Hiroki Igarashi

Utilization of Robot Systems in Disaster Sites of the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake

In this paper, we report our activities in the real disaster areas damaged by the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake. From March 18–21, 2011, we tried to apply a ground rescue robot to the real disaster sites at Aomori Prefecture and Iwate Prefecture. On March 18, we carried out inspection mission in a damaged gymnasium. From March 19–21, we went to other sites to identify possibility of usage of robots, and we found the potential needs for not only ground robots but also underwater robots. Then, after the first activity we established a joint United States-Japanese team for underwater search. From April 19–23, 2011 the joint team brought four ROVs to Miyagi Prefecture for port inspection and to Iwate Prefecture for searching for submerged bodies. The joint team returned to Miyagi Prefecture October 22–26 with an AUV and two ROVs for cooperative debris mapping needed to assist with resuming fishing. Based on these experiences, we discuss the effectiveness and problems of applying the rescue robot in the real disaster sites.

Path planning for an autonomous mobile robot considering a region with a velocity constraint in a real environment

Recently, many research projects and competitions have attempted to find an autonomous mobile robot that can drive in the real world. In this article, we consider a path-planning method for an autonomous mobile robot that would be safe in a real environment. In such a case, it is very important for the robot to be able to identify its own position and orientation in real time. Therefore, we applied a localization method based on a particle filter. Moreover, in order to improve the safety of such autonomous locomotion, we improved the path-planning algorithm and the generation of the trajectory so that it can consider a region with a limited maximum velocity. In order to demonstrate the validity of the proposed method, we participated in the Real World Robot Challenge 2010. The experimental results are given.

Evaluation of sensors for mobile robots based on irradiation experiment

After Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant accident, the importance of mobile robot for the nuclear disaster response has been realized again. However there are not many reports about the radiation tolerance evaluation of sensors used for mobile robots. In particular, it is necessary to take into account the radiation shielding of optical instruments such as laser sensors, because their optical parts are exposed to radiation. If there are no radiation shielding, reliability as a safety device and advances functions on the robots such as obstacle detection and avoidance and mapping may also be affected. Therefore, we carried out the irradiation experiments with four kinds of laser range sensors to evaluate their radiation tolerances. Furthermore, we investigate how the failure characteristic of each sensor affects the reliability of a sensor as a safety device and the functions on mobile robots based on the experiments.

Development of a practical mobile robot platform for NBC disasters and its field test

In this research, we present development of a mobile robot platform integrated with off-the-shelf sensors and equipments for disaster response. The proposed platform aims to offer an opportunity for researchers and engineers to let their effort on developing more advanced methods related to disaster response, allowing for further development from R&D to practical or business purpose. Unlike the applications including research and education or military and civil defense forces, it is expected that the platform can be utilized for practical use with small initial budget and less effort for development. In this paper, we explain the development scheme of the proposed platform, which focuses on the outdoor environmental monitoring, and the progress on the development including its hardware and software configuration. Furthermore some experimental results, carried out in the nuclear power plant, are also shown.

Development of an autonomous inverted pendulum mobile robot for outdoor environment

This paper describes our work on the development of an outdoor mobile robot, designed for participation in the Real World Robot Challenge contest (Tsukuba Challenge). The robot consists of a mobile robotic platform (Segway RMP) and several sensors to estimate global position of the robot and detect its surroundings. We describe here the hardware structure of the developed robot and the methods and algorithms used in the implementation of the sensing and control system.

Hardware-software integration of a practical mobile robot platform

In this research, we present a development of a mobile robot platform integrated with off-the-shelf sensors and equipment for disaster response. Unlike the applications including research and education or military and civil defense forces, it is expected that the platform can be utilized for practical use with small initial budget and less effort for development. The platform offers an opportunity for researchers and engineers to let their effort on developing more advanced methods, allowing for further development from R&D to practical or business purpose. In order to accomplish these challenges, we also construct an advantageous system for researchers and engineers in both academic and industry by means of disclosing and providing information about hardware and software as an open-source. Some experiments are also shown for validation of the basic functions of the platform.