A bending and expanding motion actuator which iscomposed of multi-layered PZT unimorph cells has beendeveloped. These cells are piled one against another.Each cell's electrode is divided into three sectors and thefacing sectors are connected to one another. Multidirectionalbending is realized by controlling the drivingvoltage of each sector. The actuator is 12 mm indiameter, 20 mm in length and 6.4 g in weight with 40cells. The bending angle was 2.2 degrees, and the expansion displacement was 700 μm with 150 V. The resonant frequency was 95 Hz at 25 V.

The 5-bar-linkage manipulator configuration is well suited to many industrial robotic applications. Aside from kinematic suitability, the dynamic equations are greatly simplified due to a decoupling of the manipulator inertia matrix. The design also lends itself to the use of direct drive motors. However, these motors must be capable of providing a high continuous torque to counter gravitational loading in the conventional manipulator design. In this paper, the static and dynamic design of the 5-bar-linkage manipulator is analysed. A technique is proposed whereby the motor torque requirements may be reduced to a fraction of those required in the conventional design, while simultaneously retaining the advantage of a decoupled inertia matrix. Details of a prototype manipulator and experimental results of its performance are presented.

This paper presents an intelligent robot vision system using TOSPIX which has been newly developed to realize frequently-used and time-consuming image processing functions at low-cost and high-speed. The vision system has been studied for use in observing surface information about electric parts (dry batteries), inspecting them and then placing good ones into a given box. Three major robot vision functions are implemented here: object recognition, inspection and position determination by binary and gray-scale image processing techniques. While binary image techniques are used in battery terminal inspection and box position determination gray-scale image processing functions are performed in a label pattern check on a battery surface, front or rear surface determination, and surface defect inspection.

This paper deals with the synthesis of a robot mechanism, which has an open kinematic chain structure. The aim of the synthesis is to find optimal mechanism link lengths and the elevation of the robot mechanism base, with respect to the arbitrary chosen task which is described in a task space.

A mathematical model, which describes the problem and enables one to use a nonlinear optimization algorithm, was developed. The usefulness of the approach is demonstrated by the example of the Manutec r3 mechanism with a prescribed task for the robot's end-effector.

A learning algorithm for the inference of sequential machines from input/output behaviour is developed. The construction of the models is sequentially achieved by processing input/output (i/o) sequences, and through an induction-contradiction-discrimination scheme. The various states are discriminated after the discovery of contradictory i/o sequences. The properties of the inferred machines and some reported experiments indicate the efficiency of the learning concept of contradiction for this application. Possible application in Robotics for the learning of assembling models is also mentioned.

This paper discusses three methods of training multi-layer perceptrons (MLPs) to model a six-degrees-of- freedom inertial sensor. Such a sensor is designed for use with a robot to determine the location of objects it has to pick up. The sensor operates by measuring parameters related to the inertia of an object and computing its location from those parameters. MLP models are employed for part of the computation. They are trained to output the orientation of the object in response to an input pattern that includes the period of natural vibration of the sensor on which the object rests. After reviewing the working principle of the sensor, the paper describes the three MLP training methods (backpropagation, optimisation using the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm, evolution based on the genetic algorithm) and presents the experimental results obtained.

A prototype system utilizing a vision technique to monitor the parameters of adhesive beads or sealants is presented. The system uses a structured light technique to investigate adhesive beads and extract information about the shape of the bead from binary images. The geometrical model of the bead, the relationship between this model and the shape of a line of light on the image are investigated. The models for calculating the parameters of the bead and the height of the camera are analyzed. Control strategies are suggested.

This report deals with the development of new control vehicles for the bedridden, physically handicapped person who needs a help-system for carrying things to the bedside from the stock in the room. This new control method is characterized by a unit loop system on the drive track. This unit loop system was constructed to execute three actions: stop, backward and right forward movement, under the control of a on-board microcomputer.

This control method is used in small rooms. It also enables one to increase the driving area of a vehicle without reprogramming and adjusting the control mechanism.