Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi Home and Life Solutions, Inc.

Ryoko Ichinose

Kenjiro Yamamoto

Tadashi Osaka

Kazushi Yoshida

Yukihiko Ono

Akira Oshima

Akihiro Yamamoto

Ryosuke Nakamura

Saku Egawa

Takashi Sato

Ai Masuda

Masatsugu Arai

Takashi Yoshida

Yoshitaka Hara

Junichi Tamamoto

Azusa Amino

Youichi Horii

Yuji Hosoda

Ikuo Takeuchi

Masaki Kanai

Yasuhiro Asa

Hirofumi Tanaka

Takashi Teramoto

Yutaka Arai

Tooru Miyasaka

Takashi Tsubouchi

Provided is a movement apparatus that can ensure safety to a movement apparatus user even without safety knowledge about a safety device of the movement apparatus. The movement apparatus of the invention includes a safety device that is configured to restrain an occupant or a baggage, an information presentation unit that is configured to present safety device information related to the safety device, an information input unit that is configured to input consent information that consents a start of traveling in a current state of the safety device, and a travel mechanism that starts traveling only when the consent information is input.

Movement apparatus and movement apparatus system

A humanoid robot includes: a body portion; a head portion; a left arm and a right arm that have ends connected to the left and right at an upper portion of the body portion; a left foot and a right foot that have ends connected to the left and right at a lower portion of the body portion; and a left running unit and a right running unit provided to the other ends of the left foot and the right foot. The left running unit has a left drive wheel on a front side of an advancing direction and a left follower wheel on a rear side in the advancing direction, the right running unit has a right drive wheel on a front side of the advancing direction, and a right follower wheel on a rear side in the advancing direction.

Humanoid robot

Providing a movement control means for detecting a collision between a driving wheel and a step and a catch of a driven wheel by the step and temporarily changing a gravity center control region of a mobile device and moving the mobile device to pass over the step, and a mobile device including the same in order to prevent immovability under an environment having a step or an irregularity. Thus, a mobile device is configured to include: a lower body; an upper body provided in an upper portion of the lower body; a gravity center position adjustment means for changing an angle or a position of the upper body with respect to the lower body; and a driving wheel and a driven wheel provided in a lower portion of the lower body, and during movement in a direction in which the driving wheel is on a front side and the driven wheel is on a rear side, the gravity center position adjustment means inclines or moves the upper body to the front side when the driven wheel passes over the step, and moves the upper body toward an original angle or position after the driven wheel passes over the step.

Mobile device and mobile device management system

The present invention addresses the problem of achieving an autonomous mobile system that is provided with a means for safe two-way traffic or overtaking if the crossing or approach of travel paths arises with respect to another party such as a pedestrian, bicycle or the like during autonomous travel over a designated reference path in an environment in which mobile obstacles such as pedestrians, bicycles and the like moving in free directions are present in public or in a facility. To solve this problem, in the present invention, it is necessary before an approach to induce circumstances such that mutual motion is defined and to obtain defining information of the movement of the other party, thereby maintaining uniform circumstances when passing nearby such that no large changes in course are performed. Consequently, if the crossing or approach of travel paths arises with respect to another party such as a pedestrian, bicycle or the like, the autonomous mobile system behaves in a manner easy to predict by the other party in order to induce circumstances such that the movement of the other party is defined, and after obtaining the defining information of the movement of the other party, maintains uniform circumstances when passing nearby such that no large changes in course are performed, thereby achieving safe and secure two-way traffic and overtaking.

Autonomous mobile system

Provided are: a use-assisting tool for an autonomous mobile device that enhances convenience for a user of the autonomous mobile device; an operation management center; an operation system; and an autonomous mobile device. The use-assisting tool for an autonomous mobile device provides assistance for using the autonomous mobile device, which travels autonomously along a route to a destination, and is characterized by: being provided with a communication means that communicates with an operation management center, an input means, and a display means; a destination to be visited using the autonomous mobile device being input by means of the input means; and the display means displaying cooperation information established at the destination that is transmitted from the operation management center. The cooperation information established at the destination includes information regarding securing a mobility means at the destination and establishing a reservation at the destination.

Use-assisting tool for autonomous mobile device, operation management center, operation system, and autonomous mobile device

The invention is intended to be able to generate map data even if a location not suited for identification of a matching position exists. A map data creation device creates map data, the map data being used for autonomous movement by a vehicle (), a vehicle () and/or other vehicles (), based on a relative position of the vehicle () which exists around the vehicle (), relative to the vehicle (), the relative position being measured by the vehicle (), and object shape data of an object which exists around the vehicle (), the object shape being measured by the vehicle (). Moreover, the relative position of the vehicle () relative to the vehicle () is calculated based on the object shape data measured by the vehicle ().

Map data creation device, autonomous movement system and autonomous movement control device

An autonomous moving apparatus and an autonomous movement system has a configuration which prevents disabled autonomous moving apparatuses from traveling unexpectedly during collection. An autonomous moving apparatusincludes a wheel locking unitwhich locks the wheels at the time of stop, a manipulation unitwhich is provided at a location where manipulation thereof is enabled from the outside of the autonomous moving apparatus, and a wheel lock releasing unitwhich releases the lock of the wheels when the manipulation unitis manipulated by force from the outside. In addition, the wheel lock releasing unitreleases the lock of the wheels when force equal to or more than a predetermined value is applied to the manipulation unitand maintains the lock of the wheels when the force applied to the manipulation unitis less than the predetermined value.

