This study realizes a door push-opening with a mobile manipulator consisting of a commercially available arm robot and a mobile robot. Especially, we assumed that the arm robot is controlled by position command every few milliseconds and that the mobile robot is controlled by a linear trajectory. Ott et al. proposed a method of implementing an impedance control in a cylindrical coordinate system on the arm robot so that the arm moves passively as the mobile robot moves forward to achieve a door push-opening. In our previous study, we implemented it by admittance control, but the excessive force was applied to the tip of the arm robot to result in overload errors. In this study, we found that such force can be reduced by properly adjusting the origin of the coordinate system. Moreover, we analyzed how the robot relaxes the excessive force and hypothesized why the position of the origin affects the excessive forces.

Space exploration is conducted to elucidate the origin of the solar system. Currently, satellites are often used, but rover exploration is also being considered to obtain subsurface information. Swarm robotic exploration using multiple small rovers is also being studied. Excavation is necessary for subsurface exploration. However, it is difficult for a single small rover to excavate a deep area because of its lightweight and the excavation resistance of the ground. Therefore, we propose a method of excavation by combining and extending multiple small rovers.

This paper describes the development of an autonomous mobile robot equipped with UVG(Universal Vacuum Gripper) for picking up trash in urban areas. The robot has two differential wheels and an arm with UVG as an end effector. The function of the robotic arm is not limited to picking up trash, as UVG can deform to the shape of the contact object and grasp it. Experiments were conducted in the real world at the "Nakanoshima Robot Challenge 2022" autonomous robot demonstration event. In this research, we propose a system that uses this robot to provide a trash pickup service indoors or outdoors.

In this paper, the relative positions of multiple omni-directional mobile robots constrained by a long object are obtained from the minute movements by hand and the odometry information of each robot. The motivation of this research is to use multiple omni-directional mobile robots to transport long objects at a construction site, even when the passage is narrowed by temporary materials. By using multiple small omni-directional mobile robots rather than the general handcarts currently used at construction sites to transport long objects, we aim to reduce the number of turn-around operations and at the same time reduce the labor required for transport. The accuracy of the relative position estimation using multiple omni-directional mobile robots is reported.

Robots are expected to perform many tasks and in many environments. However, since the performance of most robots is determined at the time of manufacture, this makes it difficult for a single robot to perform many tasks. To solve this problem, this research focuses on expanding physical capabilities by using the environment. To achieve this, we designed a movable carabiner wire module, which is a wire winder that can be easily connected to the environment. In the experiment, the robot itself was able to easily attach to and detach from the environment and perform movements that could not be performed by the robot alone, such as reinforcing its own arm and carrying a heavy object.

The functions required for servomotors used in various degrees of freedom of robots include the compatibility of locking the degrees of freedom for energy saving and reverse drive and the reducing the cost of implementing the functions. In this study, we construct a servo module with a worm gear reduction mechanism that can switch between open and drive states using the relatively inexpensive and easy-to-replicate method. The openable worm gear reduction mechanism satisfies the following three functions. 1. The self-locking characteristics support external loads. 2. We can drive the worm gear mechanism from the outside by disengaging the worm gear and worm wheel. 3. We can produce worm gears inexpensively by 3D printing to achieve many shapes. We used the servo module in four different applications to demonstrate the usefulness of its self-locking characteristics for supporting loads without motor current and its openable function for indirect teaching.

