1. Evaluation and verification of nursing care robots

Evaluation and verification of nursing care robots

We are participating in the "Platform for the Development, Verification and Dissemination of Nursing Care Robots" project by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (secretariat: NTT DATA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT CONSULTING, Inc.) as one of the Living Labs. We are working on product evaluation and effectiveness verification of nursing care robots developed by companies, as well as support for demonstrations at nursing care sites, in collaboration with living laboratories and consultation services across the country, using an experimental environment that simulates and reproduces living spaces.

(Kajitani)

2. Measuring, analyzing and intervening in life using robots as probes

Measuring, analyzing and intervening
in life using robots as probes

We are developing a robotic nursing care device that is IoT-enabled, and using it to support life, we are also conducting research to measure and store life data by using it as a probe for living sensing of the elderly. We aim to design an appropriate support service using robots based on the data, and to intervene in our daily lives to provide better support services.

(Kajitani and Ogata)

3. Development and standardization of robotic device for elderly care

Robot Care Project

In AMED Robot Care Project, we support the development of robotic devices for elderly care and its standardization in the prioritized areas determined by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW). The purposes of the project are (1) the promotion of independent living of the elderly, (2) the reduction of care burden on the caregiver, and (3) the achievement of higher productivities in care business, by creating a new market of useful robotic devices. Our team contribute the project as a member of the standardization consortium.
(Robot Care Project Website)

(Kajitani and Okamoto)

4. Visual markers for highly accurate position and attitude estimation

High-accuracy visual marker

A visual marker is a tool for measuring position and attitude easily with a monocular camera. We have developed a visual marker whose pattern changes according to the viewing angle using a microlens array, and have achieved the world's most accurate estimation of position and attitude in the field of planar markers. We are currently working on the practical application of these markers, as well as applications in a wide range of fields such as robot control, measurement and augmented reality (AR).

(Tanaka)

5. Visualizing motion with images

Visualization of floor reaction force

For the disabled and elderly people to improve their walking function, it is important to understand the mechanical information of the body in real time. Therefore, we have developed a technology to visualize the reaction force acting on the sole of the foot in real time by combining the human posture information obtained from a distance imaging sensor such as KINECT with a dynamic model. We aim to contribute to the improvement of the quality of rehabilitation by easily converting human movement into data and presenting it intuitively to learners.

(Ogata)

6. Research on assistive technology

Powered prosthetic hand

We are conducting a wide range of research on engineering technologies to support the daily life of people with disabilities and elderly people. Examples include an evaluation tool for the user interface of powered prosthetic hands, a user interface for the people with severe disability, and the tools to support the people with higher brain dysfunction.

(Kajitani)

7. Research on social implementation

Not all of the engineering technologies that are researched and developed using advanced technologies are commercialized in society. For more engineering technologies to be used in society, we investigate issues in the process of their social implementation and analyze and model the social structure. We make use of findings based on behavioral science and define "information costs" as the amount of human activity related to "information" in our analysis.

(Kajitani)