Monthly Archives: April 2017

Toyota is introducing a wearable robotic leg brace designed to help partially paralyzed people walk.

The Welwalk WW-1000 system is made up of a motorized mechanical frame that fits on a person's leg from the knee down. The patients can practice walking wearing the robotic device on a special treadmill that can support their weight.

Toyota Motor Corp. demonstrated the equipment for reporters at its Tokyo headquarters on Wednesday.

One hundred such systems will be rented to medical facilities in Japan later this year, Toyota said. The service entails a one-time initial charge of 1 million yen ($9,000) and a 350,000 yen ($3,200) monthly fee.

The gadget is designed to be worn on one leg at a time for patients severely paralyzed on one side of the body due to a stroke or other ailments, Eiichi Saito, a medical doctor and executive vice president at Fujita Health University, explained.

The university joined with Toyota in developing the device.

A person demonstrating it strapped the brace to her thigh, knee, ankle and foot and then showed how it is used to practice walking on the treadmill. Her body was supported from above by a harness and the motor helped to bend and straighten her knee. Sensors in the device can monitor the walking and adjust quickly to help out. Medical staff control the system through a touch panel screen.

Japanese automakers have been developing robotics both for manufacturing and other uses. Honda Motor Co.'s Asimo humanoid can run and dance, pour a drink and carry on simple conversations, while WelWalk is more of a system that uses robotics than a stand-alone robot.

Given how common paralysis due to strokes is in fast-aging Japan, Toyota's device could be very helpful, Saito said. He said patients using it can recover more quickly as the sensitive robotic sensor in Welwalk fine-tunes the level of support better than a human therapist can.

"This helps just barely enough," said Saito, explaining that helping too much can slow progress in rehabilitation.

The field of robotic aids for walking and rehabilitation is growing quickly. A battery-powered wearable exoskeleton made by Israeli manufacturer ReWalk Robotics enables people relying on a wheelchair to stand upright and walk.

Such systems also can aid therapists in monitoring a patient's progress, Luke Hares, chief technology officer at Cambridge Medical Robotics in Britain, said in a phone interview.

"They can be so much more precise," he said.

Previously, Toyota has shown robots that play the violin and trumpet. It plans to start sales in Japan of a tiny boy-like robot for conversational companionship. It is also investing in artificial intelligence and developing self-driving vehicles.

Toshiyuki Isobe, Toyota's chief officer for research, said Welwalk reflects the company's desire to apply robotics in medicine and other social welfare areas, not just entertainment. The company also has an R2-D2-like machine, called the Human Support Robot, whose mechanical arm can help bed-ridden people pick things up.

"Our vision is about trying to deliver mobility for everybody," said Isobe. "We have been developing industrial robotics for auto manufacturing, and we are trying to figure out how we can use that technology to fill social needs and help people more."

Yuri Kageyama can be reached at https://twitter.com/yurikageyama

Her work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/yuri-kageyama

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Toyota shows robotic leg brace to help paralyzed people walk - ABC News

MOORE Moore West Junior High's robotics team has met regularly after school since September, perfecting their machines and the code that runs them.

It's put the students on the cusp of a global stage, as high marks at the state competition in Lawton on Feb. 11 qualified Tiger Robotics for the VEXIQ World Championships. The competition begins April 23 in Louisville, Kentucky.

But there's one, fairly substantial, problem: money, and plenty of it in a short amount of time.

"I'm excited, but it's also a lot of extra work," Donna Haworth, Tiger Robotics coach and teacher at Moore West, said. "When you have kids who are dedicated, work hard and are excited, they get stuff done."

The team launched a GoFundMe account about a month ago, seeking $15,000 to send 10 students to Louisville. As of Tuesday night, the page showed just $1,500 had been raised.

Haworth said the team is looking for a corporate sponsor that would shoulder some of the financial burden. But to get the team including parent chaperone Chad Miller, who set-up the GoFundMe to Louisville, they're in need of the community's help.

Haworth's after school group used to meet during school, as well. When Moore West's robotics teacher retired, budget cuts meant her position went unfilled and no other teacher could incorporate the class into their schedule.

"We're hoping to get it back in the schedule at some point," Haworth said. "They learn so much, it's worth having the after school program."