Many bipedal robots incorporate many sensors and complex control systems, which make them highly complicated. In this study, we focus on the Chebychev linkage to generate walking motion of a bipedal robot, which can be actuated by only one D. C. motor. Although it can generate walking motion, it cannot generate sufficient force to the ground, which resulted in falling and slipping walk. Thus, we focus on a mechanism with a spring to instantaneously generate the kicking force to the ground. The proposed mechanism consists of a slide-crank mechanism with an arc-shape groove and a spring. We fabricated a prototype and confirmed that the mechanism can jump periodically. We then conducted a preliminary experiment to evaluate our mechanism’s ability. As a result, we confirm that the high

The goal of this study is to develop the 3D printer that can fabricate a force sensor by one-shot printing. To achieve this fabrication, the 3D printer with the dual extruders is used. One extruder is for printing the rigid bodies of the sensor, such as the sensor body and cover. Another is for including the optical-fiber-based strain gauge (FBG sensor) into the 3D-printed sensor body. By including the FBG sensor into the sensor body, it can measure the strain that is changed through the displacement of the sensor body due to an external load. As the first step of this goal, this study attempts to develop the methodology for the inclusion of the FBG sensor.

In recent years, 3D printers have become essential for the development of robots. The availability of low-cost personal 3D printers has made it possible to rapidly and affordably prototype mechanical parts, leading to improved performance and quality through repeated testing and verification cycles. In this study, we demonstrate the use of a few-layer 3D printing technique to create a flexible continuous track belt. By printing a small number of layers horizontally using nylon carbon fiber material and inserting elastic leaf springs, we were able to create a tough, flexible, and thin belt. Mobility tests of a robot equipped with the printed track belt showed no mechanical breakdown on rough terrain, demonstrating that the belt was sufficiently durable for testing prototype robots.

This paper reports a system identification experiment of an industrial robot manipulator for force control. We have derived model a low-order model and designed a 2-degree-of-freedom control system based on the model. The controller is implemented in the robot, and we verify the control performance of the model through an experiment.

Robots that perform rescue and search operations at disaster sites are called rescue robots. These robots should be able to be navigated operate autonomously because remote control is difficult. The objective of this research is to enable rescue robots to be navigated autonomously on international standard rough terrain. To achieve this objective， we built a learning environment in a simulator using Unity，a physics engine，and conducted deep reinforcement learning using machine learning framework of Unity，ML-Agents. Comparative verification with remote control showed that autonomous navigation was superior to remote control in both time and success rate. The reason for this result was found to be the difference in the motion of the robot.

We focused on the simplification of mechanical structures in the process of evolution of robots such as industrial manipulators. The goal of my research was to develop a robot that can concentrate multiple forces on a single output shaft or distribute them to multiple joints through a complex mechanical structure. The developed mechanical structure enables effective use of power. Eight motors installed on the same plane are used as drive sources. By inputting the helical gears connected to these motors and outputting the helical gears cut from both the left and right sides, it is possible to obtain rotation and linear motion from a single module. By combining multiple modules, we created a structure that changes the posture of the device and rotates the output shaft. Through demonstration experiments, we will verify whether attitude changes are possible or whether multiple power sources can be concentrated on the output shaft.

Recently, mobile robots have been researched to solve the labor shortage. Environmental measurement by 2D LiDAR (URG) mounted on a mobile robot is indispensable for autonomous movement of the robot. There is a problem that the slope is misidentified as a wall and a ghost problem that unintended data is obtained when the environment measurement by URG is performed. The slope problem utilizes the fact that the angle of incidence changes depending on the inclination, and shows that there is a difference in intensity between the wall and the slope. For the ghost problem, we show that the change in distance has a behavior similar to the tanh function.

This paper reports on the fabrication of a biometric device for walk training of the elderly and the results of basic evaluation experiments. To extend healthy life expectancy, it is essential to maintain and improve the ability to walk, which is a basic activity of daily living. Exercise such as walk training is necessary for this purpose. The use of biometric information can increase the effectiveness of walk training. In this study, a scattering optical sensor was fabricated to measure the pulse rate for the walk training device. The measurement error of the average pulse rate was less than 3.1 [bpm] in the pulse wave measurement under the assumption that gloves (beige, green, black) were worn during walk training. The basic evaluation experiments confirmed the accuracy of the scattering optical sensor and its potential as a biometric device for the walk training device. Future work may involve further testing and refinement of the device to improve its accuracy and effectiveness in walk training settings.

