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In this paper, we developed a universal robot gripper using an electromagnet and a novel reforming magnetorheological (MR) fluid. First, we added nonmagnetic particles to an MR fluid to develop a novel reforming MR fluid called MR[Formula: see text] fluid; this fluid resolved several issues faced with MR fluids. The developed fluid’s specific gravity is one-half and solidification hardness is two times that of MR fluid. The characteristics of the MR[Formula: see text] fluid and an application that can control solidification under a magnetic field are described. Next, the developed gripper, which consists of an electromagnet and an elastic membrane that encloses the MR[Formula: see text] fluid, is described. Further, several experimental results of the features and capabilities of the gripper are presented.

To achieve the skillful task like the human, many researchers have been working on robot hand. An interaction with vision and tactile information are indispensable for realization of skillful tasks. In the existing research, the method using a camera to get the vision information is often found. But, in the boundary area of a non-contact phase and a contact phase, there are problem that lack of sensor information because the influence of occlusion comes up to surface. We devise to introduce the proximity sensor in this area. And we call the robot hand which is equipped with proximity, tactile and slip sensor "intelligent robot hand".In this research, we show the constitution example of the intelligent robot hand and propose the method to realize Pick&Place as concrete task.

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In this chapter, we describe the methods for the fabrication and transfer/transplantation of 3D tissues by using cell sheet technology for cardiac tissue regeneration. A temperature-responsive culture surface can be fabricated by grafting a temperature-responsive polymer, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide), onto a polystyrene cell culture surface. Cells cultured confluently on such a culture surface can be recovered as an intact cell sheet, and functional three-dimensional (3D) tissues can then be easily fabricated by layering the recovered cell sheets without any scaffolds or complicated manipulation. Cardiac cell sheets, myoblast sheets, mesenchymal stem cell sheets, cardiac progenitor cell sheets, etc., which are prepared from temperature-responsive culture surfaces, can be easily transplanted onto heart tissues of animal models, and those cell sheet constructs enhance the cell transplant efficiency, resulting in the induction of effective therapy.

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