The following pictures illustrate how a crossfertilization between various components of japanese robotic science and technology have produced a large number of innovations with potential to satisfy many social needs, not least those of the elderly and the handicapped.

At one end of the scale there are for instance the service humanoids which are designed to carry out a range of mundane tasks. And at the other end we have the medical robots which can both train professionals and improve their surgical and diagnostic skills.

The original presentation includes a large number of filmed supplements so, in order to achieve a certain compression, the paper is divided in four parts.

The five illustrations in the first part of the presentation illustrate a biped (UT-µ2) suitable for testing a dense integration of modularized electronic components – an important aproach to flexibility and cost-cutting designs.

The twentyone illustrations in the second part show the basic technical elements of a small size surgical robot, starting with ten pictures which show the tip of a forceps-instrument which is based on a tripod design (2 DF) that gives high stiffness to an active wrist moving large jaws. After showing how the sterile instrument and coupling are attached to an electric motor, another set of eleven pictures show the isocentric design (DOF) of a small size surgical robot.

The third part of the presentation is based on seven pictures which show an endoscopic laser scanner and its use for in vivo surface scanning in connection with heartbeat synchronization, both when the motion of the organ is/or is not mechanically restricted. Another application is related to the compensation of in vivo motions of an organ, the surface of which is studied under a confocal microscope.

The fourth part, finally, illustrates how the ”ultimate biped” keeps his balance even in very demanding positions through a delicate interaction of a large number bones, ligaments and muscles.The visualization of those types of interaction provides tools not only for improvements in sports training, but also for improved ergonomic records and neurological diagnosis, not least for elderly people.

THE PRESENTATION

"Biomedical Innovation from  Information and Robotic Technology" by prof. Yoshihiko Nakamura