In a previous study, aerial capture of a low-speed falling object by a fixed-wing UAV was investigated and approach trajectory generation using the updated final state control (USFC) was proposed. However, it was essential to derive aerodynamic parameters for a new experimental aircraft, a biplane. Therefore, these parameters are identified using wind tunnel tests and CFD analysis on our own experimental system. In addition, efforts are made to further improve the sensing capabilities using Pixhawk, and the effectiveness of the designed flight system is confirmed. In addition, the steady-state flight required to implement UFSC is confirmed through flight experiments in which PD control is implemented.

We have successfully developed a microtube capper for automating polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. The current design can only open and close one microtube per cycle using two DC servo motors with gears and encoders. However, to increase inspection throughput, it is crucial to be able to operate multiple microtubes in a single cycle. Therefore, we propose a new concept of an eight-station microtube capper for automating clinical laboratory and biological experiments. This new design enables the opening and closing of eight microtubes in one cycle and utilizes five DC servo motors with gears and encoders, as well as cam and link mechanisms. We have created a prototype model of the eight-station microtube capper using 3D printed parts. Basic experiments confirmed the successful opening and closing functions, indicating the feasibility of the eight-station microtube capper.

Recently, demonstration tests of autonomous mobile robots have been conducted in many areas. In addition, the Road Traffic Law has been revised, and robots that are active on public roads need to have remote monitoring and control functions. In this study, we present the results of a risk assessment of a transport robot system that has been developed to determine what information on the robot should be remotely monitored and controlled using a network. In addition, we have developed a system that can monitor the status of the robot and have conducted an evaluation of the transport robot system remotely.

Technology contests are based on the competition rules of a certain field. Participating in this is a kind of social implementation research. Authors developed a remote-controlled mobile robot to decontaminate the inside of a nuclear reactor building, and participated in the Decommissioning Robot Contest. In this paper, we report on robot research and development through technology-based contests from the perspective of social implementation-oriented research.

Modern agriculture in Japan faces a variety of problems. Among them are the problems of labor shortage, aging of the population, and high hurdles for newcomers to agriculture, and the number of farmers is decreasing year by year. In order to alleviate the burden of these problems on farmers, smart agriculture is being promoted. The main goal of our laboratory is to develop a tomato harvesting robot that can be used in actual farms. we use image processing to recognize the target crop, tomatoes, and obtain accurate coordinates. The objective of this study is to improve the recognition accuracy so that this sequence of events can be performed without delay.

While the aging of agricultural workers, new agricultural workers is decreasing, resulting in a labor shortage. In addition, there are concerns about the physical burden of workers. Therefore, agricultural robot which can replace agricultural works is attracting attention. This research aims to develop control system of tomato harvesting robot and control system of tomato transportation robot. Moreover, develop system of communication between two robots for mitigating agricultural workers. In order to implement a tomato harvesting robot and tomato transportation robot in farm, it is important to Realization of cooperative action of two robots and have practicality in terms of harvesting speed and accuracy. For that, it is necessary to consider movement of two robots.

This paper describes the fundamental experiment for automating the inspection of a paint coating thickness of spline plates on bridge with a robot arm. The inspection point is estimated using the registration between 3D point cloud data obtained from the actual model and that generated from the CAD model. In the experiment, a robot is set on unstable scaffolds to imitate the inspection environment. The experimental results show that the estimation of the inspection point effectively works, and the inspection can be achieved, even when the robot and the bridge model are not perfectly facing each other. Besides, the results clarified the issues that the robot swung back and forth during the operation due to the unstable scaffolds, and the modification of the trajectory or attitude of the robot arm is required.

This paper describes a method of automatic image acquisition by a mobile robot for efficient equipment inspection (mainly visual inspection) in railway signal houses. First, concerning operational convenience, an autonomous travelling function combined with SLAM and line follower is proposed. Next, the desired image quality for the captured images is defined, and a concept for capturing images to meet this requirement is described. Finally, after building a prototype of a robot, we conducted field tests for two functions, an automatic patrol function that takes pictures at all pre-defined capturing spots in sequence and a capturing function at requested points that takes pictures only at selected spots.

