Yu Ogura

Development of a new humanoid robot WABIAN-2

A new humanoid robot-WABIAN-2- that can be used as a human motion simulator is proposed in this paper. Its trunk is designed in order to permit rotation, and forward, backward, and sideway movement. Further, its arms are designed to support its complete weight when pushing a walk-assist machine. Moreover, it can lean on a walk-assist machine by forearm control using trunk motion. Basic walking experiments with WABIAN-2 are conducted with and without a walk-assist machine, thereby confirming its effectiveness

Human-like walking with knee stretched, heel-contact and toe-off motion by a humanoid robot

A humanoid robot, WABIAN-2R, capable of human-like walk with stretched knees and heel-contact and toe-off motions is proposed in this paper. WABIAN-2R has two 1-DOF passive joints in its feet to enable it to bend its toes in steady walking. Further, it has two 6-DOF legs, a 2-DOF pelvis, a 2-DOF trunk, two 7-DOF arms with 3-DOF hands, and a 3-DOF neck. In addition, a new algorithm for generating walking patterns with stretched knees and heel-contact and toe-off motions based on the ZMP criterion is described. In this pattern generation, some parameters of the foot trajectories of a biped robot are optimized by using a genetic algorithm in order to generate a continuous and smooth leg motion. Software simulations and walking experiments are conducted, and the effectiveness of the pattern generation and mechanism of WABIAN-2R, which have the ability to realize more human-like walking styles in a humanoid robot, are confirmed

Development of a human-like walking robot having two 7-DOF legs and a 2-DOF waist

Almost all conventional biped humanoid robots have difficulties in realizing various walking motions such as knee stretch walking like a human because of an insufficiency of DOF. Therefore, we have developed a 16-DOF biped humanoid robot without a trunk: 3-DOF in each ankle, 1-DOF in each knee, 3-DOF in each hip and 2-DOF in the waist. Using the biped robot, basic experiments are conducted and the effectiveness of the leg mechanism is confirmed.

A novel method of biped walking pattern generation with predetermined knee joint motion

This paper describes a method of motion pattern generation for biped humanoid robot to walk like humans or walk with various kind of motions. To realize biped walking avoiding singularity at stretching leg, pattern generation uses predetermined knee joint trajectories. Reduction of DOF by predetermination is complemented by waist motion. The effectiveness of generated dynamic walking patterns is confirmed by using a 16-DOF biped robot WABIAN-2/LL.

Evaluation of Various Walking Patterns of Biped Humanoid Robot

This paper describes the evaluation of three different walking patterns of a biped humanoid robot. Stretch-walking patterns with straight legs for a biped robot are compared with conventional walking patterns with bent legs in terms of energy consumption. This paper discusses walking pattern generation for various walks. To confirm the walking pattern evaluation, we have developed a biped robot, WABIAN-2/LL, whose leg mechanism differs from the conventional leg mechanism that has 3 DOF (degrees of freedom) in each ankle, 1 DOF in each knee, 3 DOF in each hip, and 2 DOF in the waist. Walking experiments are conducted with WABIAN-2/LL, and the results demonstrate that stretch walking patterns are effective in terms of energy consumption.

Development of a humanoid robot having 2-DOF waist and 2-DOF trunk

A new humanoid robot capable of various motion is proposed in this paper, which has a 2 DOF waist and 2 DOF trunk. A new upper body mechanism is mounted on a leg machine, WABIAN2/LL, and a full scale humanoid robot, WABIAN-2, is constructed in this study. Its trunk is designed to bend forwards, backwards and sideways and rotate in combination with a 2-DOF waist. Also, the upper body is designed in way that makes it able to use a walk-assist machine. Basic walking experiments with and without a walk-assist machine are conducted, and the effectiveness of the mechanism of WABIAN-2 is confirmed

Development of Oral Rehabilitation Robot for Massage Therapy

It is well known that the massage therapy is useful for the rehabilitation of various diseases. Although various apparatus have been developed for the massage of the torso and limbs, a machine to perform precise massage therapy to maxillofacial region is not developed yet. Therefore, we developed a robot system that provides massage therapy to maxillofacial region. The name of our newly developed robot was WAO-1. WAO-1 has been designed to perform appropriate massage to the patients with dry mouth, etc. WAO-1 is composed by two 6-degree of freedom arms with plungers attached at the end-effectors. The massage is applied to the patient by controlling the force and position of the plunger (virtual compliance). As a preliminary step of the clinical application, a simulation therapy of robotic massage to stimulate salivary flow from parotid gland was performed. The dynamic force on patients head during the massage using WAO-1 was evaluated. The results suggested that WAO-1 could perform equivalent massage to human hand. We expect that WAO-1 will be useful to provide massage therapy to several patients with oral health problems. This will aim in reducing the therapy costs due to the need of human efforts when long-time therapies are needed.

Interactive biped locomotion based on visual/auditory information

This paper describes an interactive locomotion method for a biped humanoid robot. The method consists of two main parts: a pattern generator and a human-robot interface. The human robot interface is used to achieve real-time interactive locomotion. In particular, visual information and voice instructions are employed to determine locomotion parameters such as step length, step direction, and the number of steps. The motion of the lower-limbs is generated by the online pattern generator based on the locomotion parameters. Continuous locomotion experiments are carried out in real time using WABIAN-RV. The experimental results show the feasibility of the proposed interactive locomotion method.

Development of a Humanoid Robot Capable of Leaning on a Walk-assist Machine

A new humanoid robot-WABIAN-2- that can be used as a human motion simulator is proposed in this paper. Its trunk is designed in order to permit rotation, and forward, backward, and sideway movement. Further, its arms are designed to support its complete weight when pushing a walk-assist machine. Moreover, it can lean on a walk-assist machine by forearm control using trunk motion. Basic walking experiments with WABIAN-2 are conducted with and without a walk-assist machine, thereby confirming its effectiveness

Sensory-based walking motion instruction for biped humanoid robot

Abstract This paper describes a sensory-based biped walking motion instruction strategy. Visual and auditory sensors are employed to generate walking patterns according to human orders and to memorize various complete walking patterns effectively and systematically. The motion of lower-limbs for locomotion is created by an online pattern generator based on the sensory information. At the same time, the motion of the trunk and the waist for stability is generated online by a balance control method. Combining these locomotive and balance motions, a complete walking pattern is hierarchically constructed and memorized on a database. The walking instruction is conducted through computer simulation, and its effectiveness is verified.