Yihsin Ho

Developing a Robotic Service System by Applying a User Model-Based Application for Supporting Daily Life

We developed a robotic service system by applying a user model-based application for supporting daily life. Our robotic service system is designed to provide appropriate services to users depending on their needs; thus, we applied a user model-based application, which can help to select and filter user information for our system in order to provide appropriate services to users.

Exercise Support Robotic System by Using Motion Detection

In this research, we propose an exercise support robotic system. The system collects human daily life activity data by motion detection as a part of big data, and analyzes it for providing better service. The Normal exercise tools such as pedometer need to be carried while exercising. However, sometimes people forget to take such exercise sensor, when it happened many times, people will feel hard to continue exercise regularly. Thus, the proposed system focuses on user’s behavior when exercise by Kinect, and based on it to recommends user a suitable exercise pattern through an interaction robot. Firstly, this paper discusses the user’s exercise habits and their weariness in exercise, secondly, describes the proposed system approach, the method of detecting human motion, and maintaining exercise motivation. Finally, the experiment and the results are shown.

Exercise support system applying human-robot communication for mobile home

This paper presents a research to promote neighborly relation for disaster prevention by utilizing mobile home (it is called “Mobipo”) in usual day. Because of the experiences from aftermath of earthquake and seismic sea wave (Tsunemi), the disaster prevention is always the important theme. However, although the topic of reducing damage is important, the support system for people to reconstruct their life also cannot be ignored. The authors focus on promoting neighborly relation in daily life for disaster prevention, which reduce the stress during reconstruction process. We use an exercise support system with human-robot communication as a motive for people to visit Mobipo. The system encourages peoples healthy life and helps people get back to normal life from disaster.

The information providing system by using human motion recognition

This research presents a system that provides useful information by data mining. The system collects human motions to process data mining, and uses the result to detect human intention, and then provide service. The system includes three parts: the input devices part that is to collect data, the server part that is to analyze and process the data mining, and the client part that is to provide service. The way that set the devices on human to get motions always makes human feel uncomfortable. So, the authors consider using the cameras to get human movements rather than setting the devices on human. After collection the movement data, the data can be classed by the server part to find the motion data. And the motion data can be processed and analyzed to process data mining and find the results. And then, the result can be applied to show information on the mobile device or to use on other purposes. The system shows the possibility of applying the data mining to human motion to detect human intention. And the result can offer useful data to assist robotic system or show useful information to user.

Robot Control Interface System Using Glasses-Type Wearable Devices

A hand gesture input interface system has been developed. Two kinds of hand gestures pointing and scrolling are able to be recognized from video images by glasses-type wearable devices camera. Using the system, it realized commanding to mobility robots by gestures in users sights. Introducing pointing gesture, the current pointing rate increase from clicking gesture.

Wearable finger motion input interface system with GMM foreground segmentation

A wearable fingertip based input interface software has been developed. High speed detection of fingertip position for maintaining real-time software capability, stable finger motion analysis as well as reliable direction pointing have been added to the real-time JAVA based foreground segmentation software. The developed interface system can be run on a single microprocessor with a glasses-type single camera.

Information community system using pass-by wireless communication on smartphone

We developed an information community system by applying a user model-based application for supporting daily life. Our information community system is designed to provide appropriate services to users depending on their needs; thus, we applied a user model-based application, which can help select and filter user information, to our system for providing appropriate services to users. For achieving the design goal, we first collected motion logs. We collected the motion data from acceleration sensors that are carried by users for creating motion logs. Life logs can then be created from these motion logs. We discuss different service modes of our information community system. The research shows how to determine different user models from motion data, and apply these models and log data to support not only individuals but also families and communities. Especially for the community, we develop three applications. These are the application using gesture recognition, the application using area recognition, and the application using pass-by wireless communication.

A possibility of the power supply leveling by using electric vehicles as storage batteries

After the big earthquake on March 11, 2011 at Fukushima, there are not enough power supply sources in Japan since almost all nuclear power plants stopped for checking each safety level, and no alternative power supply source is available. Then there is a risk that the amount of electric power demand would exceed the maximum amount of electric power supply. Once the power demand would exceed the power supply, a widespread blackout would occur. To avoid this kind of blackout, Japanese citizens are required to reduce the electric power demand during the peak power demand hours. But this means that if the peak of the power demand can be cut down, there is no reason to reduce the power demand. To cut down the peak of the power demand, we need to change the point of view from the increase of power supply and/or the decrease of power demand to the power supply leveling. Then we decided to study a possibility of the power supply leveling with the storage batteries. But since the storage battery is not popular as a home electric appliance, then we started to study it with electric vehicles (EVs) as storage batteries. This study must depend on behaviors of each family and each family has a different life style. Then in this study, we chose the approach by the simulation with user model.

Interaction robot system considering culture differences

This research is mainly to find culture differences when the user interacts with a home robot having facial expressions. Different nations have different cultures, which are inevitably reflected in communication model. Without knowledge of these differences in cross-cultural communication, people may find it hard to pass on the desired message to other people and misunderstandings may arise. In order to let the home robot supply various services with no national boundaries, it is necessary for us to consider different cultures during the conversation. As a result, we consider and do a brief comparison of the differences between Japanese and Chinese cultures when the user communicates with a home robot. The difference that containing word expressions and the facial expressions between Chinese and Japanese are discussed in this research.

A human motion recognition using data mining for a service robot

This research presents a system that provides useful information by data mining. The system collects human motions data to process data mining, and uses the result to detect human intention, and then provide service. The system includes three parts: the input devices part which is to collect data, the server part which is to analyze and process the data mining, and the client part which is to provide a service. The way that set the devices on human to get motions always makes human feel uncomfortable. Therefore, the authors consider using the cameras to obtain human movements rather than setting the devices on human. The collected data can be classed by the server part to find the motion data. The motion data are analyzed to process data mining and find the relation between motion and intention. The result of mining can be applied to provide information on the mobile device or to use for human-robot interaction. The system shows the possibility of applying the data mining to human motion to detect human intention. And the results can offer useful data to assist robotic system or show useful information to user.