One of the most challenging tasks for dump trucks to automate in earthmoving operations is the unloading of earth and sand in an area. The human operator performs the unloading task as much earth and sand as possible within the area empirically. Automation of this process requires the proposal of a new method to realize the work that is done empirically by humans. Therefore, I propose a new method to predict the shape of the sediment pile after unloading based on the characteristics of the pile, and to determine the unloading position based on the predicted shape of the pile.

Structures built using 3D concrete printers (3DCP) for construction have emerged in recent years, However, structures built using this technology have the problem that the reinforcing rebars cannot be employed like of conventional reinforced concrete structures. To solve this problem, This study fabricated a mechanism that automatically inserts reinforcing short bars in conjunction with existing 3DCPs, Its performance was evaluated through reinforcement experiments on large scale specimens. As a result, as many as 440 reinforcing short bars could successfully be inserted, confirming the effectiveness of the reinforcement.

At construction sites in recent years, there are issues such as labor shortages and productivity improvement, and there is a high demand for automation of construction machinery. In this research, we focus on the automation of leveling work and examine the trajectory tracking control method. We model the hydraulic system of a hydraulically driven model, apply the Smith Compensator to cascaded PID control in leveling work, and verified its effectiveness. Accuracy of trajectory tracking control of the bucket tip was improved in forward leveling work, but not in reverse direction leveling work. The control accuracy of each hydraulic cylinder could be improved, and the effectiveness of using the Smith Compensator could be shown.

In recent years, UAV have been increasingly used to inspect infrastructure structures such as bridges and tunnels. In order for UAV to be widely used in the future, it is necessary to improve the accuracy of self-position estimation. Although many of the UAV use GPS for self-position estimation, infrastructure inspections often take place in non-GPS environments. Therefore, we propose a measurement method that can estimate the self-position in a non-GPS environment by acquiring projected markers with an image sensor. In this study, we present the results of an attempt to obtain the coordinates of projected markers in captured images with higher accuracy using Deep Learning.

This study aims to simultaneously estimate the depth and size of voids in outer wall tiles. The reflection intensities of the healthy and void-containing tile surfaces are mathematically modeled, and the parameters related to the void depth and size are identified in the model to estimate them simultaneously in a single scan. Experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed method.

In traffic regulation work, automating on-site tasks is necessary due to the hazards posed by moving vehicles and other dangers. This paper studies a robotic system designed to automatically restore knocked-over rubber cones in an upright pose during traffic regulation work. Based on research on rubber cone manipulation methods by autonomous robots, the rubber cone manipulation mechanism and recognition function were implemented in an existing mobile robot. A task experiment was conducted to test the system's effectiveness, which revealed both its strengths and the difficulties in accomplishing this task under certain conditions. A task experiment was conducted to check the system's effectiveness, which revealed both its strengths and the difficulties in accomplishing this task under certain conditions.

The purpose of this research is to develop a new robot for inspecting infrastructure such as bridges and tunnels, and a deterioration estimation method that can be used in normal work. In the 4th report, we developed a wall inspection robot that integrates lift and pushing force by applying a high-thrust duct fan, and examined the rationalization of wall inspection and its actual operation. The mobile robot's fan thrust was applied to lift the robot body and push it against the wall. By changing the angle of the wall duct fan, the robot was able to move vertical walls and ceiling walls. In addition, the design for practical use was improved and high workability and stability was excused. In this paper, we report the experiment of continuous movement of the developed mobile robot vertically and on the ceiling wall, and the improved design for practical use.

