Robot World started as an exhibition specializing in service robots and is now held twice a year in Osaka and Yokohama. It is an exhibition by core exhibitors and visitors as a specialized technology exhibition such as robot technology and mobility. The 2021 Yokohama Exhibition was held at Pacifico Yokohama from November 10th to 11th. The contents of this Yokohama exhibition consisted of three exhibitions: the 2nd Service Robot Exhibition, the 2nd Industrial Robot Exhibition, and the 2nd Next Generation Mobility Exhibition, which were sponsored by the Yokohama Robot World Executive Committee. Exhibiting technologies include service robots, collaborative robots, and underwater drones, and the exhibition contents ranged from drive technologies such as actuators and hand mechanisms, recognition technologies such as sensors and image processing, to electronics and automated driving. .. Let me introduce some of the exhibits that I was interested in from the Robot World Yokohama Exhibition.
Consultation support by robots and AI Echo examinations that are difficult to perform with robots become familiar
Waseda University's Faculty of Creative Science and Engineering, Department of Comprehensive Mechanical Engineering, Professor Hiroyasu Iwata's laboratory (Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo) exhibited a consultation support robot that performs echocardiographic tests using robots and AI. Professor Iwata's laboratory researches robot technologies such as rehabilitation support, medical support, and sports proficiency support, and this robot corresponds to a medical support robot. According to Mr. Masami Sugawara, a second-year master's student at the same laboratory who explained, this echocardiographic examination support robot is with NSK Ltd. (NSK) and the Cardiovascular Research Institute. It seems that it is a joint development of. Echocardiography is used for heart diseases such as heart failure, myocardial infarction, and atrial fibrillation. The mortality rate from these heart diseases is the highest in the world, the mortality rate of Japanese is the second highest, and the survival rate is high. It is said that the earlier it is detected, the higher it will be. However, echography cannot make an accurate diagnosis unless an ultrasonic probe is applied at an appropriate position and angle, and it depends on the proficiency of the procedure such as doctors and ultrasonic examination engineers who handle ultrasonic probes. that's right. He also said that he was required to be able to undergo echocardiography while sitting, as the examinee feels oppressive because he is lying on his back. With this echocardiography consultation support robot developed by the same laboratory, it seems that the examinee automatically changes his posture to a position where the heart can be easily seen while sitting, which causes pressure and pain in each part of the body. It is said that the upper body and lower body are made to move in tandem so that it is difficult. The ultrasonic probe is a robot hand and has 3 degrees of freedom with a spherical parallel link, so that the tip of the ultrasonic probe does not move away from the body surface and the position and angle do not shift. It seems that it is difficult to perform echocardiography according to various body types such as lean type and obese body type, which differ depending on the examinee. In the future, it seems that it will develop a technology that draws an appropriate echo cross section, analyzes the accumulated echo image data by AI, and is useful for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases, and in the future, this robot will be used at convenience stores and stations. We would like to install it in a place other than medical institutions, share data with specialists, and notify the diagnosis results on smartphones, etc., which will be useful for early detection of cardiovascular diseases and extension of healthy lifespan.
Miniaturization of indoor transfer robots with a protruding linear actuator
RoboSapiens Co., Ltd. (Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo), which manufactures and sells service robots, exhibited a protruding linear actuator. According to Mr. Shun Nagao, the company's president and CEO, this technology can solve the last mile problem of residential condominiums. According to Mr. Nagao, when trying to use a robot for home delivery or food delivery, it takes time to move by elevator and security when entering an apartment house, which is an obstacle in the last one mile. Robots that transport goods from the lobby or downstairs to the upper floors often cannot open or close the elevator or press the button to the destination floor, because the conventional actuator requires a storage space longer than the front and rear stroke length, which is quite small. It is said that it was not possible to convert it. This actuator uses a steel tape measure, installs a tape measure on an aluminum frame, and the tape measure that has been unwound from the left and right by a motor overlaps at the center and protrudes at a right angle. Unlike conventional linear actuators, this patented mechanism does not require a storage space on the opposite side of the protruding direction, so it is possible to save space and make long strokes regardless of the stroke length (Reference Information 1). .. In addition, it is also characterized by its light weight, and it seems that it can be combined with an ordinary aluminum frame, so it can be adapted to various configuration patterns. According to Mr. Nagao, we have already developed a transfer robot equipped with this actuator, analyze the images taken by the camera, detect switches such as elevators and intercoms, and operate them completely autonomously. In addition, it seems that the robot itself can determine the position by collating it with the equipment layout on the map from the camera image facing the ceiling.
Ball-driven omnidirectional movement mechanism realizes omnidirectional movement even on soft materials
The laboratory of Associate Professor Hiroyuki Miyamoto of the Department of Human Intelligent Systems Engineering, Graduate School of Biophysical Engineering, Kyushu Institute of Technology, which has the research theme of elucidating the human motion control mechanism using robots, is with the Industrial Technology Research Institute. We also exhibited a ball-driven omnidirectional moving mechanism. According to Mr. Miyamoto who explained, this technology was developed by the idea of a car enthusiast student who was doing graduation research. There is an omni wheel as such an omnidirectional movement device, but according to Mr. Miyamoto, in the omni wheel method, the free rollers attached to each wheel are attached alternately in two rows in the width direction of the wheel. Since the contact position between the wheel and the floor changes depending on the rotation position of the wheel, the behavior becomes unstable due to movement on a curved track or the shape of the floor, and since the free roller is on the outer periphery, it is in the direction of the wheel axle. It is said that slipping occurs, which may cause instability. On the other hand, the omnidirectional movement mechanism developed by Miyamoto et al. Is driven by a sphere, so the structure is simplified, and it can move in any direction even on a material with a soft floor surface such as a carpet. It is said to have characteristics. The patented mechanism is said to have three driving means, one for each of the vertices of an equilateral triangle, and three driving means for rotating adjacent spheres in the same direction at the same time (Reference Information 2). .. In addition, adjacent spheres have two rotors that come into contact with their peripheral surfaces and a motor that drives those rotors to rotate. The two rotors are connected by a belt for power transmission, and the three spheres work together to form the whole. It is said to be composed. In addition, it can move and move instantly, such as back and forth, left and right, diagonally, and turning, and it seems that positioning can be done accurately. Also, depending on the size of the sphere, the overall height can be lowered and the load capacity can be increased. In fact, it can run even if there are narrow grooves, soft floors, slopes, steps of several tens of mm, etc. At present, the maximum speed is 60 m to 80 m per minute, and the maximum load weight is 300 kg. According to Mr. Miyamoto, there have been quadrangular mobiles but no triangular ones with similar mechanisms. In the future, he hopes to develop an electric wheelchair that can move in all directions and use it for collaborative robots for movement with a robot arm.
The Yokohama Robot World 2021 was held while the new Corona was temporarily converging, but many robot-related people and students were seen as a real exhibition. The next event will be held on June 9th and 10th, 2022 at INTEX Osaka in Osaka. Text / Photo / Masahiko Ishida Reference Information / Reference Information 1: The patentee of "Patent No. 6944227" is "RoboSapiens Co., Ltd." and the title of the invention is "Protruding Linear Actuator, Robot Arm and Transport Robot". -Reference information 2: The patentee of "Patent No. 5305285" is "National University Corporation Kyushu Institute of Technology", and the title of the invention is "Spherical drive type omnidirectional moving device".
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