In this paper, we demonstrate a design of autonomous virtual robots and develop a design tool for autonomous virtual robots. A virtual robot can behave autonomously by using its own sensors and controllers on three-dimensional physically modeled environment. An approximate fluid environment model based on the drag force modeling is presented. The developed tool can simulate a physical environment at any time during the modeling process. A combinatorial use of neural network implementation for controllers and optimization method (genetic algorithm or particle swarm optimization) enables us to create autonomous behaviors of virtual robots.

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To develop flying rescue robots using autonomous unmanned helicopters, it is necessary to improve performance and reliability of flight control systems. Adaptation against the environmental changes, such as wind, has very important role. In this paper, adaptive heading (yaw) control for an autonomous helicopter is proposed. Roll angle and roll rate are used to determine desired yaw angle. Therefore, roll dynamics and yaw dynamics are coupled and stable dutch roll is induced to change the yaw angle corresponding to wind direction or the direction of the helicopter's motion. Results of flight experiments show the effectiveness of the proposed method.

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A new methodology of real-time periodic processing on RT-middleware based on the Linux standard functionalities is presented in this paper. The central of discussion is on the realization of real-time processing while keeping the reusability of software modules ensured by the RT-middleware framework as well as the portability provided by the Linux development mainstream. In order to show the validity of the proposed approach, two robot systems, including an omnidirectional electric wheelchair steered by haptic joystick, are presented and the discussion about the evaluation result follows from the view point of practicality.

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This paper discusses a concept of a noninvasive sensing method that can estimate a left ventricular wall stiffness towards a medical diagnosis. Focusing on not only the strain of ventricular wall but also the displacements of epicardium during diastole of heart beat, we propose an index of ventricular wall stiffness based on a thick-walled cylinder model. Applying the proposed method to the echocardiography, we show statistical results where normal and HFpEF (Heart Failure with preserved Ejection Fraction) can be separated towards a medical diagnosis.

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This paper discusses a plastic deformation control towards the active shaping of a rheological object by considering the characteristics of viscoelasticity. We utilize a four-element model for approximating the dynamic characteristics of object's deformation. After deriving the relationship between the elastic deformation and the plastic one, we propose a control method for generating the desired plastic deformation based on the integral force applied to the object and the viscous element leading to the plastic deformation. This method has an advantage where we can reduce the handling time, compared with the position based method. We show experimental results for confirming the validity of the proposed method.

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A wearable computing system plays a leading role in the ubiquitous computing era, in which computers are used at any place and at any time. Now the mobile multimedia communication technology based devices, such as mobile phone, handy-type PC, etc., have come to be used in such a broad range of areas, the features of wearable hands-free computing system, which people can constantly use in their daily life or workplace while doing some other job, are highly valued more than ever. However, the wearable computing system has not yet spread so widely owing to various factors. Among such factors is the delay in the development of human machine interface, which is applicable to the wearable computing system. We developed a blink based human-machine interface for the wearable computing system, called KOMEKAMI Switch. This interface makes it easy to manipulate machine with intentional movements of temple. User can constantly use machine with no interference, as well as with hands free. It is compact and lightweight, permitting ease of manufacturing at a low cost. It does not react to daily actions like conversation, diet, etc., other than movements intended to control the machine.

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Aerial robotic system for disaster monitoring was developed as a quick and low-cost measure of high-resolution aerial photography. It has demonstrated the effectiveness through some actual operations and the application to bank monitoring is introduced in this paper.

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“Tsukuba Challenge” is the only of its kind to require mobile robots to work autonomously and safely on public walkways. In this paper, we introduce the outline of our robot “JW-Future”, developed for this experiment based on an electric wheel chair. Additionally, the significance of participation to such a technical trial is discussed from the viewpoint of industries.

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This paper proposes a new control method for periodic discrete-time systems which is called input holding control. The control input is updated at every νω period, where ω is the period of the system and ν is the observability index. The controller is constructed by system outputs within νω time interval and some controller dynamics.
We derive the synthesis condition of the proposed controller and the concrete design procedure. Several illustrative examples are also presented.

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The purpose of the present study was to clarify the ability of physiological indices to reflect the degree of sleepiness or relaxation of an individual due to stress, fatigue and other factors. Several studies have investigated the use of high-frequency (HF) components (0.15-0.40Hz) in heart rate variability to evaluate parasympathetic nervous activity. However, it has been difficult to assess the differences between states of sleepiness and relaxation using this method. In the present study, in order to evaluate the indices, two experimental illuminance conditions, 100 and 1,500 lx, reflecting differing states of arousal, were used during a cognitive judgment test lasting for 30 minutes. During the cognitive judgment test, electroencephalograms (EEG), electrocardiograms (ECG), physiological state and reaction time were measured, and results indicated that the two illuminance conditions could be differentiated from the recorded physiological data. More specifically, in the 1,500-lx condition, arousal level, activity level and test performance increased, and the level of HF components decreased. Opposite tendencies were observed in the 100-lx condition. Two indices of Lorenz plots (LP) at ECG RR intervals, center (C of LP) and ellipse area (S of LP), were subsequently determined from the physiological data. Subjects were then divided according to these LP indices based on their exhibited physiological responses, and we evaluated the effectiveness of the indices in differentiating between states of sleepiness and relaxation by comparing arousal level, psychological state, and reaction time. Results indicated that the C of LP and S of LP are possible indices for evaluating sleepiness or relaxation and suggest that these two indices may also be able to evaluate the relationship between physiological changes and other, subjective feelings.

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The purpose of this study is to clarify the influence from timing of utterance and body motion in dialogue between human and robot. We controlled pause duration and nod response timing in robot-side, and analyzed impression of communication in human-side by using Scheffe's Paired Comparison method. The results revealed that the impression of communication significantly modified by changing the pause duration and nod response timing. And, timing pattern of the impression altered diversely in elderly people than in younger, indicating that elderly generation uses various timing control mechanisms. From these results, it was suggested that timing control and impression of communication are mutually influenced, and this mechanism is thought to be useful to realize human-robot communication system for elderly generation.

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