In recent years, many social infrastructure structures have been aging, and there is a need to automate inspections using robots. One of the wall suction mechanisms is a vacuum suction cup. However, the suction mechanism becomes large to increase the suction force. To solve this problem, a previous study proposed the Universal Vacuum Gecko (UVGecko). UVGecko is a two-layer vacuum suction cup. The outer layer seals the inner layer to the target surface. This has been confirmed to improve the suction force in the shear direction. In this study, we focused on the microstructure and the hardness of the inner layer of UVGecko to search for conditions that would improve the adhesion force. Experimental results showed that the more irregular the shape of the microstructure, the higher the adhesion force. We also found that there is a hardness at which the adhesion force peaks.

Hydraulically driven construction robots are expected to play important roles in various situations, such as disaster response by teleoperation, taking advantage of their high power-to-weight ratio and robustness against harsh environments. It is well known that operability and task efficiency in teleoperation can be improved by force feedback. In this paper, we investigate if the fidelity of teleoperation of hydraulically driven construction robots can be improved by force feedback, especially impact force feedback, based on the estimated external load from cylinder pressures and link accelerations. For this purpose, we propose a force scaling method to give the operator the information on external loads properly. The results of subject experiments indicate that the operators can discriminate the hardness of the material easily by the impact force feedback.

Fuel consumption reduction is required at drilling sites in order to realize a decarbonized society. In this study, we focused on the penetration area, where energy consumption is particularly high, and derived a suitable trajectory using curvilinear penetration. As a result, it was suggested that it is possible to secure the target excavation volume and reduce energy consumption at the same time by adopting a toe entry direction that does not cause soil crushing. A possible application of this research is to integrate it with an automatic excavation system. By introducing a suitable trajectory into an automated excavation system, it is possible to simultaneously reduce both the cost and energy consumption of excavation by automating excavation.

Endoscopes are useful tools for inspecting and observing places that are inaccessible to humans and ordinary cameras. However, it is difficult to operate an endoscope intuitively because there is an embodiment difference between the endoscope and the human body. In this study, we developed an endoscope operating system that uses a Cartesian coordinate input interface. To investigate the range of movement achieving the required accuracy, we measured the actual movement of the endoscope tip using a magnetic three-dimensional positioning sensor. We compared the actual and estimated positions and postures at the endoscope tip and estimated the errors. The results showed that the error of the thrust output was sufficiently small. Furthermore, we can achieve the required accuracy in the range of movement from −74.9° to 80.0° in the roll direction, and from −37.5° to 50.0° in the yaw direction.

Semi-autonomous control of a hydraulic excavator at disaster site and construction site are required from the safety and efficiency points of view, and some autonomous controls have been reported so far. To apply these methods to semi-autonomy, human-machine cooperation is an important issue, which avoids the conflict between human and machine input. However, in the conventional method, the human operator does not recognize how the autonomy is going to move because of the limitations of information that can be presented. In this study, we design a leader-follower semi-autonomous excavation system using an actively operated joystick as a leader system. Based on the difference of controlled dimension between joystick and excavator, the state of the follower, external forces and input of the autonomous system are presented using both position and compliance of the joystick. The effectiveness of the proposed method is evaluated by experiments.

This paper describes the behavior of tensegrity structures under axial loading. We have previously developed a tensegrity structure that can expand and contract significantly by integrating it with a thin McKibben-type artificial muscle. By applying axial loading to this structure, the axial force characteristics of the structure can be obtained. Simulations of the force characteristics were performed and compared with experimental results. The results show that the mass-to-weight ratio is approximately 70 N/kg at zero strain.

There has been growing interest in self-propelled robots for inspecting aging piping facilities. However, the friction of the power and communication tether may interfere with the robot’s traveling. Our robot, AIRo-5.2, which has an active bending joint mechanism with a torque controller, can press its omni-wheels against the inner pipe wall and generate a traction force of 250 N and more. For high traction force, materials of passive roller for the omni-wheels are dominant. In this report, the frictional properties and durability of eight different elastomers for the omni-wheels were investigated by experiments. The experimental results show that NBR (Nitrile Butadiene Rubber) has the highest performance in both traction force and wear resistance.

