Abstract: Disclosed are a robot cleaner and a method for controlling the same, capable of controlling a travelling or cleaning pattern of a robot cleaner in accordance with extension and retraction operations of an auxiliary cleaning tool to perform an efficient cleaning operation. The robot cleaner includes a plurality of auxiliary cleaning units mounted to a bottom of the robot cleaner such that the auxiliary cleaning units are extendable and retractable, an obstacle sensor to sense an obstacle in a cleaning region of the robot cleaner, and a control unit to extend the auxiliary cleaning units while travelling in a wall tracing manner along the periphery of the cleaning region, and to retract the auxiliary cleaning units while the robot cleaner travels in an inner portion of the cleaning region when traveling of the periphery of the cleaning region is finished.

Abstract: A control schedule incorporating a relationship between corrected torque and inlet pressure is selected or determined responsive to a power-level command representative of a level of power to be transmitted to a controllable load by a single-spool turboshaft engine. At least a substantial portion of the control schedule provides for a flat-rated power level by the single-spool turboshaft engine substantially independent of associated inlet air pressure and inlet air temperature, and for at least one selectable mode of operation, the control schedule provides for minimizing or nearly minimizing a measure of fuel consumption, and for at least one other selectable mode of operation, the control schedule provides for operation at a substantially fixed level of rotational speed.

Abstract: A control device for a vehicle regulating system is configured to pick up driving state measurement signals from driving state sensors of the vehicle and determine reaction properties of the vehicle wheels from the signals. The control device is configured to also pick up roadway measurement signals of a spectroscopic sensor that is aligned with a roadway surface and determine therefrom the presence and/or properties of a layer of water on the roadway surface. The control device determines tire properties of the tires on the basis of the determined reaction properties of the vehicle wheels and the roadway measurement signals.

Abstract: The subject matter disclosed herein relates to systems, methods, etc. for creating a routing graph based at least partly on building information, which may include relatively low-detail schematics. For certain example implementations, a method may include obtaining building information descriptive of at least a portion of a building structure and superimposing a grid of points onto the building information. The building information may be analyzed using the superimposed grid of points by projecting multiple rays from multiple points of the superimposed grid of points. At least one routing graph may be created responsive to the analyzing and based at least in part on the superimposed grid of points and the building information. Other example implementations are described herein.

Abstract: In a vehicle driving assistance device, a steering controlling unit estimates lane lines behind a subject vehicle based on lane lines recognized ahead of the subject vehicle and a running state of the subject vehicle, determines whether or not there is a passing vehicle on an adjacent lane based on the estimated lane lines behind the subject vehicle and a solid substance that is detected behind the subject vehicle by a solid substance detecting unit. If there is a passing vehicle a set distance behind the subject vehicle, the steering controlling unit corrects a steering angle of steering control set based on the lane lines ahead of the subject vehicle toward a direction in which the subject vehicle moves wary from the passing vehicle.

Abstract: A control device for a bipedal mobile robot generates a desired motion of a bipedal mobile robot. When causing the robot to perform a one-leg hopping operation, a desired motion of the robot is generated such that the proximal end portion of a free leg of the robot is positioned at a relatively higher level than the proximal end portion of a supporting leg thereof in the state wherein the supporting leg has landed on a floor after leaving from the floor and such that the horizontal distance between the total center-of-gravity point of the robot and the proximal end portion of the supporting leg in the aforesaid state is shorter than the horizontal distance therebetween in a state wherein the robot is standing in an upright posture.

Abstract: The subject matter disclosed herein relates to systems, methods, etc. for creating a routing graph based at least partly on building information. For certain example implementations, a method includes obtaining building information descriptive of at least a portion of a building structure. A grid of points may be superimposed onto the building information. At least one routing graph may be created based at least in part on the superimposed grid of points and the building information. Other example implementations are also described.

