Archives: ‘Sci/Tech’ Category

RI-MAN revisited

14 Mar 2006

RI-MANMore details about RI-MAN, the soft-skinned robot, were revealed in a press release issued by RIKEN yesterday.

RI-MAN is the world's first robot designed for lifting and carrying humans. A variety of sensors, including flexible tactile sensor sheets, provide RI-MAN with a sense of vision, hearing, touch, and smell. These senses help RI-MAN perform tasks such as locating people who are calling out to it, responding to spoken commands, carefully lifting those who need lifting, and checking the sanitary condition of the person it is carrying. RI-MAN is able to integrate a wide range of sensory data to adapt to changes in the environment.

The robot is also equipped with 19 motors, controlled by a system of hierarchical distributed processing that is modeled after the nervous system found in biological organisms. This "nervous system" -- a network of what RIKEN calls C-CHIPs -- integrates sensor data processing with motor control to provide RI-MAN the autonomy needed to respond quickly to changes in the environment. The head has 3 degrees of freedom, each arm has 6, the waist has 2, and the base (which acts as RI-MAN?s legs) has 2. Safety-related technology, including safety circuits and soft skin and joints designed to prevent injury, are incorporated into RI-MAN?s design.

Still in the initial testing phase, RI-MAN is currently practicing with dolls that weigh about 12 kg (26 lbs). Researchers plan to increase the weight of the practice dolls over time, with the aim of achieving the ability to lift human adults in 5 years. Researchers will continue working to upgrade RI-MAN's sensors and data processing skills to improve adaptability. The aim is to create a robot with the physical power needed for heavy lifting and the reasoning skills needed for operating in places like people's homes. RIKEN says that with these skills, RI-MAN can be put to work in nursing and rehabilitation, in furniture moving, or in any other job that requires muscle.

[Source: RIKEN press release]

[See also: RI-MAN homepage (includes video)]

Competition heats up between Tokyo power giants

13 Mar 2006

LIFUELTokyo Gas is beefing up efforts to popularize its "My Home Hatsuden" products, which use natural gas to generate household electricity. Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc. (TEPCO), despite intensifying its push for all-electric housing, has expressed alarm and opposition to Tokyo Gas.

Last year, Tokyo Gas released the LIFUEL household fuel cell cogeneration system, which extracts hydrogen from natural gas along with oxygen from the air to generate electricity through a reverse chemical reaction. This year, Tokyo Gas expanded its lineup with the ECOWILL system, which uses a natural gas-powered engine to generate electricity. Both of these "My Home Hatsuden" products aim to capitalize on household energy demand at the expense of electric power companies.

LIFUEL and ECOWILL use the heat exhausted during electricity generation to heat household water. While able to supply 40 to 50% of the electricity for an average family of four, they can provide sufficient quantities of hot water. High power-generation efficiency and heat efficiency mean both systems are able to cut the amount of electricity required for heating water by 20%, contributing to reduced carbon dioxide emissions.

Use of LIFUEL can save about 60,000 yen (US$520) per year in heating and lighting costs, while ECOWILL can save about 27,000 yen (US$235) per year. The higher-priced LIFUEL system rents for 100,000 yen (US$870) per year. Government subsidies are available for purchasing ECOWILL, so the cost to the consumer is 6 to 7 million yen (around $5,000 to $6,000).

Tokyo Gas was initially focused on developing household fuel cells. However, after TEPCO stepped up efforts in its push for all-electric housing, Tokyo Gas decided to counter by focusing on ECOWILL until fuel cells achieve full-scale popularization -- which they believe will occur around 2008. Tokyo Gas plans to increase the installation of ECOWILL and LIFUEL in general households from 200 units in 2005 to a cumulative total of 43,000 units in 2010. Norio Ichino, President of Tokyo Gas, expects "My Home Hatsuden" to play a key role in their business in 4 to 5 years.

[Source: Mainichi Shimbun]

Robo-Fisher swims with (and cleans up after) the fishes

10 Mar 2006

Robo-FisherRobo-Fisher, a submersible robot designed to clean the floors of giant aquariums, is being developed by Osaka City University and eight private companies. Underwater operations were tested last week at a diver training pool in Osaka.

The 1-meter (3.3-ft.) long, 160-kilogram (350-lb.) robot features a water-pressure powered motor that relies on water fed through a hose connected to an electric pump outside the aquarium. Robo-Fisher directs a jet of water at the floor to free up detritus in the sand, which it then vacuums up and removes from the aquarium through a hose. The water-powered motor eliminates the danger of accidentally electrocuting the fish in the aquarium.

Researchers are developing Robo-Fisher with the cooperation of Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, which is known for its giant whale shark. The robot is also equipped with a small camera that can shoot video of the surrounding fish. In the future, aquarium visitors will be able to simulate the experience of walking underwater by operating the remote control camera and watching real-time video. There are also plans to broadcast live video over the Internet.

At present, divers use shovels to clean the aquarium floor four times a day.

[Source: Asahi Shimun]

Housecats “tagged” to protect Tsushima leopard cat?

10 Mar 2006
Tsushima Leopard Cat

Environmental advocates have come up with a set of guidelines aimed at preserving the Tsushima leopard cat (Tsushima yamaneko), an endangered and protected species that inhabits Tsushima in Nagasaki prefecture. Measures include mandatory registration of all domestic cats to reduce the number of strays and prevent the Tsushima leopard cat from contracting infectious diseases. The guidelines were decided at the International Workshop for the Preservation of the Tsushima Leopard Cat, which was held in Tsushima in January. Organizers are pressing the relevant national and prefectural organizations to adopt the proposed measures.

