Abstract: Enabling a user to perceive map or route information including a status includes enabling a first user to perceive one or more features of a map and receiving condition information that reflects a condition perceived by the first user as existing relative to the one or more features based on input from the first user. Also, enabling a user to perceive map or route information includes receiving a request for a route from a second user and determining a response to the request for the route including the route based on the condition information received from the first user related to the one or more features. Further, enabling a user to perceive map or route information includes enabling the second user to perceive the route based on receipt of the response.

Abstract: Apparatus for a motor vehicle comprises a location monitor for determining vehicle coordinates for an instantaneous vehicle position within a predetermined reference system. A jurisdictional map database is provided for relating a plurality of jurisdictions to corresponding ranges of coordinates in the predetermined reference system. A regulation database is provided for relating a plurality of vehicle functions to corresponding parametric limitations for respective jurisdictions. A user interface is coupled to the regulation database for configuring at least one of the parametric limitations. A controller is coupled to the location monitor, the jurisdictional map database, and the regulation database for identifying a current jurisdiction in response to the vehicle coordinates, identifying at least one vehicle function having a parametric limitation for the current jurisdiction, and modifying the action of the identified vehicle function to comply with the respective parametric limitation.

Abstract: The positions and orientations of one or more target objects are obtained from the result of measuring a set of target objects by using a first sensor. A robot including a grip unit is controlled to grip one target object as a gripping target object among the target objects by the grip unit. Whether the grip unit has succeeded in gripping the gripping target object is determined from the result of measurement performed by a second sensor for measuring the target object gripped by the grip unit. When the grip unit has been determined to fail in gripping the gripping target object, one target object interacting with the gripping target object is selected among the target objects. The robot is controlled to grip the selected target object by the grip unit.

Abstract: A robot picking system includes a robot that picks up a work in a first stocker accommodating a plurality of works, a control device that controls an operation of the robot, and an image acquiring device that acquires image data including information related to the plurality of works. The control device includes a candidate data generating unit that generates candidate data including information of candidate works that are candidates of a picking-up target using the image data, and a target work selecting unit that selects a target work that is a picking-up target from the candidate works using the candidate data.

Abstract: A system for preventing discomfort to a user of a robotic exoskeleton (200) determines the existence of an exoskeleton operating condition which has the potential to cause at least one of a discomfort or an injury to a user (204) when the exoskeleton is being worn by the user. Responsive to the determining, an exoskeleton control system (224) selectively controls at least one viscous coupling (208, 210) disposed at an interface location (201, 203) of the exoskeleton where a physical interaction occurs between a portion of the user and a portion of the exoskeleton when the exoskeleton is in use. The control system selectively varies a viscosity of a fluid (216) comprising the viscous coupling to control the stiffness of the interface.

Abstract: According to an in-vehicle information device or a navigation device of the invention, each of a plurality of terminals in a vehicle is configured to cause the terminal itself to operate in one of modes including: “an independent operation mode” in which the terminal itself is operated independently; “a participatory cooperative operation mode” in which the terminal directly participates in an operation of the other terminal; and “a transitional cooperative operation mode” in which the terminal takes over information of the other terminal and performs an operation on the information followed by reflecting or not reflecting the information after that operation to the other terminal as information source. Accordingly, it is possible to efficiently transmit or reflect an intention of each of plural occupants in the vehicle to the other occupant by combining independent operations and cooperative operations by the plurality of terminals.

Abstract: A manipulator device has an arm portion and a hand portion The hand portion includes one or more finger portions that manipulate a target object. Each finger portion includes a slip sensor and multiple contact sensors, with at least one contact sensor at a position proximate to the slip sensor and at least another contact sensor at a position remote from the slip sensor. When the contact sensors at the positions remote from the slip sensor detect contact of the target object and the contact sensors arranged at the positions proximate to the slip sensors do not detect contact, a position of the finger portion is moved by a distance corresponding to the distance between the contact sensors detecting contact of the target object and the contact sensors arranged at the positions proximate to the slip such that a detecting position of the slip sensor is coincident with a position of the target object.

Abstract: A robot teaching system according to an embodiment includes a robot, a sensor, a screen generator, an adjuster, and a job generator. The sensor measures measured values relating to operations of the robot. The screen generator generates a teaching operation screen that includes guidance information intended for the teacher. The adjuster adjusts parameters for generating a job based on specified values relating to the operations of the robot and input in the teaching operation screen, and the measured values of the sensor associated with the specified values, the parameters defining an operation command including corrections of the operations of the robot. The job generator generates the job in which the parameters adjusted by the adjuster are incorporated.

Abstract: A robot system includes robot, an image capture device, a plurality of illumination devices, and a control device. The robot is configured to perform a predetermined work on a to-be-processed material. The image capture device is configured to capture an image of the to-be-processed material and has a dynamic range. The plurality of illumination devices are configured to illuminate the to-be-processed material. The control device is configured to control at least one illumination device among the plurality of illumination devices to keep an amount of light received by the image capture device within the dynamic range of the image capture device.

Abstract: Detector device arranged to cover at least one portion of a mobile appliance; the device has an electromechanical transducer including a substrate, a first series of electrodes, a second series of electrodes, and a deformable layer associated with the electrodes of the two series, the substrate, the electrodes, and the deformable layer forming a single unit mounted on the portion of the mobile appliance and arranged so that a current flowing between one of the electrodes of the first series and an adjacent electrode of the second series is proportional to a thickness of the deformable layer in register with the electrodes. The substrate including a base layer to which are attached the electrodes of the first series and the electrodes of the second series, which have facing portions, and a variable conduction layer that covers the base layer and the electrodes.

