We are developing mechatronics education program using line tracing robots which are controlled by microcomputer. This program is applied to the new students as an introductory course of engineering experience. The class consists of hardware, software development of the robot, and its evaluation. We strongly recommended to the students to develop a new robot with original features. For examples, at the beginning of the class, we invited our OB and had a lecture about the importance of originality. As a result, more than half students developed various robots with original features.

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Lessons about robots and mechanism for junior high school students were opened in summer. In the lessons, students build "Robo-Pita Machine", which is a similar machine to "Pitagora Machine" and is including robotic components, sensors, motors and microcontroller, to achieve a certain objective in collaboration with a team. In this paper, the contents of the lessons and the questionnaire are shown.

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We report on the engineering design class "Engineering Practice 2" in 2014 that opened a course in the department of electrical engineering, Shibaura Institute of Technology. The strategy of this class is to design and develop an autonomous inverted pendulum robot by oneself to improve the engineering design ability. After conducting Engineering Practice 2 in 2013, the programming of educational material was improved to raise the balance success rate of the inverted pendulum robot using a photo sensor. By comparing the questionnaire's result of Engineering Practice 2 in 2014 and the one in 2013, we indicate whether the improved programming of educational material is effective for improving programming ability of students.

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Central council for education of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology said that it is important that students take the initiative in solving problems in the future mature society. In engineering education, the efforts for encourage proactive learning of students such as active learning and PBL type education have been implemented. Therefore, this study was aimed to develop the manufacturing education teaching material based on learning theory of constructionism in order to foster ability to pursue one's own ends and problem-solving skills. It was discussed learning effect obtained from lesson practice. Results of questionnaire survey of lesson practice, was confirmed to be effective in the development of bachelor ability.

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This paper describes the mechanism of 2-liquid mixing valve. Previously, there is the problem of getting stuck in the end holder after the operation of the releasing urethane foam. In order to solve this problem, we propose aerial mixing motion. The basic prototype model is designed and developed. The basic motion of the prototype is confirmed experimentally. In addition, as the application of this mixing valve mechanism, the concept of the Environment Printing Robotics is shown.

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This paper describes the load-sensitive screw clamping mechanism to realize self high speed and high torque mode change. In order to realize the automatic mode change with just only the mechanical configuration, we adopt the worm screw mechanism. Linear motion of the worm screw can rotate the worm gear faster, on the other hand, the rotational motion of the worm screw car rotate the worm gear slower, this means the high torque is transmitted on this mode. Based on this principle, the prototype model was designed and developed. The basic motion of the prototype was confirmed experimentally.

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This paper developed an acceleration-based bilateral control between a wearable multi-fingered master robot hand and a motion-reproducing multi-fingered slave robot towards acquisition of human grasping motions. Nowadays, by the development of motion control techniques, the precise positioning and fine force representation have been achieved. However, there are still problems with the representation of dexterous motions using robots manipulators such as grasping motions because the mechanism of the command generation has not been cleared yet. Thus, in this paper, by utilizing a bilateral control technique, human motions that include both position and force information are reproduced in the multi-degree-of-freedom cooperative robotic systems. The validity of the proposed method was verified experimentally.

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There are various terms, design of mechanical engineering, mechanism, electronics, programing etc. on basic of mechatronics education. To produce and control of robot is effect as practical education. Our department has a practical class to produce and control using "Line trace robot". Moreover, we set some tasks that students have to incorporate sensors and lifted up mechanism to robot. They furthermore have to solve contest's task at short period. Contests are held at 5 times (term-A, term-B, final). Each terms and final are not same task. Difficulty of tasks is increased by each contest. Questionnaire survey is carried out after final contest. We analyze the education's effect using this questionnaire. From these results, our research group discusses the education's effect using method of project type on the practical class of line trace robot (producing and control)". s

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This paper reports the engineering design education through the project based learning in our department. This class consists of four experiments and the passive walker kit assembly is offered as the experiment on dynamics, measurement and control. Each team, which consisted of three students, develops passive walker in three weeks. While the goal of this project is set to 100cm walking, 17% of team could achieve the goal in FY 2014. We installed the mutual evaluation in order to evaluate an ability to work in a team. As a result, we recognized positive changing of students' attitude toward the class.

