Research
Lateral-force-based 2.5-dimensional tactile display for touch screen
Recently touchscreen interfaces have become popular worldwide. However, few touchscreens provide tactile feedback. Little hardware is commercialized for such kind of touchscreen.
Some studies have focused on developing touchscreens that also provide tactile feedback.
From our consideration, ``press,'' ``guide,'' and ``sweep'' movement are essential information for touchscreens. However, these devices have some operational disadvantages of these information.
We intend to cope with these disadvantages by introducing the new idea of lateral-force-based display.
We developed an experimental prototype of lateral-force-based display, investigated 2.5-dimensional sensations, realized a part of these essential information, and confirmed the linearity between the presented force and the bump amplitude. The use of a lateral-force-based display enabled virtual bump sensations to be presented with touchscreen.
Dilatant-fluid-based tactile display
Recent years with the spread of tactile interfaces, there are many types of tactile displays. Many types of these conventional devices are displaying the physical information of the environment, such as the object shapes or forces. In other hand recent devices displays not the physics itself but the information of cutaneous sensation.
However these latter devices are not multi-purposed but very much specialized devices. Each expression of the object requires each different device. Here we propose multi purpose oriented display using a fluid which is deformable and elasticity changeable. With this device we consider the new type of display which has expression of various type of elasticity and the possibility of controllable deformation. In this research we propose tactile display using dilatant fluid as having dynamic elasticity and deformable material.
Deformation of powder medium induce the growth of airspace between powder, and the dilation of volume occurs. On the contrary the case the dilation of volume is limited, the powder medium performs like a solid according to the invariance of the volume. These phenomenon is called as ‘dilatancy.‘
By controlling the applied vibration toward the fluid, we propose a tactile display which can control the elasticity with the phase shift phenomenon of dilatant fluid. In this paper we experiment the controllability of the dilatant fluid by the vibration and acquire the fundamental characteristics of the vibrated dilatant fluid.
Tactile sensors using reflection images, "RefShape"
In recent years, with the advancement in robotics, many tactile sensors have been developed to improve force sensation in robots. Several tactile sensors are commercially available in the market. The disadvantage of these distribution-type force sensors is the number of wirings of sensor units. We realize a new type of tactile sensor which has high-spacial-resolution and simple structure. We construct a tactile sensor that utilize the resolution of a camera to the maximum by using transparent silicone rubber as a deformable mirror surface and taking advantage of the reflection image.
Super resolution displaying method with multi projectors
This is a research of displaying single high-resolution image by using multi projectors. Details are Here．
Easy calibration method of mulit projector system
This is a method for constructing multi projector system by using general projectors. All you need is to put projectrs in array, adjust the foci, project calibration pattern and capture the image with digital still camera. By processing the camera image calibration process is already finished.
Calibration-free range finder with projector-camera system
Combination of a general projector and a camera realize a range finder easily. Conventional range finder needs some calibration before measurement. Though this system only need self-calibration using measuring object itself instead of ordinal calibration.
Gaze control and stabilization of gait robot
By controlling gazing direction of a camera mounted on small gait robot, the robot can measure the outer environment, altitude and position of itself. Based on the visual servo we can realize more intelligent motion control than other servo with internal sensors.