Katsumi Hama

Locomotion method of a rescue robot with multi-legs and Omni-directional wheels

A rescue robot in a disaster area should have a mechanism to move on irregular surfaces. Actual disaster spot consists of an irregular surface such as inside of a collapsed house. However, it is mostly surrounded by many flat surfaces such as roads to that spot or undamaged area inside that spot. A robot that works under rescue operation should not only have special purpose locomotion mechanism but also have rapid movement methods to run under level surfaces. We proposed new rescue robot that has two mechanisms: one is Omni-directional wheels for leveling surfaces, the other is a set of multiple legs for irregular surfaces. To realize smooth rotation seamlessly between wheel movement and legged locomotion, we investigated a new gait that realizes arbitrary rotation around any position of a center of rotation. The proposed gait is especially useful for sensing devices such as cameras mounted on top of the robot.

Motion coordination algorithm for distributed agents in the cellular warehouse problem

A distributed approach is shown to coordinate the motions of transport tables for the cellular warehouse problem. In this approach, the tables are considered to be autonomous agents, and a built-in behavior function given by artificial neural networks (ANNs) and the evolved problem-oriented connection weights navigate the agents to their specified goals. To determine the agent to be moved, a measure of the priority to move is introduced. We show that distributed agents with the learned behavior function and the negotiation value perform a similar strategy to a “serializable” solution forN-puzzle problems, which provides a good heuristic strategy for large-scale problems.

Development of a dense-phase conveying system of lapillus

Ordinary Lapillus has been thought as an aggregate though, it in this study, it is considered of particulate and being developed based on powder particle technology. The purpose of this study is guaranteeing safety of workers, improving working efficiency and minimization damage to farmlands. We are developing lapillus conveying system. This paper describes the detailed design of the Conveying System, the safety control system required for preventing from bursting the pipe, and the experiment condition we establish.

Distributed Motion Planning for Learning Agents in Cellular Warehouse Problem

Abstract A distributed approach to obtain a motion sequence of transport tables for cellular warehouse problem is shown. In the proposed approach, the tables are considered to be autonomous agents, and a built-in behavior function given by ANNs and the evolved problem-oriented connection weights navigate the agents to their specified goals. To detennine the agent to be moved, a measure of the priority to move is introduced. Through various numerical experiments, we show the applicability of the proposed method and examine the contribution of the evaluation function to the learning result of behavior function.

A GA Based Approach to Routing Problem: A Case Study of Constraints Graph Drawing Problem

Abstract This paper describes an attempt to solve routing problem of electricity cables using GA algorithms. Determining the shortest routes of cables and pipes is a common optimization problem in manufacturing, and the problem increases its complexity depending on the problem size and given geometrical and technical constraints. In our problem setting, it is reasonable to use a rectilinear Steiner tree taking practical situations into account and it is attempted to solve a routing problem to find a minimum cost spanning tree. Based on the proposed methodology, computational experiments are carried out under different conditions and some experimental results are shown.