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As a way of teaching creativity, I developed a robot contest & a three weeks curriculum that were open to undergraduate students in the Clinical Engineer Course. Many students had little experience in making something. For the robot contest, an introduction for six weeks was useful for students engaged in making their first robot. The robots gathered balls, brought the balls to a pipe-type goal and threw the balls into the goal. Seventy five percentages of 69 students wanted to continue making something after the robot contest. On the three weeks curriculum, students fabricated a gear box kit, and measured relationship between motor torque and rotation number. In order to understand "torque", students let model cars with different gear ratios run against slope, and fabricated a hammer impact mechanism.

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Classes using the microcomputer are performed in Kitakyushu Institute of technology (Department of control and information systems engineering). There are two classes using a microcomputer, however, those classes use different microcomputers. To solve the problem, it is aimed at the development of the microcomputer module unified standard in this study. In this study, we used PIC32MX to develop the microcomputer module. In this paper, we studied how to control of the crane robot with 'PIC32MX'. In addition, we carried out design of microcomputer module using PIC32MX.

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Using Arduino and Artec Block, we performed the robot design education. Arduino is an open-source computer hardware and the Artec Block is a cubic block with square holes. Students designed their own robots and assembled them. We will research robot kits and describe the usefulness of Studuino and Artec Block.

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This paper explains a workshop based on reverse-engineering for elementary schoolchildren to disassemble and reassemble a mini-robot. In this workshop, at first, elementary schoolchildren disassemble and analyze a mini-robot, respectively, with the support from a college student who made this mini-robot. Finally, a new mini-robot which achieves another new task is designed and rebuilt by each child based on analyzed result of disassembled mini-robot.

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We have proposed definitions of robot. The keywords are (A)automatic and (B)biomimetics. A ∪ B is a broad definition and A ∩ B is a narrow definition. Based on the definition of robot, we propose a Systematization of robotics. Finally, we discuss social implementation of robots.

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Since 1988, the Department of Digital Engineering at Numazu National College of Technology have introduced a Project-Based Learning (PBL) with Micro Intelligent Robot System "MIRS" into the curriculum for the education of system development process. We are intended to provide a place of learning "process of system development" and "making education as a creative education" through the development of robot. In 2009, a new robot platform, which is provided for students at the beginning of this PBL program, was developed in order to improve the technical factors of robot system, and at the same time, increase students' motivation for learning. In this paper, we reported practice of PBL Program developing MIRS in 2013 and the efforts of four years. Features of 2013, is that the students to study the needs of society, we have proposed a new competition. A further improvement of student attitudes and motivation for making things up will be an issue in the future.

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This paper presents interdisciplinary education in fundamental engineering experiment in National Institute of Technology, Numazu College(NIT, Numazu College). NIT, Numazu College has implemented a common experiment to cross-experimental practice the discipline of all the Department as a target the first year from 2012. This freshman common experiment is positioned as science and engineering basic experiment, it is aiming to acquire a wide range of specialty foundation by learning the experiment of different fields in the PBL method. We shown in the following the flow of the lesson. 1st week, students perform a lesson guidance and parts check. 2nd week, students assemble a standard robot. 3rd week, students perform a meeting to create a system proposal. 4th week, students create a system proposal. 5th and 6th week, students work individually. Then, perform the competition in the grade to the seventh week, to perform a retrospective to the eighth week. A further improvement of student attitudes and motivation for making things up will be an issue in the future.

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"Fundamentals Seminar II" subjects of Meijo University Faculty of Science and Technology Mechatronics Engineering. By students to create a line follower Robot, to report the implementation and evaluation of lessons that get interested in mechatronics students.

