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View article: In-vacuum silicone rubber forming process for soft robots
In-vacuum silicone rubber forming process for soft robots Open
Silicone rubber is widely used in various soft robots, sensors, and actuators. One of the most popular fabrication processes for silicone rubber is molding, which can easily duplicate three-dimensional (3D) shapes using a mold. Among the m…
View article: Pig tongue soft robot mimicking intrinsic tongue muscle structure
Pig tongue soft robot mimicking intrinsic tongue muscle structure Open
Animal muscles have complex, three-dimensional structures with fibers oriented in various directions. The tongue, in particular, features a highly intricate muscular system composed of four intrinsic muscles and several types of extrinsic …
View article: Dynamics-Based Control and Path Planning Method for Long-Reach Coupled Tendon-Driven Manipulator
Dynamics-Based Control and Path Planning Method for Long-Reach Coupled Tendon-Driven Manipulator Open
The Fukushima power station in Japan was affected by a major earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, inspecting the primary containment vessel remains difficult due to high radioactivity. Long-reach robot arms are useful in inspecting such h…
View article: Enhancement of Control Stability Using Double Pulleys for Coupled Tendon-Driven Long-Reach Manipulator “Super Dragon”
Enhancement of Control Stability Using Double Pulleys for Coupled Tendon-Driven Long-Reach Manipulator “Super Dragon” Open
The exploration and inspection of narrow spaces in nuclear facilities require the use of long-reach manipulators. Coupled tendon-driven manipulators can realize lightweight and slender arms by positioning actuators, such as motors, at the …
View article: Does Thin-Walled Metal Pipe Insertion Increase the Bending Strength of 3D Printed Parts?
Does Thin-Walled Metal Pipe Insertion Increase the Bending Strength of 3D Printed Parts? Open
Resin 3D printing is a promising modeling method for Agile development, however its material strength is lower than that of metal parts. We hypothesized that embedding a thin-walled metal pipe in a 3D printed beam would increase the streng…
View article: Measurement of Creep Deformation of Resin Structural Parts for a Lightweight Industrial Robot
Measurement of Creep Deformation of Resin Structural Parts for a Lightweight Industrial Robot Open
Lightweight industrial robots are increasingly required to reduce power consumption. In this research, we focus on lightweight resin materials such as 3D printed parts, and our ultimate goal is to develop practical industrial robots using …
View article: LIBRA-I : A Lightweight Balanced Robot Arm for an Internal Investigation through a Narrow Hole
LIBRA-I : A Lightweight Balanced Robot Arm for an Internal Investigation through a Narrow Hole Open
There is a need for technology to investigate the large space beyond a narrow hole. An example is the exploration of the Main Stream Isolation Valve (MSIV) room at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The authors designed and fabrica…
View article: Repetitive Twisting Durability of Synthetic Fiber Ropes
Repetitive Twisting Durability of Synthetic Fiber Ropes Open
Synthetic fiber ropes are widely used for robots because of their advantages such as lightweight, high tensile strength and flexibility. However, there is limited information on the physical properties of synthetic fiber ropes when used fo…
View article: A bio-inspired expandable soft suction gripper for minimal invasive surgery—an explorative design study
A bio-inspired expandable soft suction gripper for minimal invasive surgery—an explorative design study Open
Gripping slippery and flexible tissues during minimal invasive surgery (MIS) is often challenging using a conventional tissue gripper. A force grip has to compensate for the low friction coefficient between the gripper’s jaws and the tissu…
View article: Dataset creation and selection methods with a wire drive flexible manipulator for vision-based reconstruction
Dataset creation and selection methods with a wire drive flexible manipulator for vision-based reconstruction Open
In order to improve spatial awareness for future investigations of reactor No. 2 at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, it is necessary first to acquire the environment model through reconstruction. To gather images for this task, we have d…
View article: Experimental Evaluation of a Quasi-direct-drive Actuator with a 3D-printed Planetary Gear Reducer
Experimental Evaluation of a Quasi-direct-drive Actuator with a 3D-printed Planetary Gear Reducer Open
When electromagnetic motors are used as actuators for robots, the reduction gear is an essential component in most cases. The mechanical design choices increase if we can fabricate the custom-made reduction gear. The performance of the rob…
View article: Damping Characteristics in Adaptation of Plastics for Robot Structures
Damping Characteristics in Adaptation of Plastics for Robot Structures Open
Lightweighting is effective for high-speed operation in industrial robots. One method to achieve this is to use plastics, which are lighter than metallic materials, as structural materials. In addition, structural materials for industrial …
View article: Proposal of a Fastening Method for Deformable Plastic Parts and Rigid Metal Parts
Proposal of a Fastening Method for Deformable Plastic Parts and Rigid Metal Parts Open
Weight reduction is becoming increasingly important to reduce the power consumption of robots. Our ultimate goal is to fabricate practical industrial robot structures using resin 3D printing technology to reduce the robot's weight. In gene…
View article: Chobit Hand: A Gripper for A Linear-Shaped Food Adjusting Precise Weight of Serving
Chobit Hand: A Gripper for A Linear-Shaped Food Adjusting Precise Weight of Serving Open
In many cases in the field of food processing and production, serving is still done by workers rather than by robots. However, linear foods such as spaghetti need to be served precisely and quantitatively, which is difficult for a conventi…
