Abstract: A system comprises a platform being configured for locomotion in a plurality of directions over a surface. A robotic unit is configured for dexterous manipulation comprising at least lifting of objects. The robotic unit is joined to the platform. At least one extender unit is joined to the platform and is configured for controlled extension beyond the platform to contact the surface to stabilize the system at least during the manipulation by the robotic unit. At least one controlling unit is configured to be operable for at least determining a center of gravity and a zero moment point for the system and for at least controlling an extension of the extender unit.

Abstract: Methods and systems for providing landmarks to facilitate robot localization and visual odometry are provided herein. At least one area of a physical environment in which a robotic device resides may be determined to include surfaces that lack sufficient discernable features to determine a location of the at least one area. Instructions may responsively be provided to the robotic device for the robotic device to provide a material in respective patterns onto one or more surfaces of the at least one area. Instructions can responsively be provided for the robotic device to provide the material in respective textures as well. The respective patterns or textures may include sufficient discernable features to determine a location of the at least one area, and the material may remain on the one or more surfaces for a predetermined period of time.

Abstract: A method of communicating with an underwater vehicle comprising a propulsion system for propelling the vehicle through the water. A series of data sets are encoded and transmitted to the underwater vehicle in a series of signal bursts, and decoded at the underwater vehicle. The propulsion system is operated in a series of thrust pulses separated by drift periods such that the propulsion system operates at a relatively high rate during the thrust pulses and at a relatively low (or zero) rate during the drift periods. The drift periods are timed such that each signal burst arrives at the underwater vehicle during a drift period and not during a thrust pulse. The method may be performed with a single vehicle or a plurality of underwater vehicles. The encoded data signals are broadcast simultaneously to the underwater vehicles in the series of signal bursts.

Abstract: A robot includes an angular velocity sensor that detects the vibration of a robot. A control device allows the robot to perform a trial operation and acquires the measurement result measured by the angular velocity sensor during the trial operation as vibration information and analyzes the acquired vibration information based on maker evaluating information that is stored in a database. In the maker evaluating information, vibration information and the operating speed appropriate to the installation situation of the robot at which the vibration information is measured are associated with each other. Then, the robot is operated at an operating speed selected based on the analysis result of the vibration information.

Abstract: A robot control apparatus controls a robot arm driven by transmitting drive forces to joints from respective electric motors so that the robot arm follows a specified trajectory, based on an instruction value instructed against the electric motors. A movable range of the robot arm is divided into multiple spaces, and constraint conditions including a constraint value of a jerk for each joint, which is determined so that a load torque applied to a transmitting component of the drive force falls within an allowable range in the multiple spaces, is calculated in advance. The constraint conditions are stored in a storage unit. A calculating unit generates the instruction values for the electric motors based on the trajectory by solving an optimization problem that uses the constraint conditions stored in the storage unit as an inequality constraint.

Abstract: A master device is provided to a master slave apparatus in which a hand mechanism opens/closes to grip a target object and a slave mechanism performs a task on a target article. The master device includes a hand manipulation mechanism for manipulating the hand mechanism. A person remotely manipulates the slave mechanism by a master mechanism and the hand manipulation mechanism manipulates to cause the hand mechanism to perform the task. In the hand manipulation mechanism, a hand manipulation portion having a pair of open/close manipulation portions manipulated by the person moves forward/backward on a slider, the pair of open/close manipulation portions is opened/closed to change the angle therebetween so that the hand mechanism is opened/closed. A master hand control device transmits, to the slave mechanism, motion information used for manipulating the hand mechanism based on a position of the hand manipulation portion relative to the slider or the angle.

Abstract: A vehicle-installed apparatus detects relative positions of other vehicles which are running ahead of the host vehicle of the apparatus, and, for each of these other vehicles, derives a value of probability that the vehicle is located in the same travel path as the host vehicle. A signal indicative of the yaw rate of the host vehicle is utilized in deriving the probabilities, and is filtered to exclude a range of high-frequency signal components, with the excluded range being widened when it is judged that the yaw rate is varying excessively rapidly.

Abstract: A medical robotic system includes an entry guide with articulatable instruments extending out of its distal end, an entry guide manipulator providing controllable four degrees-of-freedom movement of the entry guide relative to a remote center, and a controller configured to manage operation of the entry guide manipulator in response to operator manipulation of one or more input devices. As the entry guide manipulator approaches a yaw/roll singularity, the controller modifies its operation to allow continued movement of the entry guide manipulator without commanding excessive joint velocities while maintaining proper orientation of the entry guide.

Abstract: A serpentine robotic crawler having multiple dexterous manipulators supported about multiple frame units. The frame units are connected via an articulating linkage at proximal ends wherein the articulating linkage is capable of positioning the frames into various configurations. Dexterous manipulators are coupled to distal ends of the frame units and are positionable via the articulating linkage and articulating joints therein into various positions about the frame ends. The configurations and positioning of the dexterous manipulators allows the robotic crawler to perform coordinated dexterous operations.

Abstract: A driving support ECU 1 detects for a lane dividing line on a road surface which is travelled upon, by using an image which is taken by a camera 2 and which represents the road surface which is traveled upon and is in front of a vehicle, sets a virtual lane dividing line in a section in which no lane dividing line is drawn, performs a driving support by controlling the vehicle based on the lane dividing line and the virtual lane dividing line, and issues a warning when the vehicle deviates from the virtual lane dividing line. Further, the driving support ECU 1 detects a state of the vehicle, calculates information indicating the state as vehicle information, cancels the driving support when the vehicle information satisfies a predetermined cancel condition, and inhibits the warning when the driving support is canceled.