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Development of a sphere-shaped mobile robot as a mobile base for home agent robots is described. Previously, a driving mechanism has been introduced employing a tricycle omni-directional internal drive unit and a prototype robot has been fabricated. Then, a set of equations of velocity references for the wheels have been derived which enable the internal unit to move smoothly along the inner surface of the sphere. Besides, a dynamics model to express rotational movements of the proposed robot has been derived. In this presentation, first, a control scheme is derived on the basis of these results in order to suppress swinging movements of the internal drive unit, employing a posture angle of the unit measured by an on-board IMU sensor. The validity of the scheme is confirmed through both simulations and experiments, which, in turn, confirms the validity of the dynamics model. Second, velocity control of the outer sphere employing a simple gain feedback compensation is examined. However, the model equations and simulation results show that the effect of the swing suppression control is eliminated by the simple gain compensation, which may lead to a poor control performance. Thus, an improved control scheme is expected as a future study plan.

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In this study, we aim to deal with the laundries by two robot arms and a camera. We evaluated how folds laundry in the unified method in comparison with folding by human. As a result, a good condition which is used the laundry by human is the fewer number of folding. And a good condition which is put away the laundry by human is the smaller laundry. The size of laundry which is folded by unified method is about 12.5 to 25% of the original size after folding the square.

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A robot that can make a hollow doughnut with ultra-thin shell is proposed in this work. The thickness of the doughnut is limited by the viscosity of uncooked dough, and even an experienced cook cannot make a hollow doughnut beyond such a thickness limitation, hi order to make an ultra-thin doughnut for a new texture, a high-speed spinning cook robot is developed. The robot includes two parts, a free-spin mold mounted on an electric motor and an external heater. By high-speed spinning, a great centrifugal force is evenly applied to the uncooked dough inside the mold while the mold is cooked by the heater. The thickness of the produced hollow doughnut is successfully achieved 150 micron which is far beyond what a human cook can do. The design of the robot and the texture of the ultra-thin shell are discussed.

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The purpose of this study to develop of a cart that automatically moves in front of a human to support carrying burdens. In this paper, we describe two topics: development of a unit for driving the cart, and the method for the cart to move along the specified path. The drive unit can be attached to and detached from an ordinary cart easily. The drive unit rotates the rear wheels of the cart by pressing the driving wheel of the unit to the rear wheels. When the cart moves automatically, it precedes the human and moves along the pre-defined path. The path is assumed to be a combination of straight lines and arcs. We verified that the cart could track a U-shaped path without any problems.

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In recent years, touch-type mobile device such as a tablet and a smartphone has been popularized, but some people do not familiar with them, other people do not use them efficiently, we focus on writing movement and propose "New Generation Digital Pen" that is able to access the Internet more easily and flexibly. In software side, We had constructed a system that associates handwriting with airpen(Pentel Co.) with digital operations. However, this system was limits to send a e-mail and the command judgement was instability. So, we implemented tweet command and improved this judgement algorithm. In hardware side, We developed new pen device. A refill has been found to be strained depending on the direction of pen point movement. By analyzing the value of the strain gauges attached on a refill, it estimates the handwriting.

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This paper presents semantic grasping of everyday objects using knowledge model. The knowledge model describes the structure of everyday objects and information on their manipulation. The grasp areas and approach directions are extracted from the knowledge model and mapped on to the 3D point cloud data of the target when the intended purpose are given. Fine grasps suitable for the intended task are generated by performing a grasp planning.

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In this paper, we develop an articulated mobile robot for cleaning on steps and narrow paths. The robot consists of links which has a cleaning unit, wheels for propulsion, a pitch joint for three-dimensional motion, and sensors for collision detection, and the links are serially connected by a yaw joint. A control method which the robot effectively cleans a plane floor is proposed, and simulations and experiments were carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of it. Furthermore, experiments were performed to test feasibility of climbing a step.

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We have been developing a robot that consist with an unnecessary CD and an embedded microcomputer, and holding robot classroom to target elementary and junior high school students. Putting a pen in the center hole of the CD, student can make the robot to draw a variety of shapes by program. In this paper, we introduce the operability and the scalability of robot.

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We show the cooperation between the classes in Matsue College of Technology Department of Mechanical Engineering, and the class for linking between the robot contest and the next step of the contest. By these classes, Students would experience the PDCA cycle, and easily be able to image the next step of the class. In this paper, we show this effort by results of student questionnaire of these classes.

