1）To improve maneuverability of human operated mechatronics systems such as a power-assisted mobile platform, utilization of bio-signals of the operator is investigated. When a human operator controls movement of such a target system, maneuverability of the system and proficiency of the operator affects EEG and EMG of the operator. Thus, in this study, these bio-signals are analyzed for evaluation of maneuverability and assistance of manual operation to tailor system characteristics to the operator's preference.

2）A home agent robot which can track its user in the home to provide watching and various information services is investigated. So far, a driving mechanism employing a sphere outer-shell and an omni-directional internal driving unit has been proposed and its motion control method has been developed, which enables smooth movement on the floor without being blocked by possible obstacles in the home environment. Currently, functions to be equipped is under consideration such as self-localization and user recognition-tracking using simple stereo cameras, operation using speech recognition, and utilization of cloud services.

3）Movement supporting apparatus such as electric wheelchairs come to be safer and more useful if it can move omni-directionally on irregular grounds. Thus, in this project, a new mechanism has been proposed which enables omni-directional movement and good tracking on irregular grounds simultaneously, by building a rocker bogie mechanism into a dual-wheel chaster omni-directional driving platform. Presently, a reduced-sized prototype model has been fabricated and its control scheme and mobility performance is being investigated by experiment.

1. Improving Maneuverability of Mechatronics Systems Using Bio-signals
2. Sphere-shaped Home-Agent Robot
3. Irregular Ground Omni-Directional Driving Mechanism for Movement Supporting Apparatus

https://sites.google.com/a/edu.teu.ac.jp/mylab/