Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

The University of British Columbia

Honda Motir Co., Ltd.

Ryusuke Ishizaki

Mirza Saquib Sarwar

John D W Madden

Katsu Yamane

Shingo Iwasaki

Takahide Yoshiike

Shun Ogiwara

Yuta Dobashi

Yoshiki Maezawa

Hotaka Shimomura

Tomohiro Chaki

Tetsuro Tanazawa

Azumi Saito

S Mirza Sarwar

DW John Madden

A robot includes: links, connected in series to a base via joints; actuators, driving the joints to relatively displace a corresponding pair of links connected to each other; control devices, distributedly arranged in the base and the links and controlling the actuators; a communication cable, comprising an optical fiber connecting the control devices to each other and transmitting information; and light amount measurement devices, measuring the amount of light of an optical signal transmitted to the control devices via the communication cable. Each control device monitors the amount of light measured by the light amount measurement device corresponding thereto, and determines a state of the communication cable corresponding thereto based on the amount of light.

Robot

In a case where first sensor data SDoutput from a proximity sensor Sincluded in a sensor module Smod (i) indicates a first designated state, only first composite sensor data Dtincluding the first sensor data SDand a first flag Findicating the type of the proximity sensor Sor the first designated state is transmitted from the sensor module Smod (i) to a central processing unit Smod () via a network. In this case, second composite sensor data Dtincluding second sensor data SDand a second flag Findicating the type of a contact force sensor Sor the second designated state is not transmitted from the sensor module Smod (i) to the central processing unit Smod () via the network.

Sensor network

A touch sensation sensor is mounted to a hand part of a robot and includes: an obtaining means, obtaining at least one of visual sensation information, which is target object information relating to a target object operated by using the hand part, and touch sensation information, which is the target object information at a time when the target object operated by using the hand part is gripped; and a control device, changing a sensitivity mode of the touch sensation sensor in accordance with the target object information that is obtained.

Touch sensation sensor, sensitivity switching circuit, and sensitivity switching method

A pair of first electrodesis arranged in a state being separated in a direction parallel to a contact surfaceof a base materialmade of a dielectric and being at least partially in contact with the base material. A pair of second electrodesis arranged in a state of overlapping at least one of the pair of first electrodes and sandwiching the base materialat a position farther from the contact surfaceof the base materialthan the pair of first electrodesandin a direction perpendicular to the contact surfaceof the base material. The proximity state of an object Q with respect to the contact surfaceof the base materialis detected according to the measurement result of the capacitance Cbetween the pair of first electrodesand

Capacitance detection sensor, capacitance detection sensor module and state determination method using capacitance detection sensor

A system and method for fabricating soft sensors that conform to arbitrary smooth geometries that include fabricating a top stretchable layer that includes a set of electrodes of soft sensors that are made of an elastic material. The system and method also include fabricating a bottom flexible layer that is composed of a thin sheet of suitable metal that is patterned using photolithography.

System and method for fabricating soft sensors that conform to arbitrary smooth geometries

Multiple nodes () of a ring network communication system () include a heteronomous node () and an autonomous node (). The heteronomous node () operates in a heteronomous mode in which data generated by a data generation part () of an own node is transmitted as transmitted data Dt only when received data Dir received by a data reception part () includes a data transmission request. The autonomous node () operates in an autonomous mode in which the data generated by the data generation part () of the own node is transmitted as the transmitted data Dt regardless of reception of the received data Dir including the data transmission request. Data including the data transmission request is not required for the autonomous node, and the control period is shortened.

Ring network communication system

The capacitance sensorincludes a self-capacitance electrode, first electrodes(() to()), and a second electrodewhich are arranged being separated from each other in a thickness direction of an elastically deformable base materialformed by a dielectric. The self-capacitance electrodeis connected to a first connection portionfor measuring capacitance by a self-capacitance method and a grounded second connection portionvia a switchso as to be selectively connected to the first connection portionand the second connection portion

Capacitance sensor and measurement device

A capacitance sensorA in which first electrodes() to() and a second electrodeare arranged on a base materialmade of a dielectric includes grounded electrostatic shielding members (() to()). The electrostatic shielding membersare arranged, for example, at positions between first wiring portions()in,()in,() in connected to the first electrodes(),(),() and the second electrode, at a position between a second wiring portion()in connected to the second electrodeand the first electrode(), and at a position between the second wiring portion()in and the first wiring portion()in.