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"The Rescue Robot Contest Seeds" (ResCon-Seeds) is a local and small-scale robot contest which deals with major disaster as the subject in order to educate elementary children about robotics technologies. We proposed new workshop, which build the module appending some function to robots. This method has the advantages of reduction in assembling time and material costs, and brings effects increase the opportunity to offer making robotics education programs for workshop rooted in the community.

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The paper presents a path planning method for an autonomous mobile robot working in human environment. The traditional planning method uses the map having only static obstacle information. A path generated by that method does not consider environmental rules. For example no trespassing area or one side-way passage. To solve this problem, we propose a path planning method with pedestrian information map. We define pedestrian as human moving to the destination. We generate pedestrian information map using only pedestrian traffic information in all observed human traffic information. Pedestrian information map shows passable areas and the traffic manner on the map. Experimental results showed the effectiveness of the proposed method.

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As a real world projection system, we have been studying a mobile robot, Campro-RIS, equipped with a camera-projector set on a pan-tilt actuator. In order to maintain the visibility of the user, our Campro-RIS has a function to automatically recognize an optical occlusion between the projector and the projection plane and skillfully avoid it. In this report, we propose a novel method for robustly detecting the occlusion based on brightness values of the projected image extracted from the whole camera image. Some successful experimental results are given to show the validity of the proposed method.

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Increasing aged people who needs nursery care, home mobile robots are required. For household use, we have been developing a wall mobile robot arm system. In this presentation, the mechanical design of the robot arm with a gravity compensation mechanism using spring and the considering total DOF including the mobile platform are discussed. In addition, the developed pilot system using Bluetooth communication and Android interface are introduced. The developed robot system could move along the curved handle rail on a wall and the arm could grasp a target and take it to the desired position. The result of the experiment is reported.

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Personal service robots are expected to help people in various scenes such as caring, daily support, and construction. Such assistive robots have to have an ability to collaborate with people. For a human and a robot to perform a collaborative work, it is necessary to teach the robot how to collaborate with the human. Such a teaching should be easy and accurate. A promising approach to teaching is Programming by Demonstration (PbD), in which humans demonstrate a task and a robot learns the task by observing the demonstration. In this paper, we develop a PbD system for collaborative assembly tasks. The target tasks we choose are assembly of a table or a chair. The system observes collaborative assembly by two person by using four RGB-D cameras. The system records RGB and depth images with the person skeleton data. All data are converted to a common world coordinate system. We use these data to detect movements of human hands and assembly parts, and then recognize actions performed.

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The objectives of this research are to develop an intelligent automatic doors that open only for people who intend to use them and adjust the precise timing of the doors to open to match the speed of people moving towards the doors. This paper describes experiments conducted in order to know the proper opening and closing timings.

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This paper describes a person recognition method using IMU and LRF by a mobile service robot. The robot is equipped with two LRFs, and the IMU is attached to a leg of the target person. Walking conditions, such as foot strike timing and stopping/turning period, are measured by the LRF and the IMU independently. We compare the walking conditions measured by the LRF and the IMU and calculate the degree of difference between these conditions. For a robust target tracking, we identify the target person using a Baysian estimation. In the experiment, the robot recognizes the target person successfully even if the person is occluded by the other persons.

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The purpose of this study is human-robot collision avoidance in passing by each other. In this paper, we considered that improvement of human movement direction recognition and the control of collision avoidance. We propose a recognition method for a human movement for collision avoidance, using a Kinect sensor. The method analyzes the direction of the human movement from the human's body angle and movement velocity of right or left direction. To recognize the human's walking direction, we compare threshold with body angle and velocity of right or left direction. For example, when the body angle and velocity of right or left direction is bigger than the threshold, the state of the human is estimated to face to right. By applying this method to the robot system, the robot successfully recognized the direction of human movement.

