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A robot finger is developed with enhanced grasping force and speed using active dual-mode twisting actuation, which is a type of twisted string actuation. This actuation system has two twisting modes (Speed Mode and Force Mode) with different radii of the ...

Soft robotics, as a multi-disciplinary research area, has recently gained a significant momentum due to offering unconventional characteristics relative to rigid robots such as a resilient, highly dexterous, compliant and safer interaction with humans and ...

The purpose of the study is to find a method for discriminating wrist action and finger action from electro-miography (EMG) picked up from surface electrodes. It will contribute a voluntary control of robotic or prosthetic forearm hand that has wrist ...

In our previous study we have developed the seven axes multi joint gripper (MJG) having a variable stiffness mechanism and have showed it achieves some dexterous grasping. The mechanism mainly consists of a serially connected differential gear system (DGS)...

This study aims to develop a fingertip in order to improve the manipulation performance of posture interpolation control for a multifingered robot hand. Increasing the contact area between the fingertips and object is one solution for improving grasping ...

Due to the hand biomechanical constrains and coordinate manner of motor control, single one joint is difficult to move independently. The aim of this paper is to have an analysis on the joint independence of hand and wrist. At first, a grasp experiment ...

In order to achieve fully autonomous humanoid navigation, environment perception must be both fast enough for real-time planning in dynamic environments and robust against previously unknown scenarios. We present an open source, flexible and efficient ...

This paper mainly describes the design and development of a two-DOF humanoid torso. “Up to down” sequence is adopted in our humanoid robot design. By analyzing human torso motion and employing a wheel platform to achieve stable operation, ...

In this paper, an optimal preview controller for the Nao biped robot is developed based on a three-dimensional linear inverted pendulum model and zero moment point stability criterion. In order to estimate the unmeasurable state vector, an unscented ...

Recently, the declining birth rate and growing proportion of elderly people, an insufficient number of caregivers, have become serious issues in Japan. To address these problems, biped walking robots have been proposed, which have high affinity toward ...

Locomotion maneuvers over irregular terrains involve complex forces and movements that make estimation of center of mass(CoM) behavior a challenging task. Nevertheless, understanding CoM dynamics remains pivotal in locomotion planning for both humans and ...

This paper presents the design of a sensor-guided gait-synchronization mechanism for a weight-support lower-extremity-exoskeleton (LEE), which provides motion to a (osteoarthritis or stroke rehab) passive leg in sync with the healthy (active) leg in the ...

This paper presents a nonlinear observer design for a controlled electro-pneumatic clutch actuator for heavy trucks, which is required at start-up or during gear shifts to disconnect the combustion engine from the gear box. This automated actuator ...

Flexible pneumatic actuators have been broadly explored in soft robotic engineering field where large strokes are required to interface with human body in delicate environments. Some of them have successfully demonstrated the capability of contracting, ...

Recently, the rehabilitation device using a soft pneumatic actuator for the disabled are actively researched and developed because of the insufficient number of physical therapists. In the previous study, the wrist rehabilitation device using flexible ...

Pneumatic Artificial Muscles (PAMs) are used in robotic and prosthetic applications due to the high power to weight ratio, controllable compliance, and simple design. Contractile PAMs are typically used in traditional hard robotics in place of heavy ...

Lower back pain continues to be an issue worldwide. One cause of lower back pain is the burden on the lumbar region caused by the handling of heavy objects. To reduce this burden on the lumbar region in the lifting, the Ministry of Health, Labour and ...

This paper describes a sliding autonomy approach for coordinating a team of robots to assist the human operator to accomplish tasks while adapting to new or unexpected situations by requesting help from the human operator. While sliding autonomy has been ...

Autonomous vehicles will significantly change the existing driver-vehicle relationship, since only a destination input from the human driver will suffice. However, reduced degree of human-control could result in lack of driving pleasure and excitement. ...

The limitations of brain-computer interfaces (BCI) lead to a poor control performance of brain-controlled assistive vehicles through a BCI. To improve the control performance and safety of brain-controlled assistive vehicles, this paper proposes a novel ...

In this paper, we present a user study of a multimodal interface to control a robotic manipulator that employs voice and multi-touch commands. We have designed and implemented a new interface based on the results of a pilot study. This interface operates ...

Endoscopic endonasal approach surgery is now the preferred treatment for most pituitary and related skull base tumors. However, this procedure requires a high level of hands-on skills and rich clinical experience. During the operation, haptic feedback, as ...

The paper considers a conceptual design for an electromechanical rowing machine and its control system. The concept includes a DC motor, a gear transmission, a drum and a pull cable. The force-velocity characteristic of a commercial rowing machine was ...

In this paper, global asymptotic stabilization of an autonomous underactuated underwater vehicle (AUUV) is investigated, where the number of actuators of the AUUV is less than the vehicle's degrees of freedom. The model that is considered describes both ...

The hydrodynamic performance of a hinge-connected flexible fin is studied by fluid-structure interaction in this paper. The fin consists of two links, namely, the leading link and tailing link, with various flexibilities. Firstly, the leading link moves ...

While acoustic modems have long been the dominant wireless communication method for underwater applications, they incur high cost and large power, and can only deliver low data rates. Recently, light-emitting diode (LED)-based optical communication has ...

To grasp the driving characteristics of wheel-tracked exploration robot, and to complete its structural design and control system design, the steering characteristics of the robot have been studied. Firstly, the steering characteristics on horizontal ...

This paper introduces a new approach for designing a simplified control law, which controls an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to track a given 3D trajectory. To get a Linear Time Variant (LTV) state space model, the 6 degrees of freedom (6DOF) ...

For deep-sea (robotic) applications, accurate acoustic localization is required, e.g. using USBL devices. Internal calculations for these devices usually assume a constant sound velocity within the deployment area ignoring refraction effects due to a ...

The importance of cutting forces during turning processes creates the need for a simple and low-cost solution to measure those forces. Various improvements on the cutting performance can be achieved by using these measurements. The present study explains ...