Abstract: A working robot may include a body, a movement unit, a working unit, a magnetic sensor supported by the body, and a control unit. The control unit may be configured to execute a working operation of causing the working unit to work while causing the movement unit to move the body. The control unit may execute, during the working operation, an operation-suspending process of suspending the working operation when a predetermined operation-suspending condition is satisfied, a first magnetic field searching process of causing the movement unit to move the body straight in a first linear direction by a first distance and assessing whether a wire magnetic field is detected by the magnetic sensor after the operation-suspending process, and an operation-resuming process of resuming the working operation when the wire magnetic field is detected by the magnetic sensor.

Abstract: An autonomous movement system may include: a working robot configured to perform an operation while moving autonomously in a working area; a charging station configured to charge the working robot; a boundary wire defining the working area; and a station wire disposed at the charging station and electrically connected to the boundary wire. The working robot may include: a magnetic detecting unit configured to detect a magnetic field generated by the boundary wire and a magnetic field generated by the station wire; and a control unit configured to detect the station wire based on a detection result by the magnetic detecting unit. The charging station may include: a charging terminal configured to be electrically connected to the working robot; and a signal generator configured to supply an identical electric signal to the boundary wire and the station wire.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to detect ammonia with high sensitivity and high selectivity using a nanomechanical sensor with a structure that is as simple as possible. A method for detecting ammonia according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises supplying a sample gas possibly containing ammonia to a nanomechanical sensor that detects a stress or a displacement using poly(methyl vinyl ether-alt-maleic anhydride) as a material of a receptor layer, and detecting presence or absence of ammonia or a content of ammonia in the sample gas based on an output signal from the nanomechanical sensor, in which the sample gas is a humidified sample gas with controlled relative humidity.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and a device for estimating a value to be estimated associated with a specimen, by performing machine learning of a relationship between a value of an estimation object and an output corresponding thereto, based on an output from a chemical sensor with regard to a plurality of specimens for which specific values to be estimated are known, and using the result of the mechanical learning to estimate a specific value to be estimated on the basis of an output from the chemical sensor with regard to a given unknown specimen.

Abstract: The present invention suppresses an adverse effect caused when an additional gas such as water vapor is mixed in a sample gas or the like that is subjected to gas measurement. In an embodiment of the present invention, in gas measurement for analyzing sensor output signals obtained by alternately supplying a sample gas and a reference gas to a sensor element while alternately switching between the sample gas and the reference gas, the sample gas and the reference gas pass through a humidity equilibration device partitioned by a water vapor permeable membrane, and then are supplied to the sensor element. As a result, since both gases have substantially the same value of humidity at the time of being supplied to the sensor element, influences of water vapor are substantially cancelled out in signals output from the sensor element by the alternate supply of the sample gas and the reference gas.

Abstract: Provided is a novel material analysis technique using a chemical sensor. By reversing the conventional approach, a material to be measured is provided as a receptor of the chemical sensor, and a response signal of the chemical sensor obtained by supplying a known gas or the like to the chemical sensor is obtained. From the response signal, it is possible to identify and distinguish the receptor material, and to obtain its composition and the like. By analyzing the response signal by means of a statistical or machine learning technique such as principal component analysis, linear discriminant analysis, or a support vector machine, the above-mentioned identification and the like can be performed with high accuracy.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for analyzing a liquid sample that solves a problem of a kinetically slow equilibrium at a liquid-solid interface, the problem occurring when liquid sample analysis is performed with a chemical sensor. In the method for analyzing a liquid sample according to an embodiment of the present invention, a component to be analyzed in a liquid sample is adsorbed on a receptor layer of a chemical sensor, one or more kinds of gases are then supplied to the chemical sensor, and a response thereof is measured. As a result, since a slow equilibrium at a liquid-solid interface is not used, a high-sensitivity measurement can be performed in a short time, and existing findings regarding analysis of gas samples on which much progress in research has been achieved can be used.

Abstract: A method for cleaning a receptor layer of a surface stress sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention includes, in a surface stress sensor that detects a change in surface stress of a thin film, the change being caused by a receptor layer disposed on a surface of the thin film, causing at least a part of a surface region of the thin film to generate heat or supplying heat to the receptor layer from the outside of the surface stress sensor. This makes it possible to easily perform efficient cleaning of a surface stress sensor such as a sensor that performs detection using a piezoresistor while avoiding structural complications as much as possible.

Abstract: In an analysis of a fluid component using a nanomechanical sensor covered with a receptor, the same receptor is caused to express different response characteristics. In a measuring system of analyzing a response when a sample gas and a purge gas are supplied to a nanomechanical sensor while switching the sample gas and the purge gas, a gas (external gas) different from both gases is mixed into a gas channel and supplied to the sensor for measurement. Since a response characteristic of a receptor is modulated by mixing of the external gas, the object described above is achieved.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily determine a presence or absence of ketosis and/or the possibility of ketosis in an animal on site or the like. Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for performing the determination. A method for determining ketosis according to one embodiment of the present invention includes providing gas detection means with a gas generated from a body fluid collected from an animal (except for humans), and determining ketosis of the animal based on a composition of the gas generated from the body fluid using a response of the gas detection means to the gas generated from the body fluid.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily evaluate silage fermentation quality on site or the like. In one embodiment of the present invention, a gas generated from silage is applied to a surface stress sensor, and the amount of either one of organic acids and nitrogen-containing compounds contained in the silage is determined. The surface stress sensor can detect trace components in a gas by a simple device configuration and in simple procedures. Therefore, by utilizing the fact that relationship between the content of these components and the fermentation quality is known, the evaluation of fermentation quality can be easily realized by the above measurement.

