A support structure for flexible displays such as OLED or flexible LEDs was developed using the flexible omnidirectional driving gear mechanism. It is a gear mechanism having two degrees of freedom on one surface. This flexible display mechanism is expected to be placed inside a car dashboard as a human interface and for workspace optimization. In this study, we propose a novel flexible omnidirectional driving gear for supporting flexible displays discussing its design, motion range, repeatability, positional accuracy, and adaptability to any guide surface through magnetic coupling. The experiments showed satisfactory results for positional accuracy and repeatability with adaptability over a wide range of curvatures.

To address the setup and changeover time issues in high-mix, low-volume production systems, we developed an end-effector capable of uniformly scooping, holding, and transporting a wide variety of objects, and demonstrated this system with prototype. Our experiments showed that the prototype was successful in scooping up and transporting a wide variety of objects and could be applied to high-mix low-volume production systems. In addition, the load testing of the spatula and modeling of objects that can be tilted backwards provided insight into further improvements of the scooping performance of this mechanism.

We propose a novel toroidal origami monotrack capable of smooth-skin driving and bending for closed-skin-drive robots. Monotracks are a promising solution for achieving high mobility in unstructured environments. Toroidal-drive mechanisms enable whole skin drive; however, conventional methods experience unexpected wrinkling and buckles that lead to a large resistance. In this study, we propose an origami bellows structure with multiple rollers that can maintain the skin tension and deal with the cause of large friction between the skin and the body. The origami structure design method is presented, and the bending angle range and required drive force were derived through a theoretical analysis. The validity of the effectiveness of the concept was verified through prototype testing.

This article presents an active ball joint mechanism (ABENICS) enhanced by interactions of spherical gears. The gear-based joint drives three rotational degrees of freedom (RDoF) without slippage. The capabilities were inspired by the unique interactions between two different innovative gears [the cross spherical gear (CS-gear) and monopole gear (MP-gear)] and the superimposition of those interactions by the CS-gear's quadrature spherical tooth structure. One MP-gear constrains two of the three RDoF of the CS-gear. The driving module which drives the MP-gear converts this “constraint” into a “drive” and drives the CS-gear with two RDoF. The CS-gear orthogonally superimposes the interactions caused by two MP-gears to achieve three RDoF driving forces. The principle was revealed by analyzing an equivalent linkage modeled on the mechanism of ABENICS. The linkage also led to the kinematics and torque equations. The theory and physical characteristics of ABENICS were verified in comprehensive and continuous positioning experiments on manufactured prototypes. The flexibility of the actuator placement was also verified in different configurations of the driving modules. The active ball joint, ABENICS can transmit high torque and reliable positioning in three RDoF without an orientation sensor, which applies to robot joints and orientation control mechanisms.