In this paper, grasping strategy using deformation of soft finger is addressed. Soft fingers, which are made of macromolecular and have large elastic deformation, have gotten a lot of attention. Soft fingers have a peculiarity that high friction force, which stabilizes a grasping condition, is generated by expansion of contact area between tip of soft finger and grasping object. However, until now nobody focuses on the fact that deformation of soft finger enables multi-fingered hand to generate force to manipulate a object which has high aspect ratio and restricted by environment. Accordingly, we focus on a task to pick up a thin plate on a floor using deformation of soft finger. The effectiveness of grasping strategy is confirmed by experiments.

We propose a novel tactile sensor, of which sensitivity and sensing range is adjustable. This sensor is a mechanical resonator sensor using a piezoelectric bimorph which measures elastic deformation of media by external force. The sensor is robust and has self-sensing capability. We derived the relationship between sensor output and spring constant at each vibration mode by the piezoelectric analysis and vibration analysis. The validity of sensor was demonstrated by experiment. As an application, a robot fingertip with tactile sensor was fabricated and evaluated.

This paper proposes a new tactile display to present shear deformation to the skin of human finger. For presenting the shear deformation of the finger, we fabricated a three-dimensional moving stage driven by the hydraulic actuators. For presenting different deformation under the condition of the same normal pressure, we used an air suction pad that can suck air. Using this air pad and the hydraulic display system, we performed experiments to present shear deformation. From these experiments, large deformation was achieved under the condition of the same normal pressure.

Working robots with agents in the same place has become known by the expansion of the use of a remote control robot. For that reason, we need a safety system which prevents a robot from collision with an agent. An ER-joint realizes high-speed response and force-limiting mechanism at the same time. We apply these properties to an automatic safety mechanism to prevent a collision accident. Then we prove the stability of this system in the case of normal operations by Lyapunov's direct method, and apply the system to a micro-injector in order to show the effectiveness of the mechanism.

We propose a novel methodology on high throughput screening of microbes. We have developed a prototype of microchannel system for high throughput screening of Escherichia coli. Experimental demonstration of noncontact transportation and manipulation of Escherichia coli by dielectrophoretic force and radiation pressure of laser tweezers has been carried out with laser manipulator system. We discussed the basic strategies to improve the working efficiency and the operability of the micromanipulation and presented a new direction in this field. In experiments, we show that transportation and separation of Escherichia coli with electric field and optical radiation pressure is feasible in the future practical application for the high throughput screening of microbes.

We propose a multimedia tele-surgery system for training, diagnosis, and assistance in surgery. To realize this system, a high speed optical fiber network with asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) is used to provide high quality moving pictures. We designed a new teleoperation system based on ATM, which is different from the conventional one that is based on Ethernet. We built a prototype of the virtual simulator system for the intravascular neurosurgery that consists of a 3D-computer graphics simulator and two types of joysticks. The joysticks are used for the controller and force display of catheter head direction, position, and orientation. A visual assistance method is proposed to assist the operator. We performed teleoperation experiments between Nagoya and Tokyo, about 350 km apart from each other, using high speed optical fiber network, and evaluated the effectiveness of the proposed system.

In this paper, we propose a new approach to noncontact transportation of DNA molecules by dielectrophoretic force and the idea of the micro DNA flow system. Such system can be made by using microfabrication technology. At first, we designed a simple micro electrode-flow system and carried out experiments. Experimental demonstration of DNA transportation using dielectrophoretic force and direct observation of the DNA molecule in a nonuniform electric field was carried out with fluorescence microscopy. We showed a simple electrode design and the possibility of noncontact transportation of DNA molecules based on micro DNA flow system. In future we consider the possibility of the micro DNA flow system as one of the biomanipulation and automation systems for DNA sequencing.

This paper deals with a micro mobile robot in water utilizing a PZT(Pb(Zr,Ti)O/sub 3/) as an actuator. A robot driven by a PZT requires a magnification mechanism and the effects of the resonance to enlarge the displacement of the PZT. In this paper, the authors propose a prototype micro mobile robot which has a new steering mechanism. The robot possesses a pair of legs and each leg has a pair of fins with some angle, which is essential to the improvement of the robot performance. A leg generates force both forward and backward according to frequency because the offset angle between a pair of fins works properly. Therefore, the robot can steer efficiently by combination of both modes. The size of the robot is 32 mm in length and 19 mm in width. This robot has many possible applications, such as small pipelines inspection and use in biomedical fields.

This paper deals with a micro-mobile robot in water utilizing PZT(Pb(Zr, Ti)O/sub 3/) as an actuator. A robot driven by PZT requires a magnification mechanism and the effects of the resonance condition to enlarge the displacement of the PZT to some extent. In this paper, we show a prototype micro-mobile robot in water (double-fin-fish robot), which possesses a pair of fins and moves them symmetrically. Therefore, the momentum of this robot is canceled and the tendency to move straight ahead is improved. The size of the robot is 50 mm in length. We propose a structure for the magnification mechanism, which is made by the wire cut method. The magnification ratio is 326 geometrically. This robot has many possible applications, such as small pipeline inspections and biomedical fields.>

A six-degree-of-freedom micromanipulator using PZT actuators has been designed and tested. The micromanipulator is very small and light, because it is made of PZT actuators. Since this micromanipulator has a position and force feedback system, it can control desired poses and forces. Since the manipulator has 6 degrees of freedom, its tip can move along three axes, and can also rotate along each axis. A fuzzy-like variable gain feedback control system is employed, making this system perform better than the fixed gain feedback system. These technical merits will make it possible to operate this dextrous micromanipulator in much more complicated environments under a microscope.>

Impact sound is emitted when a collision occurs between objects. The authors propose a robotic control method to reproduce the impact sound emitted by the collision between the endpoint of the robotic manipulator and the object. The feedback control of impact sound is very difficult, because the impact phenomenon occurs in a very short period of time. Instead of a feedback control method, a learning control algorithm is proposed to control the impact phenomena. The learning control algorithm modifies the reference signal to the servo controller of the robot manipulator so that the desired impact sound is reproduced. The algorithm is based on the optimization of the least-squares criterion of learning error and does not require the dynamic model of the impact phenomena. The algorithm is applied to the planar manipulator with one degree of freedom driven by a pneumatic actuator. Experimental results illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.>