Abstract: A multi-joint robot having a function for estimating an amount of decrease in inner pressure of a gas spring, by means of a simple and low-cost structure, and a method for estimating the amount of decrease in inner pressure of the gas spring. The gas pressure within a cylinder of the gas spring decreases in connection with the motion of a lower arm associated with the gas spring. In the present invention, in view of a finding that the amount of decrease in inner pressure has a high correlation with a total movement distance obtained by integrating an amount of back-and-forth motion of a piston rod relative to a cylinder, an amount of decrease in inner pressure within the gas spring is estimated by calculating the total movement distance.

Abstract: Methods and systems for providing functionality of a user interface to control directional orientations of a device are provided. An example method includes receiving an input on an interface indicating a command for a directional orientation of a robotic device, and providing an indicator on the interface representing a location of the input. The indicator may include a representation of the command for the directional orientation of the robotic device. The method may further include determining that the location of the input on the interface is within a distance threshold to a pre-set location on the interface, and repositioning the indicator on the interface to be at the pre-set location. In this manner, the indicator may snap to a location if the input is close to a pre-set location, for example.

Abstract: A road surface friction coefficient estimating device includes a means which finds a first estimated value Mnsp_estm of an external force to be compared (S102 to S116, S118-2), a means which finds a second estimated value Mnsp_sens (S118-1), and a plurality of increasing/decreasing manipulated variable determining means 34_k, each of which determines the increasing/decreasing manipulated variable ??_k of the friction coefficient estimated value on the basis of the first estimated value Mnsp_estm and the second estimated value Mnsp_sens, and updates the friction coefficient estimated value according to ??_k. The increasing/decreasing manipulated variable determining means 34—1 and 34—2 determine ??—1 and ??—2 according to a deviation in filtering value between the first estimated value and the second estimated value, and the increasing/decreasing manipulated variable determining means 34—3 determines ??—1 according to the deviation between the first estimated value and the second estimated value.

Abstract: A method for group travel and group communications, wherein the group travel parameters and group communications are combined for verifying and validating ADS-B data on aircraft. The full connectivity within a navigating group of aircraft allows all the group members to communicate spatial/temporal observations and collaborate in group protocols, e.g., majority voting protocol, which can determine if a received ADS-B message is corrupted or from a false target aircraft. Well-established distributed protocols based on group communications and majority voting exist for (1) detecting compromised members, i.e., false target aircraft, and (2) verifying message integrity, i.e., ADS-B data, given a minority fraction of members are compromised/colluding. Such protocols can be based on IP multicast communications over the IP networking data links available on the aircraft. Also disclosed is a method for verification and validation of position indicator message data on aircraft.

Abstract: A method and a device are provided for operating a pre-lubrication system for an internal combustion engine of a hybrid electrical vehicle after vehicle start up, wherein the hybrid electrical vehicle also comprises. The electric engine is turned on at vehicle start up and the internal combustion engine is turned on at vehicle start up or after a period of time after vehicle start up. The pre-lubrication system comprises an engine control function for controlling the internal combustion engine, monitoring the torque requested by a driver and storing information regarding when the driver requests torque equal to or higher than a predetermined torque threshold. The cranking operation of the internal combustion engine, in order to build up oil pressure and fill the oil circuit with oil, is initiated based on the stored information or when the electrical hybrid vehicle reaches a predetermined vehicle speed threshold.

Abstract: A surgical system includes a manipulator, an implantable actuator and a controller. The manipulator includes a plurality of integrated sensor/actuators. The sensors of the sensor/actuators are adapted to detect movement about a plurality of axes of movement. The implantable actuator includes a plurality of joints providing a plurality of axes of movement. The controller is configured to receive information from the plurality of sensor/actuators that indicates movement of the manipulator about the plurality of axes and to cause the joints of the actuator to move along corresponding axes of movement. Each sensor/actuator of the manipulator detects movement about an axis of movement corresponding to a similar one of the joints of the actuator.