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Understanding and executing the instructions by robot is a problem that attracts attention recently. Many everyday manipulation tasks are related to handling or operating a certain equipment or object. The everyday tasks also often include some primitive actions such as taking or putting something, opening or closing something, applying a pressure, and so on. This research is to propose a solution to retrieve primitive actions from instruction manuals for operations of objects or equipment in household environment. A set of necessary primitive actions is generated from analysis of the instruction manuals. These actions set is useful for building an executable robot plan when the robot need to accomplish a complex task that is combined from a sequence of primitive actions.

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The aim of our research is the development of the modular home robot system. This paper demonstrates autonomous attaching/detaching and mobility functions for the arm module which is one of the essential modules of the modular home robot. The arm module has a symmetrical structure and original mechanical interfaces on the ends. These features are utilized to implement the detachable movement and locomotion of the arm module autonomously.

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In daily living and working environment, there are many structured furniture such as fridge and cabinet, etc. Therefore, being able to manipulate these kind of objects is considered as an important ability for daily life supporting robot. In this paper, we propose a simple method for robot with low impedance manipulator to manipulate structured furniture by feeding back only the end effector's position. We will also discuss how we identify the object's handle and our manipulation system that includes moving of the robot's base.

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This paper describes a multi-joint fixation mechanism for capturing and holding of an upper stage of a rocket which is a big part of the debris. This fixation mechanism is like a belt and has many links and joints with torsion spring. The mechanism passively expands when it closes to the debris and twines around the body of the rocket and keeps holding. In this paper, the elements of this mechanism parts are physically modeled on the dynamics simulator and parameters, specifically like the body shape of fixation mechanism are adjusted to capture and hold the debris reliably. Also, impact tension occurs when EDT finishes to expanding its tether and static tension loading continues until the finish of the deorbit. Therefore, in order to hold debris for one year, this paper verifies the effects of tension between debris and the mechanism applied from EDT.

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Space debris mitigation is a key technology for on-orbit servicing. In order for secure capture of space debris by a space robot, contact control with translational and rotational motion is necessary for detumbling and grasping the debris. This paper elaborates on collision experiments in micro-gravity and numerical simulations based on contact dynamics model. We examined contact characteristics with/without mechanical compliance, which is equipped on the space robot and needed for contact control by its robotic arms. On the basis of these analyses, we introduce theoretical contact conditions for relatively detumbling. The validity of the conditions is experimentally shown by using air-floating test beds in planar micro-gravity. The result contributes to relative motion control after contact.

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The asteroid exploration spacecraft "Hayabusa 2" was launched in December, 2014. Similar asteroids missions have attracted attention in recent years. Asteroids are important exploration objects since their body has little thermal deformation and information about old materials. However, the gravity of asteroid surface is so small and the exploration is difficult by using the wheel mechanism. This paper presents the deployment type hopping rover for in situ explorations. The rover not only has high mobility in microgravity environment, but also its thermal control is available by opening or closing the deployment mechanism. The authors investigate the three dimensional mobility and especially the relationship between the force direction that penetrates a mass point of the rover and the load point at the hopping. Evaluation of the roll of each axis is performed by simulations and the microgravity experiments performed in a drop tower.

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We have developed new massage chair which has various massage feelings to be altered to suit individual preferences by applying impedance control technology. It controls mechanical impedance characteristics such as inertia, viscosity and elasticity of massage rollers. Subsequently, we experiment to confirm its effectiveness. Experimental results show that almost all of the subjects can recognize many different kinds of massage feelings by using developed massage chair applying impedance control. Thus, changing mechanical impedance characteristics can vary massage feelings.

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The paper describes a hands-free method for indicating an object in a scene by user's gaze for home service robot. A wearable gaze tracking device (GTD) detects user's gaze. The user can indicate a target object by gazing to the target object and a robot starts to search for the object autonomously. The method uses the gaze-interaction to specify the object and integrates the RGBD sensing to segment unknown objects from complex environment based on the analysis of depth and color information for segmentation of object from background and other objects. The experimental results confirm its applicability on a wide variety of objects even in highly cluttered scenes.