The guidelines stipulate that cat owners must register their pets and have them implanted with microchips. In addition, the guidelines call on the government to construct better roads to reduce the number of traffic accidents -- a major cause of death for the Tsushima leopard cat. They also suggest breeding the wildcats in captivity at several facilities to preserve the species.

[Source: Kyodo News]

Laser-powered aircraft tested at Osaka Dome

08 Mar 2006

Laser-powered aircraftAn unmanned aircraft powered by a ground-based laser was demonstrated at Osaka Dome on March 7. The aircraft is the work of a Kinki University research team led by Professor Nobuki Kawashima (aeronautical engineering). The researchers expect the aircraft to be used for gathering information in the event of a disaster.

The aircraft measures 78 cm (30 in.) long, weighs 800 grams (1.8 lbs.), and has wings like a kite. A disc-shaped solar panel attached underneath powers the propeller when struck by a ground-based laser.

A battery powered the aircraft?s propeller at takeoff, but once it reached an altitude of about 50 meters (165 feet) -- near the ceiling of the dome -- the aircraft switched to laser-powered flight. The laser remained on target (error less than 1 cm) throughout the 20-minute flight around the dome. Observers say the aircraft looked like a kite flying on a string of light.

Flight time with this technology is unlimited as long as the laser can reach the aircraft, as opposed to a 5-minute flight time when powered by battery. Researchers envision this type of aircraft being used to get an understanding of areas devastated by earthquake or flood, or to serve as flying communication relay stations. Leisure-related applications are also possible.

"We would like to extend the tracking distance and increase the size of the aircraft," says Kawashima. "Hopefully we can make it commercially available in about 2 or 3 years."

[Source: Asahi Shimbun]

Size matters for Citizen’s Eco-Be!

07 Mar 2006

Eco-Be!On March 6 in Osaka, Japan, Citizen Watch Co., Ltd. (Tokyo) unveiled a mini-robot driven by a small wristwatch motor.

The two-wheeled robot -- called ?Eco-Be!? -- is 1.8 cm wide and 2.5 cm tall and is operated via infrared remote control.

At the unveiling, the tiny robot demonstrated the ability to move forward and backward, as well as turn smoothly from side to side. Eco-Be!, which is powered by watch batteries and features low power consumption, will make an appearance at RoboCup 2006 in Germany this June.

Citizen president Makoto Umehara says he hopes Eco-Be! will prove useful in the development of smaller and lighter weight robots. The company will conduct further research with Osaka University to improve the robot?s performance.

[Source: Hokkaido Shimbun Press]

KOTOHANA communicates emotions from afar

03 Mar 2006

NEC, NEC Design and SGI Japan have teamed up to develop KOTOHANA, flower-shaped terminals that use LED light to remotely communicate human emotions.

Each KOTOHANA set consists of two flower-shaped terminals equipped with LEDs that change color according to the emotions of the person who owns the counterpart. Each flower contains a microphone that captures voice data for processing, the results of which are sent via wireless LAN to the other terminal, where it is expressed as LED light.

KOTOHANA

KOTOHANA's Sensibility Technology (ST) emotion recognition engine, which was developed by SGI Japan with the cooperation of AGI, detects joy, sorrow, calmness and excitement in speech patterns. Happiness is expressed as yellow, sadness as blue, calmness as green, and excitement as red. Changing emotions are expressed through subtle color gradations and variations in light brightness.

The product is still in the prototype stage, with the ST engine running on a separate computer connected to KOTOHANA. NEC plans to showcase KOTOHANA at CeBIT, the international trade show for information and telecommunications technology to be held from March 9 to 15 in Hannover, Germany.

[Source: Yahoo! News Japan via japan.internet.com]

Camera system for the ultimate narcissist?

02 Mar 2006

Cosmetics giant Kao has developed a "multi-perspective image analysis system" that captures facial images from a variety of angles and under various lighting conditions, for the purpose of analyzing skin characteristics such as tone and sheen. The system's ability to perform detailed analysis of make-up finish means it will likely play a role in cosmetic product development.

Kao's multi-perspective image analysis system

At 3 meters (10 feet) in diameter, the semi-spherical apparatus consists of 20 cameras and 50 lights, enabling users to observe subtle changes in how the skin looks under a wide range of indoor and outdoor lighting conditions.

Some captured images

In addition to the frontal view that you see in the mirror, the system records lateral and diagonal images, allowing you to check how the face appears to others. Make-up finish and the beauty of bare skin can be quantitatively analyzed.

Kao says the system was used in the development of its new foundation, Sofina Raycious Perfect Angle Powder, which went on sale at the end of February.

[Source: IT Media]

Robotic Maetel lands job at airport

02 Mar 2006

MaetelA robot modeled after Maetel, the heroine of Leiji Matusmoto?s legendary Galaxy Express 999 (Gingatetsudo 999) anime, will go to work as a guide at the New Kitakyushu Airport, which is scheduled to open on March 16. The android was unveiled on February 28.

The 170 cm (5 ft 7 in) tall Maetel, who was developed by the Kyushu Institute of Technology, will stand duty in the airport terminal?s tourist information center. She is programmed to respond verbally and non-verbally (with gestures) to 200 types of questions about airport facilities, transportation and local accommodations.

Leiji Matsumoto, a native of Kitakyushu, says he hopes to see the airport connect Kitakyushu to the rest of the world. However, the airport will provide no international service when it opens.

At the moment, Maetel is only able to respond to questions posed in Japanese.

[Source: Asahi Shimbun]

« Older
Newer »