle and walking width could be flexibly adapted at equipped person's will.

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In recent years, Power Assist Devices is for research and development being done by various research institutions. But, such miniaturization and weight reduction and safety are a bottleneck for practical. For example, Can lighten a device by using CFRP. But, the method has some limitations. One way of solving can be considered to make a simple mechanism. We are aiming to design less wasteful. To this end, we have fabricated a prototype with encoder. We measured the joint angle by using it. Was evaluated using the results for evaluation of the mechanism and operability and ease of wear. And, we showed full aid can't be in this exoskeleton.

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We have been developed an autonomous running method which run a wheeled mobile robot to a goal while avoiding obstacles in uncertain space. This paper describes an autonomous running method to guide the blind person to goal by a wheeled robot with a harness. A speed of robot can be control by according to the corresponding angle and expansion values of the harness holding by a person.

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In this research, the safety of Joystick car drive system was evaluated. This joystick operation system is able to make a physically handicapped person drive a car using a joystick lever. However, the system may include potential danger of rollover of a car when high-speed running because of small-force operation and narrow range of a joystick. To solve this problem, we propose steering control algorithm based on a vehicle velocity. First, we make a dynamic model of rollover in the running car and get theoretical formula when rollover. From the model, we get critical steering angles depending on the vehicle velocity. To restrict steering angle based on theoretical formula, we prepare two types of joystick sensitive and they was applied to the system.

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The mobile experience of infant stage is important, in order to encourage the development of the cognitive faculty. We are developing an omnidirectional vehicle, which has various functions for handicapped children. In this study, we introduce the operation assist system that the collision avoidance assists the inadequate operation of handicapped infants.

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A Closed-Fitting-Type walking assistance device was developed. The device has actuators on board in a backpack. It uses a system of power transmission that used a Flexible-shaft and a Worm-gear. As a result, the device compacted size and reduced weight of each leg joints. In addition, as for the device, choice of an Ankle-Foot-Orthosis (AFO) and a Knee-Ankle-Foot-Orthosis (KAFO) is possible by a paralysis level. In order to practical use of the device, we improved the three points: "Compact-size and Light-weighting", Adaptability" and "A walk movement performance improvement". Then we gave a verification experiment to confirm the effectiveness of the device. As a result, the support effect of the device was confirmed by the feeling.

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Walking is a fundamental ability necessary for everyday life. In this paper, an omni-directional walker (ODW), which can support people with walking disabilities to perform indoor walking and rehabilitation, is introduced. To control the ODW's movement toward the direction in which the user intends to go during walking support, an adaptive control method is proposed. We simulate the walker's movement along the path generated based on the results of directional intention identification. Simulation results show the ODW can accurately following the user's intention direction, which shows the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed scheme.

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A three-wheeled Omni-directional cane robot called Intelligent cane was developed previously for aiding the elderly walking. The robot consists of a stick, a multi-axis force sensor, two laser range finders, tilt angle sensor, universal joint and an omni-directional basis driven by three omni wheels. Estimation method of ITD(intentional direction) and motion control method based on ITD were proposed previously. There are various modes about the user of this robot. For example normal, danger, and so on. This paper proposes a detection method of user fall sign based on the leg motion and motion control method for the fall prevention using universal joint.

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This paper presents motion strategy for arm-driving wheelchair to land on the stairs adequately. In proposed motion strategy, firstly unknown step height and depth are measured by scanning range finder, and secondly in order to land on the measured stairs, the trajectory planning of wheelchair motion and its control method step are given.

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