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Recent studies on "robots that adjust to the surrounding environment and change forms accordingly" and "robots develop like software by reinforced learning" are actively researched now. However, robots with a reforming mechanism to which hardware develops like the growth of a child to adult is extremely few. Present study, at developing at a human type robot to mimic the growth of a human body, and to express the feature of each age by producing. The mechanism to make the robot a human height ratio and a mass ratio. In addition the final purpose was to recreate a human life from baby to an elderly by using a humanoid robot to reproduce it. The height ratio is reproduced with a trapezoid screw. The mass ratio is reproduced by collecting the liquid in the robot.

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In order to enable home robot to perform housework tasks which is very complicated, task planning method have been used to define which task to do next. But, home robot must perform tasks rapidly for practical use. In our method, a robot performs actions concurrently by switching phase from executing action to next action judging whether or not switching to next action has problem. When parallelizing actions, A robot must takes care of reliability of recognition results because movement accuracy can be damaged by transfering from sequencial execution of actions to concurrent execution of actions. Our method's effectiveness is confirmed in an housework experiment in which a home robot takes a can from a fridge.

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Since soft soils cover on planetary surfaces, the wheel easily slips and gets stuck. In order to prevent an increase of a slip and a stuck, a surface of the wheel has lugs that are ridges to improve the wheel traction. There have been some studies about the influence of the lug. However, a design method of an effective lug has never studied well yet. Terramechanics-based wheel models are not applicable to a lugged wheel because those models consider a wheel with a flat surface. Purpose of this research is to model the design method of the effective lugs. In order to model the design method, the lugged wheel model was proposed based on terramechanics. In this paper, a single wheel experiment was performed to verify the traversability of the lugged wheel. And the validity of the proposed lugged wheel model was discussed considering the results of the experiments.

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In this paper, we performed experiments to investigate how the height of grousers influences a skid steering rover's traveling performance. We measured steering/linear movement energy efficiency of a rover with changing grouser's height. In a linear movement experiment, we find there is significant influence of grouser height to energy efficiency, when traction force is relatively high. Also, in a steering experiment, we find grousers have little influences of energy efficiency compared to the method of steering.

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In this paper, we tried to fabricate a soft film actuator that have a large size and lightweight. The length, width and weight of the actuator are 6.41m, 0.51m, and 564g, respectively. The actuator has an air chamber with pleated sheet structure. The actuator could not expand enough to drive when air pressure was applied to it. An upper and lower film was drawn by air flow and a flow channel on the actuator was closed. This problem caused by increasing in size of film structure. Previous soft film actuator was small-size and elastic force of films were larger than a force generated by an air flow. To develop a large soft film actuator, we need a new inlet for film structure.

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This study is intended to propose a method of attaching Electro Dynamic Tether ( EDT ) to non-cooperative satellite. This paper considers capture by wrapping. Various capture systems by wrapping have been studied, but they have common disadvantages of certainty and modeling. It proposes a system that eliminates the disadvantages and is specialized in attachment of EDT. Proposed capture system is a mechanism using leaf springs and membranes. The leaf spring has property of wrap by impact to a portion; consider the grip wrapped by using this property. In addition, it is possible to widen the capture range by using membranes. In this paper, it fabricates prototype as a first step system proposed and considers a validity of this capture system by comparing the previously estimated performanceand experimental values.

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Novel robotic arm "Morphable Beam Robot (MBR)" has been proposed to help and work in place of astronauts. The MBR composed of a Morphable Beam which behaves so as to have plasticity. It can easily deform by a small force and keep its shape. The MBR is applied the Morphable Beam as the arm, and has an end effector, shaping system, extension system. The end effector is attached to the tip of the beam. The shaping system move along the beam and bend any part of it. The extension system take-up and pay-out the beam. This robot has advantages of a wider working range with smaller storage space, and flexible body. The flexibility of the robot provides collision safety for astronauts who are working around it. However, because of its complexity and novelty, control method of MBR has not been established yet. This paper presents a development of control method for MBR. First, it shows how to set coordinate systems on joints. Second, it describes how to determine number of joints. Third, it proposes example of direct kinematics and inverse kinematics. At the end, it proposes the control strategy of MBR.

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