njohnson747
01-16-08, 07:46 PM
Strap-on robot suit takes the pain out of backbreaking farm work
http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/8955/20080110p2a00m0na021000as6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
ロボットスーツ：農作業を手助け 東京農工大が試作品公開:thinking:
January 10th, 2008
A robot suit designed to take the backbreaking factor out of farm work by assisting the movements of users has been unveiled here.
The "farming robot suit," developed by a team of researchers led by Shigeki Toyama, a professor in the graduate school of the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, has been tested on farms. Researchers hope to have the technology in use in 2 years and develop it into a product and begin selling it in four years.
The suit, which is secured with belts, consists of a resin framework with eight motors to assist the movements of the knees, elbows, lower back and shoulders, making farm work easier.
When pulling out a Japanese radish, for example, about 20 kilograms of instantaneous pressure is exerted on the knees and lower back, but when using the robot suit, only about half the force is used.
"As the age of farmers increases, I wanted to develop technology that would lighten their burden," Toyama said.
While machines are increasingly being used to cultivate farmland and plant rice, human power is still often relied on for tasks such as fruit picking and pruning, and transporting crops. During a demonstration, a graduate student easily picked up 20 kilograms of rice.
"It hardly feels like I'm holding it," he said, smiling.
It is possible to program the robot suit to match the type of work. With use of an independently developed ultrasonic motor, the weight of the equipment can be lightened to about 8 kilograms. Sensors and wireless devices will enable monitoring of the person wearing the suit and make it possible for people to communicate even when they are not working close together.
The projected cost for each set is between 500,000 and 1 million yen, but developers expect to be able to lower the price to about 200,000 yen per suit if they can mass produce the product when it is commercialized.
source (http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20080110p2a00m0na022000c.html)
http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/8955/20080110p2a00m0na021000as6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
ロボットスーツ：農作業を手助け 東京農工大が試作品公開:thinking:
January 10th, 2008
A robot suit designed to take the backbreaking factor out of farm work by assisting the movements of users has been unveiled here.
The "farming robot suit," developed by a team of researchers led by Shigeki Toyama, a professor in the graduate school of the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, has been tested on farms. Researchers hope to have the technology in use in 2 years and develop it into a product and begin selling it in four years.
The suit, which is secured with belts, consists of a resin framework with eight motors to assist the movements of the knees, elbows, lower back and shoulders, making farm work easier.
When pulling out a Japanese radish, for example, about 20 kilograms of instantaneous pressure is exerted on the knees and lower back, but when using the robot suit, only about half the force is used.
"As the age of farmers increases, I wanted to develop technology that would lighten their burden," Toyama said.
While machines are increasingly being used to cultivate farmland and plant rice, human power is still often relied on for tasks such as fruit picking and pruning, and transporting crops. During a demonstration, a graduate student easily picked up 20 kilograms of rice.
"It hardly feels like I'm holding it," he said, smiling.
It is possible to program the robot suit to match the type of work. With use of an independently developed ultrasonic motor, the weight of the equipment can be lightened to about 8 kilograms. Sensors and wireless devices will enable monitoring of the person wearing the suit and make it possible for people to communicate even when they are not working close together.
The projected cost for each set is between 500,000 and 1 million yen, but developers expect to be able to lower the price to about 200,000 yen per suit if they can mass produce the product when it is commercialized.
source (http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20080110p2a00m0na022000c.html)