Many in-pipe inspection robots have been developed so far. Among the existing robots, there have been few robots that can easily travel 2 in pipes or less. On the other hands, screw drive mechanism and surface wave mechanism have been widely known as a simple mechanism that has a potential to pass through narrow pipes. These mechanism have been recognized as different motion principles. However, we found that these two mechanisms are common, and that the principle switches only depending on the environment. Therefore, in this study, we experimentally verify this fact by a common prototype.

The distribution of migratory and resident birds in waterfowl is closely related to changes in the water quality of local lakes and rivers, as well as the environment and the ecosystems. A new approach was proposed using drones. However, the loud noise had a great impact on the surroundings, such as birds flying. The aim of this research is to be able to observe in ecosystem and reduce the load on living organisms by robots. Therefore, it mimics the little grebe which is a kind of waterfowl that can be seen in the area. We perform experiments and evaluate the robot's control system. The experiments on diving motion are conducted. The results of the measurement system confirmed that the required behavior is achieved.

Recently, some researchers have been conducted on methods of surveying the underwater environment using underwater drones. Underwater drone survey methods are safe and efficient. However, it is difficult to control underwater drones. As a solution to this problem, we propose wheeled underwater robots. Wheeled robots can easily control because wheels are in contact with the ground. Therefore, this research aims to develop a wheeled underwater mobile robot. As a first step in the development, we experimented to compare the mobility of a wheeled robot on the sand on water-containing and non-water-containing. The experimental results show that wheel mobility varies with wheel shape and that lugged wheels improve underwater wheel mobility.

The melting of ice and changes in ocean currents in Antarctica must be investigated to understand global climate change. In this regard, the volume changes of sea ice and ice shelves, bathymetry, and ocean currents in the Antarctic Ocean must be measured in three dimensions. Therefore, the use of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), which can directly observe under ice, is being considered. The authors developed an AUV named Mobility Oriented Nadir AntarctiC Adventurer (MONACA) to observe sea ice and the lower region of the ice shelf in the Antarctic Ocean.

This paper reports about a first survey of AUV MONACA held in Jan. to Feb. 2023 at Antarctica. MONACA’s basic function such as waypoint tracking and altitude/depth control were verified at the under-ice. MONACA made 20 dives during the survey, duration was about 39 hours and travel distance was about 15.2 km in total. MONACA succeeded in measuring bathymetry and sea-ice shape with a multibeam sonar.

Visual survey of seafloor can be used to identify areas of interest, create comparison, and with time-related data, detect changes in the environment to help understand and aid in development of economic marine ecosystem. We have successfully carried out visual surveys using monocular cameras on a low-cost autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) and created image analysis methods for this purpose which will be presented in this paper.

Sensing the surrounding environment with acoustic cameras is becoming increasingly important for unmanned robot activities in extreme underwater environments that are inaccessible to humans. However, in turbid underwater environments, noise that cannot be reduced by conventional methods is generated in the acquired acoustic images due to diffuse reflection from the ground. In this study, we attempt to reduce noise in acoustic images using generative adversarial networks (GAN), an AI-based image generation method. Experimental results show that contrastive learning for unpaired image-to-image translation (CUT), one of the extension technologies of GAN, can reduce noise in acoustic images.

Active Debris Removal (ADR) mission called Commercial Removal of Debris Demonstration (CRD2) is planned. Debris capturing mechanism (HKK) technology is developed to perform reliable capture of the debris. As the mission study progressed, releasing function is required as a new requirement of the capturing end-effector of the mission.

In this paper, two solutions to meet the requirement are proposed: a robotic arm and a wrist rotational mechanism methods. An air floating testbed experiment were conducted to evaluate the feasibility of the two proposed methods.