Autonomous moving apparatus and autonomous movement system

An autonomous mobile system for a mobile body which moves while localizing itself in a space includes a shape detector and travel distance detector for measuring whether objects are present in set regions determined by dividing a three-dimensional space into a plurality of segments, a storage device into which map data is stored that indicates a region of the set regions that has been set as having a stationary object in the region, a determining section that determines, from frequency of the object detection by the shape detector during a predetermined time for each of the set regions, whether the object that has been detected in each set region is a stationary object or a moving object, and a localizer that localizes a vehicle by matching the region that the determining section has determined to have a stationary object in the region, and the map data.

An elevator system which an autonomous mobile robot and human user can utilize safely and efficiently. The system has an available area detection unit to detect an available area in a cage, and a riding possibility/impossibility determination unit to determine whether or not the autonomous mobile robot can get on the cage based on information on size and position of the available area detected by the available area detection unit. The autonomous mobile robot gets on the cage only when the riding possibility/impossibility determination unit determines that riding is possible.

Elevator system that autonomous mobile robot takes together with person

An autonomous mobile robot apparatus and a method for avoiding collision due to rush-out, being applicable under the circumstances where persons and robots come and go each other, comprises an obstacle detector unit, which detects an obstacle, a route producer unit, which determines a route for reaching to a destination while avoiding the obstacle detected by the obstacle detector unit upon basis of a predetermined avoiding method, as well as, a velocity thereof, and a moving unit, which loads the obstacle detector unit and the route producer unit thereon and moves, thereby operating under circumstances mixing with a human being(s), wherein the obstacle detector unit, further, detects a terminal point of an article lying in an advancing direction of the autonomous mobile robot apparatus, and a distance between the terminal point and the autonomous mobile robot apparatus, and the route producer unit, when the obstacle detector unit detects the terminal end of said article, controls at least either one of the route and the velocity thereof, so as to avoid to collide on the obstacle, which rushes out from the terminal point, in the advancing direction of the autonomous mobile robot apparatus, centering around said terminal point, and thereby enabling quick movement while avoiding collision due to rush-out.

Autonomous mobile robot apparatus and a rush-out collision avoidance method in the same apparatus

An autonomous mobile robot device, comprises an obstacle detecting unit, which is configured to detect an obstacle, a path producing unit, which is configured to produce a path for reaching to a goal while avoiding the obstacle, which is detected by the obstacle detecting unit, upon basis of a predetermined avoidance method, and a moving unit, which is configured to move while mounting the obstacle detecting unit and the path producing unit thereon, and further comprises an avoidance method noticing unit, which is configured to notice information relating to an avoidance method of the autonomous mobile robot device itself to the obstacle, which is detected by the obstacle detecting unit, an other's avoidance method obtaining unit, which is configured to obtain information relating to the avoidance method of the obstacle from the obstacle, which is detected by the obstacle detecting unit, an avoidance method memorizing unit, which is configured to memorize one or more of the avoidance method(s) determined, to which the path producing unit should follow, and an avoidance method selecting unit, which is configured to selected the avoidance method(s) determined from the avoidance method memorizing unit, wherein the avoidance method selecting unit uses the information relating to the avoidance method of the obstacle, which is obtained by the other's avoidance method obtaining unit, as a reference, when selecting the avoidance method.

Autonomous mobile robot device and an avoidance method for that autonomous mobile robot device

A guide robot device including a guide display unit for displaying the guide information to an unguided person and a moving unit adapted to move with the guide display unit mounted thereon is disclosed. The guide robot device further includes the guide display unit variable in the direction of the guide information, a destination position setting unit for setting the destination position of the unguided person, an unguided person position detection unit for detecting the position of the unguided person, and a guide position calculation unit for calculating the guide position as related to the destination position, the detected position of the unguided person and the distance from the guide robot device to the unguided person. The guide robot device is moved to the calculated guide position and the direction of the guide information determined.

Guide robot device and guide system

In cleaning using a self-propelled cleaning device, firstly the cleaning device moves alongside a wall surface and then a reference direction is set. Next, the cleaning device advances alongside the wall surface at a prescribed distance, makes a right-angle turn, and travels in the reference direction. When the cleaning device reaches the surface of an opposing wall, it moves in a spiraling manner. At that time, the orientation angle of the cleaning device, which is estimated using a gyro sensor, is checked and corrected. If an obstacle is encountered while traveling, the cleaning device travels on a path that avoids the obstacle or travels in a spiral manner in a region in front of the obstacle.

Self-propelled cleaning device and method of operation thereof

Disclosed is a linear actuator, including: a screw unit rotatably driven by a driving motor; a nut unit screwed to the screw unit; a slider attached to the nut unit, in which the slider and the nut unit move linearly by the rotation of the screw unit; a guide restricting both surfaces of the slider; a first antenna attached to a side wall of the guide opposite to the slider; a second antenna attached to a side wall of the guide opposite to the slider, and opposing the first antenna; and a third antenna attached to both side walls of the slider, being interposed between the first antenna and the second antenna, wherein position of the slider is detected based on a change in capacitance due to displacement of the third antenna with respect to the first antenna and the second antenna.

Linear actuator

A vehicle warning system has an obstacle sensor for detecting approach of an obstacle to a vehicle, tactile information-generating elements for notifying a driver of the obstacle information based on information received from the obstacle sensor, and a controller for controlling the actuation of the tactile information-generating elements. The tactile information-generating elements are installed in the cushion of a driver seat, with a fore-and-aft and/or left-right arrangement. The controller controls the tactile information-generating elements based on the information from the obstacle sensor as well as information from one or more of a steering wheel-sensor, a blinker sensor, a brake sensor, and a vehicle speedometer.

Growing community of inventors

Tsukuba, Japan

Ryoko Ichinose