scholarly journals Force Interaction with a Small Insect by a Soft Microfinger with Active Tactile Sensing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satoshi Konishi ◽  
Fuminari Mori ◽  
Yugo Kakehi ◽  
Ayano Shimizu ◽  
Fumiya Sano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Force ◽  
Small World ◽  
Artificial Muscle ◽  
Humanoid Robots ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Tactile Sensing ◽  
Environment Interaction ◽  
Force Interaction ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
Insect Interactions

Abstract Human-robot interaction technology has contributed to improving sociality for humanoid robots. At scales far from human scales, a microrobot can interact with an environment in a small world. Microsensors have been applied to measurement of forces by flying or walking insects. Meanwhile, most previous works focused on the measurement of the behavior of insects. Here, we propose microrobot-insect interactions by soft microfingers integrated with artificial muscle actuators and tactile sensors, which has been developed for a haptic teleoperation robot system. A soft pneumatic balloon actuator acts as the artificial muscle, and a flexible strain sensor using a liquid metal provides tactile sensing. Force interaction between a pill bug and the microfinger could be accomplished. The microfiger (12 mm × 3 mm × 490 µm) can move and touch an insect, and it can detect reaction force from an insect. The measured reaction force from the legs of a pill bug as a representative insect was less than 10 mN. Our results demonstrate the potential of microfinger-insect interactions in a small world. We anticipate that our results will lead to novel human-environment interaction.

scholarly journals Nimbro-OP2X: Affordable Adult-Sized 3D-Printed Open-Source Humanoid Robot for Research

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (05) ◽  
pp. 2050021
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Ficht ◽  
Hafez Farazi ◽  
Diego Rodriguez ◽  
Dmytro Pavlichenko ◽  
Philipp Allgeuer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Humanoid Robot ◽  
Human Perception ◽  
Humanoid Robots ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Entry Barrier ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
Acquisition Costs ◽  
3D Printed ◽  
Minimal Effort

For several years, high development and production costs of humanoid robots restricted researchers interested in working in the field. To overcome this problem, several research groups have opted to work with simulated or smaller robots, whose acquisition costs are significantly lower. However, due to scale differences and imperfect simulation replicability, results may not be directly reproducible on real, adult-sized robots. In this paper, we present the NimbRo-OP2X, a capable and affordable adult-sized humanoid platform aiming to significantly lower the entry barrier for humanoid robot research. With a height of 135[Formula: see text]cm and weight of only 19[Formula: see text]kg, the robot can interact in an unmodified, human environment without special safety equipment. Modularity in hardware and software allows this platform enough flexibility to operate in different scenarios and applications with minimal effort. The robot is equipped with an on-board computer with GPU, which enables the implementation of state-of-the-art approaches for object detection and human perception demanded by areas such as manipulation and human–robot interaction. Finally, the capabilities of the NimbRo-OP2X, especially in terms of locomotion stability and visual perception, are evaluated. This includes the performance at RoboCup 2018, where NimbRo-OP2X won all possible awards in the AdultSize class.

Humans and humanoids

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giorgio Metta
Keyword(s):  
Humanoid Robot ◽  
Robot Vision ◽  
Physical Space ◽  
Humanoid Robots ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Biologically Inspired ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Humanoid Robotics ◽  
Biomimetic Robot ◽  
Compliant Actuation

This chapter outlines a number of research lines that, starting from the observation of nature, attempt to mimic human behavior in humanoid robots. Humanoid robotics is one of the most exciting proving grounds for the development of biologically inspired hardware and software—machines that try to recreate billions of years of evolution with some of the abilities and characteristics of living beings. Humanoids could be especially useful for their ability to “live” in human-populated environments, occupying the same physical space as people and using tools that have been designed for people. Natural human–robot interaction is also an important facet of humanoid research. Finally, learning and adapting from experience, the hallmark of human intelligence, may require some approximation to the human body in order to attain similar capacities to humans. This chapter focuses particularly on compliant actuation, soft robotics, biomimetic robot vision, robot touch, and brain-inspired motor control in the context of the iCub humanoid robot.

scholarly journals Technology Enhanced Learning Using Humanoid Robots

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 32
Author(s):  
Diego Reforgiato Recupero
Keyword(s):  
Natural Language ◽  
Sentiment Analysis ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Humanoid Robots ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Technology Enhanced Learning ◽  
Rehabilitation Centers ◽  
Learning Domains ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Analysis Engine