Abstract: Methods, devices (such as computer readable media), and systems (such as computer systems) for performing movements of a tool of a medical robot along a single axis that are achieved by electronically limiting the medical robot's movement to produce movement of the tool along the single axis rather than mechanically restricting the medical robot's movement to produce the single axis movement. The tool's movement will be along the single axis even if a user is moving an input device linked to the medical robot in other axes during the single axis movement. In addition, techniques are disclosed for automating the single axis movement such that it can be programmed to stop at a target location and start at or near a second (e.g.

Abstract: A controller for floating-base humanoid robots that can track motion capture data while maintaining balance. Briefly, the controller includes a proportional-derivative (PD) controller that is adapted to compute the desired acceleration to track a given reference trajectory at every degree-of-freedom (DOF) of the robot including the six unactuated ones of the floating base. Second, the controller includes a component (joint torque optimization module) that computes the optimal joint torques and contact forces to realize the desired accelerations given by the first component (i.e., the PD controller). The joint torque optimization module performs this computation considering the full-body dynamics of the robot and the constraints on contact forces. The desired accelerations may not be feasible for the robot due to limits in normal contact forces and friction (e.g., the robot sometimes cannot exactly copy or perform the modeled human motion defined by motion capture data).

Abstract: Devices and methods for providing power to tools when the tools are not attached to a robotic device. The power source may be an energy storage device that is attached to a tool frame of a tool cluster. The power provides for the tools to be maintained in a ready state which expedites and/or eliminates the initiation process when the tools and the tool cluster are subsequently reattached to the robotic device. This reduces the time necessary for the tools to be used in the assembly process thereby increasing the efficiency of the tooling system.

Abstract: There is provided a display information acquiring unit for acquiring display information on a screen of a touch panel display, a touch pattern estimating unit for estimating a region on the screen likely to be touched by a person and a motion direction of the touch based on the display information, a load estimating unit for estimating a load or a torque to the display based on the estimated region and the motion direction, a stiffness parameter information generating unit for generating information for controlling the arm so that the position and the orientation of the display do not change along the touching direction at the time of touch panel input based on the estimated load or torque, and an arm control unit for controlling a stiffness parameter of the arm based on the generated information.

Abstract: A method and system for parking assistance for a vehicle, wherein the parking of said vehicle on a parking space at least partly occupied by a second vehicle is enabled by transmitting a maneuver request to the second vehicle. The method includes the steps of: allocating a priority to the driver of the first vehicle, wherein said priority implements a classification of said driver with respect to the extent to which the driver is entitled to the prioritized use of the parking space; and transmitting the maneuver request to the second vehicle based on said priority.

Abstract: In a touch panel display with an arm, a torque calculating unit calculates a torque to be loaded on a touch panel display based on a position acquired by a touch position information acquiring unit and a force acquired by a touch force information acquiring unit, and a stiffness parameter information generating unit generates information about a stiffness parameter for controlling an arm so that the position and the orientation of the touch panel display do not change based on the calculated torque. An arm control unit controls the arm based on the generated information about the stiffness parameter.

Abstract: A method for executing a manipulator process with at least two manipulator poses with a manipulator, in particular a robot, wherein the manipulator comprises at least one drive means having a motor and a brake, comprising the steps of: (S10) Assuming a manipulator pose; (S20) Stopping at least one drive means; (S30) Closing at least one brake of this drive means; (S40) Reduction of the energy supply to the drive means; (S50) Increasing the energy supply to the drive means; (S60) Opening the closed brake; (S70) Assuming another manipulator pose.

Abstract: Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a friction compensation logic of MDPS and a friction compensation method using the same. The friction compensation logic of MDPS in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention includes: a signal processor configured to extract only a signal having a limited range from column torque signals input from a column torque; a friction compensation sign calculator configured to determine a friction compensation sign by integrating the column torque signal extracted by the signal processor and calculating the friction compensation sign by limiting the integrated value to a set value; and a friction compensation torque calculator configured to calculate a friction compensation torque by reflecting a friction compensation amount to a value calculated by the friction compensation sign calculator.

Abstract: An attribute about person's mobility capability is judged by a human movement attribute acquisition unit. Candidate paths for a detected person to move along are created by a human path candidate creation unit based on information about the person and a predicted time left for a collision between the autonomous locomotion apparatus and the person. A movement load for each candidate path is evaluated by a human path load evaluation unit based on an attribute of person's movement. A path which imposes a minimum movement load on the person, i.e., a path suitable for the person's mobility capability and the easiest for the person to avoid the autonomous locomotion apparatus is selected by a human path determination unit. A path for the autonomous locomotion apparatus to guide the person to the selected path is planned by a guide path planning unit.

Abstract: The autonomous locomotion apparatus has a human information acquisition unit which detects a person. When there is probability of contact between the detected person and the autonomous locomotion apparatus based on movement information of the person, the autonomous locomotion apparatus controls a traveling speed or a rotational speed of the autonomous locomotion apparatus to perform a guide operation which presents a path of the autonomous locomotion apparatus which is intended to cause the person to predict, so that it causes the person to avoid the path without giving the person a sense of uneasiness.