Capacitance sensor

In an electrostatic capacity sensor, first electrodestoare provided on a substrate, and an electrode supporthas dielectric properties and elasticity and is fixed to the substrate. A second electrodeis provided in the electrode supportso as to face the first electrodestowith a distance from the first electrodesto. The electrostatic capacity sensor has improved durability.

Electrostatic capacity sensor

A triaxial force sensorincludes nine first electrodesto, and nine second electrodestoattached to an electrode supportin such a manner that the electrode supportis interposed between the nine first electrodestoand the nine second electrodesto. A pair of first electrodesandare arranged such that a straight line connecting the two is orthogonal to a straight line connecting a pair of first electrodesand, and the second electrodes, andare arranged such that the respective halves overlap the first electrodes, andin plan view. The sensor has a number of components and size, thereby allowing a reduction in manufacturing cost, in the case of detecting forces in orthogonal triaxial directions.

Triaxial force sensor

A system and method for fabricating soft sensors that conform to arbitrary smooth geometries that include fabricating a top stretchable layer that includes a set of electrodes of soft sensors that are made of an elastic material. The system and method also include fabricating a bottom flexible layer that is composed of a thin sheet of suitable metal that is patterned using photolithography. The system and method further include bonding the top stretchable layer to the bottom flexible layer to form a sensor substrate.

Provided is an artificial epidermis structure. Three different contact states can be realized between the artificial epidermis structure and a target object. The 'first contact state' is a state in which only the surface of a distal end portion of each protrusion contacts the target object. The 'second contact state' is a state in which each protrusion tilts with respect to a base body corresponding to the force received from the target object and thereby the surface of a base portion and the surface of the distal end portion of each protrusion contact the target object. The &#x201c;third contact state&#x201d; is a state in which each protrusion further tilts with respect to the base body corresponding to an increase in the force and thereby the surface of the base body and respective surface of the distal end portion and the base portion of each protrusion contact the target object.

Artificial epidermis structure

A proximity and three-axis force sensor based sensor may include a first taxel including a first electrode formed within a top layer configured in a serpentine pattern, a second electrode formed within a bottom layer, and a dielectric layer positioned between the top layer and the bottom layer and a second taxel including a first electrode formed within the top layer and having a first surface area, a second electrode formed within the bottom layer and having a second surface area, and a ground electrode formed within the top layer above the first electrode of the second taxel having a surface area greater than the first surface area of the first electrode of the second taxel. The second surface area may be different than the first surface area. A first edge of the first electrode may be vertically aligned with a first edge of the second electrode.

Proximity and three-axis force sensor

An artificial epidermis structure capable of using a gel substance to adjust a frictional property with high precision is provided. When a front surface of a lid member comes into contact with a target object and pressure acts on the lid member, a part of the gel substance can escape into a space that is formed by concave portions on a front surface of a gel substance. Therefore, reduction in a repulsion force of the gel substance is achieved. Accordingly, the pressure can be appropriately transmitted to the gel substance via the lid member, and convex portions of the gel substance can be caused to easily bulge out over the front surface of the lid member via holes of the lid member.

Provided is a modular type operating device capable of controlling the operation after assembly regardless of the assembly order of multiple modules. A base of a robot transmits an ID change request signal to an active module on a downstream side of a ring network. When each module receives the ID change request signal, it rewrites HOP of the ID change request signal to a value incremented by 1 and transmits it to the module on the downstream side or the base, creates a new ID to indicate the connection order and type of each module based on the HOP before rewriting and the physical ID, and transmits a module information signal including the new ID and the like to the module on the downstream side or the base.

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Wako, Japan

Ryusuke Ishizaki