Abstract: A device for controlling the distribution of drive force includes a driven wheel drive force distribution reference command value calculator configured to determine a driven-wheel-oriented drive force distribution reference command value from the estimated value of the drive force sent to the drive wheels and a drive force reference distribution ratio, and a driven wheel drive force distribution command value calculator configured to determine a driven-wheel-oriented drive force distribution command value by correcting the driven wheel drive force distribution reference command value by a correction amount that differs between the electric motor operating mode and the electric motor non-operating mode, and to make the correction amount for the electric motor operating mode greater than the correction amount for the electric motor non-operating mode.

Abstract: Method for removing injection-molded items from an injection-molding machine via a robot and device for performing method. The injection-molding machine and the robot each having a separate drive, and each drive is acted on by a separate open- and closed-loop control unit that is separately programmable. At least the open- and closed-loop control unit of the robot contains a computing element, and the injection-molding machine is equipped with at least one signaling device for detecting a position of the mold. The method includes applying a signal of the signaling device to the open- and closed-loop control unit of the robot, recalculating a motion sequence of the robot based of the open- and closed-loop control unit after each removal cycle, and for each next removal cycle, moving the robot from a start position by a timer at a recalculated start time.

Abstract: An in-vehicle load control system configured to controllably drive one or more loads on a vehicle according to an input signal. The system includes a first electronic control portion configured to perform signal processing based on the input signal, and a second electronic control portion configured to controllably drive the load. A backup signal channel is provided independently of a signal channel through which a signal is transmitted in a multiplex communication portion to input the input signal to the second electronic control portion. The second electronic control portion receives a first control signal via the signal channel in the multiplex communication portion and a second control signal via the backup signal channel, and controllably drives the load by preferentially treating the first control signal when the ignition signal is on and by preferentially treating the second control signal when the ignition signal is off.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method for receiving user commands for a remote cleaning robot and sending the user commands to the remote cleaning robot, the remote cleaning robot including a drive motor and a cleaning motor, includes displaying a user interface including a control area, and within the control area: a user-manipulable launch control group including a plurality of control elements, the launch control group having a deferred launch control state and an immediate launch control state; at least one user-manipulable cleaning strategy control element having a primary cleaning strategy control state and an alternative cleaning strategy control state; and a physical recall control group including a plurality of control elements, the physical recall control group having an immediate recall control state and a remote audible locator control state.

Abstract: A force detection device includes a charge output element that outputs charge in accordance with a received external force, a conversion and output circuit, having a first switching element and a first capacitor, which converts the charge into a voltage and outputs the voltage, a compensation signal output circuit, having a second switching element and a second capacitor, which outputs a compensation signal, and an external force detection circuit that detects an external force on the basis of the voltage which is output from the conversion and output circuit and the compensation signal which is output from the compensation signal output circuit. The capacitance of the second capacitor is smaller than the capacitance of the first capacitor.

Abstract: A driving force control device of a vehicle is provided which is configured to calculate a required braking force on the basis of an amount of pressure applied to a brake operating mechanism, which is operated for deceleration by a driver, and to control a braking force of a power plant, which includes a drive source generating an accelerating force and a braking force, and a braking force of a braking mechanism, which generates a braking force with the operation of the braking operating mechanism, in cooperation so that the total braking force of the vehicle as a whole becomes the required braking force. The driving force control device is configured to detect acceleration information including a lateral acceleration of the vehicle and to control the braking force of the power plant on the basis of the detected acceleration information when the brake operating mechanism is operated.

Abstract: The invention relates to a radio network controller (RNC) for receiving a LOCATION_REPORTING_CONTROL message and analyzing a value of a request type information element received in the LOCATION_REPORTING_CONTROL message. The RNC directly determines requested location information for a user equipment (UE) if the request information element indicates sending location information as a direct response to the LOCATION_REPORTING_CONTROL message or the RNC determines the requested location information if the UE changes the service area if the request information element indicates sending location information at a change of service area by the UE. The RNC then sends a LOCATION_REPORT message comprising the location information and the request type information element to at least one control node.

Abstract: A work vehicle includes a speed limit calculation portion, a speed determination portion, an adjustment portion, and a boom speed determination portion. The speed limit calculation portion calculates a speed limit for limiting a speed of a cutting edge of a bucket. The speed determination portion determines whether or not a speed of raising the boom has been lowered when an amount of operation of an arm is smaller than a prescribed amount. The adjustment portion delays speed change to the speed limit. The boom speed determination portion determines a target speed of the boom based on the speed limit after delay by the adjustment portion when it is determined that the speed of raising the boom has been lowered, and determines a target speed of the boom based on the speed limit calculated when it is not determined that the speed of raising the boom has been lowered.

Abstract: A navigation device has a route re-calculation function. This is activated by the user touching the screen to task away from the normal navigation map mode to a menu screen which displays multiple types of route re-calculation options.

Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for compensating an instantaneous fuel economy reading for stored energy. One method comprises, when a vehicle undergoes a sufficient change in one or more of square of vehicle speed and vehicle altitude, estimating a conversion factor for fuel due to stored vehicle energy and adjusting the instantaneous fuel economy reading by the estimated conversion factor. The adjusted instantaneous fuel economy reading may be displayed to an operator of the vehicle.