English Abstract

The Soft-Materials Used for the Factors of Robots Kentaro NODA Isao SHIMOYAMA Department of Mechano-Informatics, Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan Nippon Gomu Kyokaishi,(2005),78(8),301-306 General Review in Japanese Abstract Recently many robots are going to be used in the factories. These robots are designed to do "a fixed work" at "a fixed place" in the factory. Also these robots are not covered with enough sensors so that they may cause damage to human easily. From these reasons, the previous robots couldn't be used in the public places. To use robots in the human society, we must make them safe and dexterous. The soft-materials for robots are necessary to be applied to this demand. In the paper, we introduce some examples of the soft-materials for robots. The first example is a soft actuator using artificial muscles, which were actuated by the air pressure. The second example is tactile sensors using MEMS technologies and silicon-rubber. These materials make the robots, safer and friendlier. Keywords: Soft-material, Artificial-muscle-actuator, Tactile-sensor, MEMS, Robots

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