Joint Research on Technology for Advanced Service Robot

我们的国际合作研究项目的最终目标是提出先进的自主服务机器人的领先概念和技术，以帮助老年人和残疾人。这一目标将通过将东京大学集团的基于知识的人型自主服务机器人手臂技术与美国范德比尔特大学集团的基于传感器的协作双臂服务机器人技术相结合来实现。随着平均年龄的增加，社会对这类机器人技术的需求必须逐年增加。由于这两种方法是相互对比和相辅相成的，因此两年的合作努力比最初的评价更具刺激性和生产力。其中一些产品已经通过国际期刊和会议记录进行了报道。值得注意的产品如下：1)两个团队都开发了实验性服务机器人，并将其作为全系统来研究新技术；2)日本的基于知识的方法和美国的基于传感器的方法相结合，在实现服务机器人的智能化方面产生了强大而灵活的自主性；3)专门开发的软件平台，即日本的Xero++和美国的IMA，在统一各种必须在实时情况下工作的功能方面发挥了关键作用；4)文化的差异刺激了两组保持生产力。

The ultimate goal of our international collaborative research project is to propose the leading concepts and technologies for an advanced autonomous service robot to assist such as aged and disabled persons. This goal would be achieved by means of combining the knowledge-based human-type autonomous service robot arm technologies of Tokyo University's group and the sensor-based cooperative dual-arm service robot technologies of Vanderbilt University's group of USA.The social requirements for this kind of robotic technologies must increase year by year due to increase of average age. Since both approaches are contrastive and supplemental each other the two-year collaborative efforts were more stimulative and productive than initial evaluation. Some of products have been reported via international journals and conference proceedings.Notable products are as follows : 1) Both group have developed experimental service robots and examined new technologies using them as total systems, 2) Combining knowledge-based approach of Japan and sensor-based approach of USA have resulted in powerful and flexible autonomy in realizing intelligence of service robots, 3) Specially developed software platforms, i.e., XERO++of Japan and IMA of USA,have playd key roles in unifying a variety of functions which must be working under real-time situations, 4) Difference of cultures have stimulated both groups in keeping productivity.