Groove X, Inc.

Tomoaki Yokoyama

Kaname Hayashi

Daijiro Kato

Yuichi Onda

Naoshi Hatori

A robot includes a trunk portion frame (functioning as a 'base portion'), a head portion frame (functioning as a “first movable portion”) supported by the trunk portion frame, a flexible outer skin provided in such a way as to come into contact with the head portion frame and cover the trunk portion frame, and a pair of arm portions (functioning as a “second movable portion”), provided in contact with the outer skin, whose relative displacement with respect to the trunk portion frame changes in accompaniment to a displacement of the outer skin that accords with an operation of the head portion frame.

Robot having flexible outer skin

Ease of connecting to a robot in a charging station is increased. A charging station includes a base having an upper face up on which a wheel rides, and a power supply terminal to be connected to a charging terminal of a robot. The upper face of the base is such that a target position is set in a far side region, while a reference entrance line that connects an entrance side specific position and the target position is set, and the upper face of the base includes an inverted face of a three-dimensional curved form that provides an entering wheel with a gravitational component that acts toward the reference entrance line side. The power supply terminal is connected to the charging terminal in a state wherein the wheel has arrived at the target position.

Robot charging station

A robot of one aspect includes a first base configuring a trunk portion, a second base configuring a head region, a connecting mechanism that connects the first base and the second base, and a drive unit that drives the connecting mechanism. The drive unit includes motors disposed on the first base. The connecting mechanism includes linking mechanisms that are disposed in parallel to each other and are driven by the motors respectively. Each linking mechanism includes a drive link fixed to a rotary shaft of the motor and a driven link that is connected to the drive link via a first joint and connected to the second base via a second joint. The first joint is a single axis hinge joint, and the second joint is a universal joint.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Tomoaki Yokoyama