Abstract: One of a controllable load and a fuel flow to a single-spool turboshaft engine is controlled so that a rotational speed of a single-spool turboshaft engine is substantially regulated to a level corresponding to a corrected rotational speed command, and the other of the fuel flow and the controllable load is controlled so that a torque transmitted from the single-spool turboshaft engine to the controllable load is substantially regulated to a level corresponding to a corrected torque command. Under at least one operating condition, the corrected rotational speed command is determined so as to minimize or nearly minimize a measure of fuel consumption by the single-spool turboshaft engine when operated so that the torque transmitted to the controllable load corresponds to the corrected torque command.

Abstract: The present embodiments relate to a monitoring system for a medical device, wherein the medical device comprises a robot and an image recording part which can be moved by the robot. Provision is made for a radiation source which is attached to the medical device, and for a radiation receiver which is situated remotely from the medical device and is for receiving radiation that is emitted from the radiation source. A comparison entity compares the point of impact of radiation on the radiation receiver with one or more predetermined points of impact of radiation on the radiation receiver. The invention further relates to a corresponding method for monitoring a medical device.

Abstract: A map display system and method are provided. The display system includes a map information acquiring unit that acquires map information and a congestion level acquiring unit that acquires a congestion level for each road section within the map. The system also includes a route line display determining unit that determines whether a route line is displayed superimposed on any road line, the route line representing a planned travel route, each road line representing a road section within the map. The display is controlled such that if the route line is displayed superimposed on any road line a congestion line is displayed at a position by a first off-set distance from the road line on the display part and if the route line is not displayed superimposed on any road line, the congestion line is displayed at a second off-set distance from the road line on the display part.

Abstract: A vehicular light distribution control system (100) controls a light distribution of headlights (3). The control system includes the following parts. The vehicle detecting part (10) detects an anterior vehicle driving in front of an occupants vehicle. The unirradiated region setting part (12) sets a region where the anterior vehicle detected by the vehicle detecting part (10) exists as an unirradiated region. The vehicle motion estimating part (13) estimates an ensuing motion of the anterior vehicle detected by the vehicle detecting part (10). The unirradiated region adjusting part (14) adjusts a size of the unirradiated region set by the unirradiated region setting part (12) depending on an estimated result 15 of the vehicle motion estimating part (13).

Abstract: A robotic cane may include a grip handle, a cane body extending from the grip handle at a first end, a motorized omni-directional wheel coupled to a second end of the cane body, a balance control sensor, and a controller module. The balance control sensor provides a balance signal corresponding to an orientation of the robotic cane. The controller module may receive the balance signal from the balance control sensor and calculate a balancing velocity of the motorized omni-directional wheel based at least in part on the balance signal and an inverted pendulum control algorithm. The controller module may further provide a drive signal to the motorized omni-directional wheel in accordance with the calculated balancing velocity. The calculated balancing velocity is a speed and direction of the motorized omni-directional wheel to retain the robotic cane in an substantially upright position.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, there is provided a vehicle controller including: a sudden change judgment section that judges whether a change rate of a detected yaw rate is equal to or more than a predetermined value; a normative yaw rate calculator that calculates a normative yaw rate based on a steering angle amount; and a correction section that performs a correction for making a detected lateral acceleration close to a value to be detected at a gravity center of a vehicle, by using: the detected yaw rate when the sudden change judgment section judges that the change rate of the detected yaw rate is less than the predetermined value; and the normative yaw rate instead of the detected yaw rate when the sudden change judgment section judges that the change rate of the detected yaw rate is equal to or more than the predetermined value.

Abstract: A medical robotic system includes an entry guide with articulated instruments extending out of its distal end. A controller is configured to command manipulation of one of the articulated instruments towards a state commanded by operator manipulation of an input device while commanding sensory feedback to the operator indicating a difference between the commanded state and a preferred pose of the articulated instrument, so that the sensory feedback serves to encourage the operator to return the articulated instrument back to its preferred pose.