Deep space exploration has been planned actively in these days. Improvement of randezvous and docking technologies are one of the issue. For docking system used in deep space, low power consumption, prevention of pushing away and wide range error tolerances of position and attitude betwween mother ship and daughter ship are needed. We focused on a Low-Contact-Force-Hand which cages a grapple fixture only with an initial contact by spring force and then fixes by driving a motor and proposed an application method for docking mechanism of it. In this paper, the authors discribe requirements definition, design of docking system and operation experiments of the mechanism.

This paper presents the design and development of a rover system for mining Martian ice using slope descent technology. The mobility system was specifically designed with the focus on minimizing weight and overall length, as it was intended to be installed as an extra payload on a large rocket. Two types of ice sampling methods were developed, including a drill and heater type. Simple mining experiments were conducted to test the system's performance. The results indicate that the drill type could penetrate ice only 12-15 mm deep, even when a force greater than its own weight was applied. In contrast, the heated type was capable of drilling to a depth of 22 mm using only its own weight.

Wheeled mobile robots are expected to contribute to the extensive exploration of the lunar surface. However, since the lunar surface is characterized by soft soil covered with fine sand, wheel slippage is a significant obstacle to lunar rover exploration. The authors have used a single-wheel testbed to analyze the driving performance of a wheel on loose soil. In this study, a grouser wheel was mounted on the testbed, and driving tests were conducted. This grouser wheel is identical to the flight model used on a lunar exploration rover. In the experiment, the testbed is capable of accurately controlling the slip ratio. This paper describes detailed measurements of traction force and sinkage at each slip ratio from 0 % to 50 % and an evaluation of wheel traction performance in terms of the traction coefficient and sinkage dependencies on the driving speed and vertical load.

Historically, several wheeled robots have been deployed on the Moon and Mars to conduct detailed exploration of the planetary surfaces. However, all of their traversing speeds are restricted to a few centimeters per second, thus covering only a limited area each day. To overcome this limitation and enable wide area exploration, our research group has developed a high-speed rover test bed to advance research on high-speed rover exploration on challenging terrains. The rover is equipped with a hybrid suspension system that combines a rocker mechanism and independent spring-damper suspension for each wheel to reduce vibrations at high speeds． To evaluate the effectiveness of this suspension mechanism, we conducted indoor experiments in which the rover overcame step-shaped obstacles using various suspension configurations.

Intra-Vehicular Robots (IVR) are expected to enhance automation and facilitation, assisting astronauts in on-orbit stations such as International Space Station (ISS) or a commercial space station. Cargo manipulation and transportation are representative tasks that IVR is expected to perform instead of human astronauts. Cargo transportation under micro-gravity requires mobility and fixation of the robot’s base, which is hard for free-flyer robots already working in ISS. In this paper, we present the robot prototype of IVR to execute cargo transportation inside ISS. The robot prototype (scaled-down sized) has legs and grippers to grasp the hardware interfaces installed in ISS: seat tracks or handrails. The concept of stable rail-gripping movement is demonstrated under the simulated micro-gravity experiments by the air-floating testbed.

The improvement of space technology has enabled astronauts to stay for a long time in space. But microgravity makes their living hard. Excretion is one of the inconveniences. Crew’s stools and urine will float in the air under microgravity. The current space toilet system has complicated structure and many problems such as fragility, insanitation, requiring prior training and so on. When it is under the service, astronauts have to repair it about for an hour. It is necessary for them to use it comfortably. In order to solve such problems, we report the development of a new space toilet system which is tough, clean and needs no training.

This paper presents uniaxial multi-planar wave locomotion units with serial link structures of mobile robots. The wave locomotion mechanism is driven by a single helical shaft. The pins placed around the shaft are pushed out by rotating the shaft. Serial links are attached to the end of pins, and propulsion is generated by pushing the pin out to ground the link. In this study, rigid serial link structures were designed and a prototyped robot with the serial link structures was developed. Through locomotion experiments, we demonstrated that the proposed robot system has mobility on a horizontal plane and in a pipe. The result confirmed that the robot can travel on the sand.