In this paper we present a mixture of technologies tailored for e-learning related to the Deep Learning, Sentiment Analysis, and Semantic Web domains, which we have employed to show four different use cases that we have validated in the field of Human-Robot Interaction. The approach has been designed using Zora, a humanoid robot that can be easily extended with new software behaviors. The goal is to make the robot able to engage users through natural language for different tasks. Using our software the robot can (i) talk to the user and understand their sentiments through a dedicated Semantic Sentiment Analysis engine; (ii) answer to open-dialog natural language utterances by means of a Generative Conversational Agent; (iii) perform action commands leveraging a defined Robot Action ontology and open-dialog natural language utterances; and (iv) detect which objects the user is handing by using convolutional neural networks trained on a huge collection of annotated objects. Each module can be extended with more data and information and the overall architectural design is general, flexible, and scalable and can be expanded with other components, thus enriching the interaction with the human. Different applications within the e-learning domains are foreseen: The robot can either be a trainer and autonomously perform physical actions (e.g., in rehabilitation centers) or it can interact with the users (performing simple tests or even identifying emotions) according to the program developed by the teachers.

scholarly journals User-centred design of humanoid robots’ communication

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-73
Author(s):  
Sofia Thunberg ◽  
Tom Ziemke
Keyword(s):  
Mental Models ◽  
Participatory Design ◽  
Humanoid Robot ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Design Method ◽  
Humanoid Robots ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Design Concepts ◽  
Design Ideas

AbstractInteraction between humans and robots will benefit if people have at least a rough mental model of what a robot knows about the world and what it plans to do. But how do we design human-robot interactions to facilitate this? Previous research has shown that one can change people’s mental models of robots by manipulating the robots’ physical appearance. However, this has mostly not been done in a user-centred way, i.e. without a focus on what users need and want. Starting from theories of how humans form and adapt mental models of others, we investigated how the participatory design method, PICTIVE, can be used to generate design ideas about how a humanoid robot could communicate. Five participants went through three phases based on eight scenarios from the state-of-the-art tasks in the RoboCup@Home social robotics competition. The results indicate that participatory design can be a suitable method to generate design concepts for robots’ communication in human-robot interaction.

Multi-agent Human-Environment Interaction Framework for the Ubiquitous Environment

2005 ◽  
pp. 217-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satoshi Kurihara ◽  
Kensuke Fukuda ◽  
Toshio Hirotsu ◽  
Shigemi Aoyagi ◽  
Toshihiro Takada ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environment Interaction ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
Ubiquitous Environment ◽  
Multi Agent

scholarly journals Spatial Explicit Assessment of Urban Vitality Using Multi-Source Data: A Case of Shanghai, China

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 638 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenze Yue ◽  
Yang Chen ◽  
Qun Zhang ◽  
Yong Liu
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Environment Interaction ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
Large Cities ◽  
Leading Role ◽  
Urban Core ◽  
Functional Development ◽  
Source Data ◽  
Pudong New Area

Identifying urban vitality in large cities is critical for optimizing the urban fabric. While great attention has been paid to urban vitality in developed countries, related studies have been rarely conducted in developing countries. In this study, we defined urban vitality as the capacity of an urban built environment to boost lively social activities and developed a framework for measuring urban vitality using the dimensions of built environment, human activities, and human–environment interaction. Taking Shanghai, China as a case, we conducted a measurement of urban vitality using multi-source data. The results show that Shanghai follows a monocentric vital pattern within the outer ring road, with urban vitality declining from the central urban core to the city periphery. While the old urban cores tend to show high urban vitality, Pudong New Area is mostly dominated by low vitality. Three clusters with high urban vitality were identified: the old urban area, the Lujiazui CBD, and residential agglomeration areas. We conducted validation of the measuring results using phone usage density. Urban vitality showed a positive correlation with phone usage density, indicating a high accuracy of assessment. We also discovered that European-style block planning, zoning plan, mixed-functional development, urban renewal regulation, and migrant concentration were playing leading role in urban vitality of Shanghai.

scholarly journals State of the Art in Paleoenvironment Mapping for Modeling Applications in Archeology—Summary, Conclusions, and Future Directions from the PaleoMaps Workshop

Quaternary ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Christian Willmes ◽  
Kamil Niedziółka ◽  
Benjamin Serbe ◽  
Sonja B. Grimm ◽  
Daniel Groß ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
State Of The Art ◽  
Open Science ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Environment Interaction ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
Interaction Modeling ◽  
The University ◽  
New Procedures ◽  
Future Concepts

In this report, we present the contributions, outcomes, ideas, discussions and conclusions obtained at the PaleoMaps Workshop 2019, that took place at the Institute of Geography of the University of Cologne on 23 and 24 September 2019. The twofold aim of the workshop was: (1) to provide an overview of approaches and methods that are presently used to incorporate paleoenvironmental information in human–environment interaction modeling applications, and building thereon; (2) to devise new approaches and solutions that might be used to enhance the reconstruction of past human–environmental interconnections. This report first outlines the presented papers, and then provides a joint protocol of the often extensive discussions that came up following the presentations or else during the refreshment intervals. It concludes by adressing the open points to be resolved in future research avenues, e.g., implementation of open science practices, new procedures for reviewing of publications, and future concepts for quality assurance of the often complex paleoenvironmental data. This report may serve as an overview of the state of the art in paleoenvironment mapping and modeling. It includes an extensive compilation of the basic literature, as provided by the workshop attendants, which will itself facilitate the necessary future research.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document