Riichiro Tadakuma

A whole-arm tactile display system

This work presents a new tactile display device for relaying contact information to locations along the human arm. The system is intended to facilitate teleoperation of whole-arm manipulation tasks, such remotely controlling a humanoid robot to grasp and lift large objects. The system consists of a set of five tactors, each a foam-covered paddle 42 × 48 mm. These tactors are brought into contact with the skin of the users arm by small DC motors under computer control. The tactors are mounted on frames which are readily mounted to the upper and lower arm using Velcro straps. User tests demonstrate that the system can effectively convey contact information to the user. The benefits of this haptic display modality are evaluated in comparison with degraded visual information to estimate the resolution limits of the system.

Few D.O.F. Walking Robot with Outer-Wheels

This paper describes the design and prototype testing of a few D.O.F. walking robot. This new design has hybrid wheeled-legged mechanism composed of an outer frame with novel omni-directional wheels, Omni-Balls, and inner legs that provide thrust. Compared to previous hybrid designs, this walking robot has high stability on rough terrain because the wheels are located outside of the legs. In addition, the design permits the use of simplified leg designs with only one or two actuated degrees of freedom. We present performance results from prototype tests and consider implications for enhanced designs.