Toyota and Waseda University have developed a system enabling the assisted-living robot TWENDY-ONE and people to pass each other safely. Publicly unveiled in 2007, the robot was designed and built by researchers from Waseda University’s Sugano Laboratory to help the elderly or disabled lead more independent lives. A special feature of TWENDY-ONE is its combination of dexterity with passivity and high-power output. TWENDY-ONE is equipped with high output actuators based on a simple passive impedance mechanism. When manipulating objects of various shapes, the robot readily adapts to specific objects passively based on evaluations of the external forces imposed during positional changes. In the same way, TWENDY-ONE can adapt to human motion and actually grasp a human. It can both manipulate objects and support humans. The entire surface of the arm of the robot features distributed force sensors, allowing the robot to grasp humans and lift heavy objects based on feedback from the entire arm. The finger tips on its hand are made of a soft material, with a gentle, curved, human-like surface and fingernails which can reliably grasp various objects such as soft plastic or paper cups and freely manipulate small objects such as straws or pencils. TWENDY-ONE also features an omni-directional mobile mechanism to allow efficient mobility, even in confined spaces. This mobile mechanism integrates 12 ultrasonic sensors and a six-axis force sensor to detect nearby objects and humans and to ensure safety. The torso is capable of movement in four degrees of freedom. Joints feature high-power actuators to allow the robot to pick up heavy objects from the floor and to support the human body. A backpack-like compartment contains TWENDY-ONE's whole-body controller. LEDs on the region corresponding to the chest display the internal states of the robot. For more information please visit: http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://www.robonable.jp/news/2011/01/31sugano.html&ei=9M9JTbOGHcL98Aa31vHBDg&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBkQ7gEwAA&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dhttp://www.robonable.jp/news/2011/01/31sugano.html%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3D1x5%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26prmd%3Divns
Eavesdropper