Abstract: The present invention makes it possible to represent or synthesize any odor by separating the odor into a combination of a relatively small number of odors, similarly to separating a color into three primary colors. Since the “primary odors” corresponding to the primary colors have not yet been ascertained, the present invention provides a feasible method and apparatus in which, instead of presetting such fixed primary odors, the separation, synthesis, and the like can be performed by selecting a subset of odors from among a set consisting of a plurality of odors which subset or odors enables approximation of other odors as much as possible by mixture.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to detect ammonia with high sensitivity and high selectivity using a nanomechanical sensor with a structure that is as simple as possible. A method for detecting ammonia according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises supplying a sample gas possibly containing ammonia to a nanomechanical sensor that detects a stress or a displacement using poly(methyl vinyl ether-alt-maleic anhydride) as a material of a receptor layer, and detecting presence or absence of ammonia or a content of ammonia in the sample gas based on an output signal from the nanomechanical sensor, in which the sample gas is a humidified sample gas with controlled relative humidity.

Abstract: Provided is a novel analysis method which, when a chemical sensor is used to perform a measurement, makes it possible to identify a sample without controlling or monitoring a change in the time the sample is introduced. According to the present invention, a sample can be identified without knowing a change in the time the sample is introduced, by using a chemical sensor having a plurality of channels each having different characteristics to perform a measurement, and performing an analysis on the basis of responses obtained from each channel.

Abstract: The present invention suppresses an adverse effect caused when an additional gas such as water vapor is mixed in a sample gas or the like that is subjected to gas measurement. In an embodiment of the present invention, in gas measurement for analyzing sensor output signals obtained by alternately supplying a sample gas and a reference gas to a sensor element while alternately switching between the sample gas and the reference gas, the sample gas and the reference gas pass through a humidity equilibration device partitioned by a water vapor permeable membrane, and then are supplied to the sensor element. As a result, since both gases have substantially the same value of humidity at the time of being supplied to the sensor element, influences of water vapor are substantially cancelled out in signals output from the sensor element by the alternate supply of the sample gas and the reference gas.

Abstract: The present invention provides a nanomechanical sensor unsusceptible to water vapor, due to very low sensitivity to water vapor, that may interfere with measurement. In an embodiment of the present invention, as a sensitive film material of a nanomechanical sensor such as a surface stress sensor, poly(2,6-diphenyl-p-phenylene oxide) is utilized that is used for adsorption/concentration of a substance present in a trace amount in water or air, and represented by Formula (1) wherein n represents an integer of 1 or more. As can be seen from graphs showing changes over time of response signals in a case where a gas to be measured containing acetone, ethanol, and the like and nitrogen are alternately supplied to the surface stress sensor cyclically, it was confirmed that in the sensitive film of the present invention, adsorption/desorption of the components in the gas to be measured significantly occurs in response to the cyclic change, but the sensitivity to water is very low.

Abstract: The invention provides: a gas sensor device that is capable of removing a component adsorbed on a gas sensor by relatively simple means and easily restoring a signal baseline of the gas sensor to a constant state; and a method for removing a gas component. The gas sensor device according to an embodiment of the invention includes a gas sensor and cleaning means that contains a liquid for cleaning the gas sensor. The gas sensor includes a sensor main body that is capable of detecting a characteristic parameter of a component present in a gas phase or a liquid phase, and a sensitive membrane that is coated on a surface of the sensor main body and is durable against the liquid.

Abstract: Provided is a novel analysis method that enables identification of a sample even when any sample is introduced during measurement carried out by using a chemical sensor. An input in which the amount of an unknown sample changes over time is provided to the chemical sensor, a response which is from the chemical sensor and which changes over time is measured, a sensor function (transmission function) of the chemical sensor with respect to the unknown sample is calculated on the basis of the input and the response, and the unknown sample is identified on the basis of the sensor function of the chemical sensor with respect to the unknown sample.

Abstract: The present invention provides a hydrogen sensor having a high sensitivity and low hysteresis characteristics while having a simple configuration and low cost. The present invention shows that a membrane-type surface stress sensor having an amorphous palladium-copper-silicon alloy as a sensitive film has low hysteresis and can detect a nitrogen gas to which hydrogen at a very low concentration of 0.25 ppm is added and a pure nitrogen gas with a sufficiently high S/N ratio.

Abstract: The present invention provides a nanomechanical sensor in which a negative influence of water in a sample on measurement is suppressed. In an embodiment of the present invention, as a receptor material of the nanomechanical sensor, a low-hygroscopic material such as polysulfone, polycaprolactone, poly(vinylidene fluoride), or poly(4-methylstyrene) is used. According to this embodiment, a negative influence, such as saturation of a receptor layer by water in the sample, or masking of an output signal based on trace components by an output signal based on water contained in the sample in a large amount, can be suppressed.