索状能動体の側面方向移動に関する研究(冗長自由度ロボット・メカニズムとその制御)

Kissing cousins: mycorrhizal fungi get together

This paper describes the development and experiments of ACM-R3, which is a new version of the Active Cord Mechanism with three-dimensional mobility. This ACM-R3 is equipped with large passive wheels that wrap its body overall, and has frictional characteristics similar to snake-like skin. It is also equipped with radio control servomotors with gears added to them, held tightly by shell frames, so that it can move steadily and with high power With this robot, we realized fundamental two-dimensional serpentine locomotion, lateral rolling locomotion in V, U, or especially S shapes, and coupled locomotion, which employs both serpentine and lateral rolling at the same time. We also realized sinus-lifting locomotion, its mixture mode, 3D lateral rolling, and pedal wave.

This paper considers the problem of serpentine, or snake-like, locomotion from the perspective of geometric mechanics. A particular model based on Hirose's active cord mechanism is analyzed. Using the kinematic constraints, we develop a connection, which describes the net motion of the machine as a function of variations in the mechanism's shape variables. We present simulation results demonstrating three types of locomotive gaits, one of which bears an obvious resemblance to the serpentine motion of a snake. We also discuss how these algorithms can be used to optimize certain inputs given the particular choice of physical parameters for a snake robot.

A snake is able to attain high terrain adaptability and versatile locomotion even though it has an extremely simple one-dimensional configuration. In order to utilize these functions for robotics, we have adapted the basic biological machine elements of the snake into the active cord mechanism (ACM). We have discussed the creeping dynamics and applications to manipulation. In this paper, we develop a new experimental model named ACMR-R1 with a self-contained system, which realizes higher mobility and terrain adaptability compared with the past model. Next, gliding experiments on ice were carried out in order to demonstrate that the creeping motion is the same as the principle of skating. Finally, a new terrain adaptive control method for sloping surfaces is proposed, and we verified the effectiveness of it by slope climbing experiments.

<p><span>Many phenomena of atmospheric electricity are still not well understood, as most of the processes involved can only be observed in real nature. For this purpose, reliable and stable measurements of the electric field strength are mandatory. While for high-frequency fields, there exists a large variety of equipment, in the quasi-static and especially static regime, such systems are scarce. The „standard“ device for the application is the electrostatic field mill which uses a rotating, electrically grounded shutter electrode to alternatingly expose and shield measurement electrodes to/from the electric field. While they achieve good-enough resolution, there are many inherent problems associated with the measurement principle, such as mechanical wear, massive field distortions, size and weight. As a consequence, they are typically installed at a fixed points and cannot be easily moved or mounted. Miniaturised field mills have minimised some of these issues, the shutter priniciple leads to very fragile structures.</span></p><p>We present an alternative way of measuring low-frequency and static electric fields (E-field), which does not suffer from the hindering drawbacks of field mills. The underlying mechanism converts the E-field to a mechanical oscillation of a microelectromechanical system (MEMS). This is achieved by applying an AC voltage to a compliant mechanical structure. As a result of the AC voltage, alternating charges accumulate at the surface of the MEMS. When exposed to the E-field, this leads to a force deflecting the structure at a known frequency. For this kind of active mechanism, the power consumption is minimal, since the current flow is practically zero. Therefore, the system can be used in a floating way without grounded connections and therefore minimum field distortions. The mechanical motion can then be read out optically, also to avoid field distortions and backaction. If the system is driven at the mechanical resonance, the quality factor can be exploited to boost the sensitivity. In this case the bandwidth of the system ranges from 0 Hz to twice the resonance frequency.</p><p><span>Several MEMS sensors with different resonance frequencies (ranging from ~100 Hz to ~1 kHz) have been fabricated and tested in the laboratory. The sensors have been mounted between two parallel field plates supplied with a DC voltage, which provides the static electric field. A tiny hole in one of the field plates allowed for optical readout of the sensor movement with a laser-Doppler vibrometer (Polytec MSA-400). The sensors have been tested for different field strengths (10 V/m – 30 kV/m) and different AC voltages (0.02 V – 20 V) confirming linearity in both quantities. In terms of field strength, a resolution as good as ~25 V/m was achieved for a sensor with a resonance frequency of 167 Hz. These promising results substantiate that this sensor is a potentially low-weight, low-cost alternative for classical field mills. The next steps will be to investigate </span><span>long-term stability and </span><span>environmental effects on the sensor (temperature, humidity) and, finally, installation and test in the open area during fair weather and thunderstorm activity.</span></p>

1P1-A12 水中螺旋推進を行う策状能動体の機構と構成(81. スーパーメカノシステムII)

This paper presents a novel inspired modular climbing caterpillar. First, related issues such as the attachment principles and locomotion kinematics of climbing robots are summarized systematically. Based on the investigation of the movement mechanism of natural caterpillars, we combine climbing techniques with a modular approach to realize a novel prototype as a flexible wall-climbing robotic platform featuring an easy-to-build mechanical structure, a low-frequency vibrating passive attachment principle and various locomotion capabilities. The robot consists of cross-connected modules for moving. There are only two kinds of modules in the system: (i) the head and tail module, and (ii) the body module. Active joints actuated by RC servos endow the connecting modules with the ability to change shapes in two dimensions. After explaining these principles, the discussion focuses on the robot's various locomotion capabilities. Linear movements, turning movements, lateral movements, and rotating and rolling movements are achieved by an inspired control model to produce rhythmic motion. An easy-to-build modular caterpillar is designed and manufactured as an experimental prototype to confirm the feasibility of our design principle and the robot's capabilities. Finally, a conclusion is given and future work is outlined.