View article: Rough Terrain Traveling Method Using an Elastic Telescopic Arm and a Tether
Rough Terrain Traveling Method Using an Elastic Telescopic Arm and a Tether Open
Towing a mobile platform with a tether fixed to the external environment is an effective way to traverse rough terrain. A flexibly bendable telescopic arm that can carry the tether at its arm tip was developed in a previous study. This stu…
View article: Alternating pressure control system for hydraulic robots
Alternating pressure control system for hydraulic robots Open
Hydraulics is a promising technology for robots. However, traditional hydraulic infrastructures are often large and power-inefficient, with large power sources that hinder mobility. In contrast, electro-hydrostatic actuators are relatively…
View article: Stability analysis of multi-serial-link mechanism driven by antagonistic multiarticular artificial muscles
Stability analysis of multi-serial-link mechanism driven by antagonistic multiarticular artificial muscles Open
Artificial multiarticular musculoskeletal systems consisting of serially connected links driven by monoarticular and multiarticular muscles, which are often inspired by vertebrates, enable robots to elicit dynamic, elegant, and flexible mo…
View article: Development of High-Durability Flexible Fabrics Using High-Strength Synthetic Fibers and its Application to Soft Robots
Development of High-Durability Flexible Fabrics Using High-Strength Synthetic Fibers and its Application to Soft Robots Open
This letter introduces a research project as invited research of Science of Soft Robots from 2019–2020. The primary purpose of this research is to investigate the mechanical durability of fabrics subjected to repeated bending, as when used…
View article: Design and Fabrication of 3D Papercraft IPMC Robots
Design and Fabrication of 3D Papercraft IPMC Robots Open
Ionic-polymer metal composites (IPMC) actuators, which are typical polymer gel actuators, can be driven at a low voltage and provide high responsiveness and large displacement. Conventional robots using IPMC actuators were generally fabric…
View article: Soft Tensegrity Robot Driven by Thin Artificial Muscles for the Exploration of Unknown Spatial Configurations
Soft Tensegrity Robot Driven by Thin Artificial Muscles for the Exploration of Unknown Spatial Configurations Open
The primary role of a robot exploring an unknown space is to investigate the state and the spatial shape of the environment. We have designed a soft robot that aims to move forward in an unknown space as it recognizes and adapts to the spa…
View article: Empirical Study for 3D-Printed Robot Design: Dimensional Accuracy of a Hole and Proposal of a New Shaft-Fastening Method
Empirical Study for 3D-Printed Robot Design: Dimensional Accuracy of a Hole and Proposal of a New Shaft-Fastening Method Open
3D printing is currently being studied in many fields and is expected to be applied in the industry. However, previous studies have been based on simple evaluation models, and there have been few studies in which 3D printing technology has…
View article: Power Consumption Comparison Between Mammal-Type and Reptile-Type Multi-Legged Robots During Static Walking
Power Consumption Comparison Between Mammal-Type and Reptile-Type Multi-Legged Robots During Static Walking Open
The leg configurations of multi-legged robots are classified into mammal-type and reptile-type. However, few studies have quantitatively compared the two leg configurations. We compared the power consumed during static walking when the par…
View article: Empirical Study of a Long-reach Articulated Modular Manipulator Driven by Thrusters
Empirical Study of a Long-reach Articulated Modular Manipulator Driven by Thrusters Open
Robotic manipulators using thrusters for weight compensation are an active research topic due to their potential to exceed the limits of maximum length. Due to the constraints of the cubic-square law, the structure of large manipulators mu…
View article: RESEARCH FOR IN-SITU INSPECTION SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT USING ADVANCED SUPER DRAGON ARTICULATED ROBOT ARM
RESEARCH FOR IN-SITU INSPECTION SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT USING ADVANCED SUPER DRAGON ARTICULATED ROBOT ARM Open
We have proposed to apply a long-reach articulated robot arm for the internal investigation of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants. This report describes the development of the articulated robot arm. To search at the bottom of the R…
View article: Basics of Wire-driven Mechanism using Synthetic Fiber Ropes and Their Application to Robots
Basics of Wire-driven Mechanism using Synthetic Fiber Ropes and Their Application to Robots Open
In recent years, high-strength synthetic fiber ropes development has remarkably progressed. One of the ropes achieves two times higher tensile strength than a conventional stainless steel wire, while its weight is 1/5. Suppose we can utili…
View article: Stability Analysis of Multi-Serial-Link Mechanism Driven by Antagonistic Multiarticular Artificial Muscles
Stability Analysis of Multi-Serial-Link Mechanism Driven by Antagonistic Multiarticular Artificial Muscles Open
Artificial multi-joint musculoskeletal systems consisting of serially connected links driven by monoarticular and multiarticular muscles, which are often inspired by vertebrates, enable robots to elicit dynamic, elegant, and flexible movem…
View article: Tension Control Method Utilizing Antagonistic Tension to Enlarge the Workspace of Coupled Tendon-Driven Articulated Manipulator
Tension Control Method Utilizing Antagonistic Tension to Enlarge the Workspace of Coupled Tendon-Driven Articulated Manipulator Open
The exploration and inspection of narrow spaces in industrial plants require the use of long-reach redundant manipulators with large three-dimensional (3D) workspaces. To this end, in a previous work, a coupled tendon-driven articulated ma…