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We are developing a robot that will support people in their daily lives, i.e., a human-symbiotic robot. This kind of robot is required to coexist with users, be user friendly, and be capable of supporting them. As a first step to achieving the last goal, we have developed an autonomous mobile robot that makes use of a self-balancing two-wheeled mobility system and a body swing mechanism to shift its center of gravity. This allows it to move nimbly at up to six kilometers per hour. It also has capabilities that enable it to avoid collisions with obstacles and move safely through complex environments. It is able to interact with people naturally without special tools by means of distant-speech recognition and high-quality speech-synthesis technologies. These capabilities were demonstrated at the 2005 World Exposition Aichi Japan.
A real-time collision-avoidance algorithm for human-symbiotic robot that is required to avoid multiple pedestrians was developed. An algorithm to predict the likelihood of a collision with obstacles was based on the relative velocities between a moving robot and multiple obstacles. An algorithm that can generate the optimum path sequence to a goal in real time was also developed. The collision-avoidance path is generated by repeating an operation to select two tangent paths that connect a via-point on a path to a collision circle of each obstacle that exists in the relative space. A robot-called "EMIEW"-using these algorithms with a system for avoiding collisions with many obstacles moves at a speed of 0.8 m/s in a cluster of five people walking at 1.2 m/s -speed. The repeat period for generating a new avoidance path is 0.5s, and the processing time for the developed algorithm in the each period is less than 4 ms.
A paper transport mechanism that generates tractive force in the cross direction perpendicular to the paper transport direction was developed. The mechanics of this mechanism were then investigated by using the finite element method (FEM). A pair of tapered rubber rollers is the key point of the mechanism. Each roller has two tapered surfaces that thin out in the same direction. The thin sides of both tapered rollers face each other symmetrically to form the center of the transport mechanism. A cylindrical steel roller is pressed toward the tapered roller by a spring. Paper sheets are nipped between the tapered rubber roller and the cylindrical steel roller. On being pressed, the tapered roller is bent around the mid point of the side of the roller because of it has an asymmetrical cross section. The bend first produces shear stress on the contacting area perpendicular to the transport direction. Second, it produces a bulgy deformation so the roller shape is pressed out in the same direction. These processes generate tractive force on the paper. However, the tapered roller generates not only a tractive force but also a twisting moment. Therefore, one roller has two tapered surfaces to cancel the twisting moment. FEM analysis indicates that the tractive force could be estimated within 20% error in comparison with the measured value. The advantages of the new mechanism are that rubber rollers are used in almost all paper-handling equipment and simply cutting two tapers can generate tractive force. This mechanism improves transport reliability preventing wrinkles and slack. IntroductionA rubber roller is one of the most important components in paper-handling equipment. Its design is closely related to transport performance, namely, precision, feeding forces and so on. Soong et al. [1] and Okamoto et al. [2] studied the behavior of rubber rollers in the transport direction. They clarified the transport mechanics by analyzing the stress distribution in the transport direction and the effect of the mechanical characteristics of rubber on transport precision.Moreover, flattening the papers so that no wrinkles or slack occurs in the cross direction (perpendicular to the transport direction) is required to prevent paper jams and poor printing quality. To meet this demand, we identified the transport mechanisms that generate tractive force in the cross direction and developed a mechanism that uses double-tapered rubber rollers. This mechanism is easily applicable to real products because it has a simple structure and good durability.We clarified the mechanics regarding the tractive force by using a finite-element method (FEM) to analyze the behavior of the tapered rubber roller. And we experimentally confirmed that the FEM could precisely estimate the tractive force. Concept of a tapered rollerAs illustrated in Fig. 1, in a typical paper transport mechanism that uses rollers, paper is nipped between the drive rubber rollers and driven rollers, which are pressed by springs. The rubber rollers and the paper contact during ro...
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Machines used for handling flexible sheets of paper may easily undergo jams due to the existence of irregular conditional sheets. However, most of the studies on handling behaviours have only been done for general sheets of paper transported with some simple guides. Establishing an efficient calculation method and analysis system that can predict all kinds of sheets whether or not there is jam in transport guides becomes more and more important. In this article, based on an analysis of the transport of a head-folded sheet in a V-type guide both in the experiment and finite-element (FE) simulation, the method of building the database of FE models for conditional sheets is established. A simulation system that directly connects the computeraided design tools and the established database is also developed. Some simulated examples of sheet handling behaviours are demonstrated. It is shown that the developed system is useful for designing any transport guide.
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