So, Haworth scheduled meetings with the group outside of school hours, and 24 students showed up. It was enough for two teams in the VEX IQ competition this year, both of which qualified for the world competition.

Haworth said she wants to start a third team in the next school year: all girls.

"I've always liked technology," Cheyanne Sutton, Moore West student and member of the robotics team, said. "If something would break, I'd take it apart. When I came here and there was robotics, I thought I might like it, because I have a lot of those DIY robotics kits."

The students have various reasons for joining. Joseph Falcon said he likes the people he gets to work with, and Camden Miller Chad's son said he enjoys doing something he wants to make a career some day.

"Ive always wanted to be a developer and a programmer, and I feel like this is a good step toward that goal," Miller said.

And some like Emeka Nkurumeh simply enjoy solving problems.

"It's really gratifying when you have a problem and figure it out," he said. "You solve it, but then it presents another problem, so you just keep going and going."

The problem-solving aspect is one reason why Haworth said she chose to do VEX this year. The task to perform sounds simple enough in robotics terms: in a single playing field, take all of the orange or blue covered objects from one side and across a ramp to the corresponding shelves on the other.

In VEX, the middle school division works with kits and sanctioned parts, keeping the use of potentially dangerous tools at a minimum. The teams decide what parts to use, and where, and they develop the way to make the robot do the tasks on its own.

That's where programming comes in. Haworth said much of that was self-taught.

When you first look at it, it really is overwhelming," Falcon said. "What helped me a lot is you focus on one specific area of it. Gradually, you get more experience and learn more and more until you become a really good programmer.

After spending much of the fall semester building and bettering, Tiger Robotics began putting its skills to the test in VEX competitions. They won trophies in Muskogee before high marks in programming and robot skills driving it well booked a ticket to the World Championships.

"It's a lot of on the spot problem solving," Haworth said. "They problem solve, see what other teams do and say 'Hey, let's try that.'"

Just on Tuesday during a demonstration, Vincent Tran, one of the team's main drivers, noticed one of the platforms used to lift objects wasn't level. After a quick inspection, Nkurumeh went back to a box of supplies and produced a sort of axel that held the two sides level.

So long as VEX-approved parts are used that don't drastically change the robots which go through inspection before the competition begins this sort of on-the-fly problem solving and innovation is not only allowed, but what the competition is all about.

"I think if you focus not on the actual competition, but what youre doing in every day meetings, what youre doing here, and doing your best, not wasting time, thats what got us this far," Falcon said. "Through all of our engineers constantly trying to work on the robot and make it better, and with the programmers striving to get measurements right, get it perfect, thats what drove us this far."

And in a little less than two weeks, the team hopes it can take them a little further. That is, of course, if they can get there.

Anyone interested in donating to the Tigers Robotics cause and helping them compete at the World Championship can donate at GoFundMe.com/tigers-robotics-world-competition. So far 20 people have donated to the cause, as of Tuesday night.

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Moore West robotics needs help to reach world competition - Norman Transcript

Hemingway Tigers 6222 placed as one on the top eight teams in the 14th Annual Palmetto Regional FIRST Robotics Competition held at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center in Myrtle Beach in March. Photo Provided

Hemingway Tigers 6222 placed as one on the top eight teams in the 14th Annual Palmetto Regional FIRST Robotics Competition held at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center in Myrtle Beach in March.

This team was established during the 2015-2016 school term as a partnership between Hemingway High School and Hemingway Career and Technology Center to further inspire students with an interest in engineering, science and mathematics; however, students, who are members of this team, have varying interests, skill levels and career goals. Membership on this unique team allows them to build on each others strengthens by working collaboratively to build a robot that performs all the mechanisms needed for successful competition.

Wade Nettles, Science Teacher at Hemingway High School, shared that while every win is great, this years win at the FIRST Robotics Competition in February was very special. He explained that last year the team went to competition unfamiliar with the specifics of competition as well as apprehensive of the outcome. Nettles shared that while at the 2016 competition a former graduate of Hemingway High School, Raymond Rollins, met the team and was inspired to partnered with them along with his son, Daniel, and return to the 2017 competition with more confidence and with a robot designed to place. Rollins and Daniel worked closely with the team and advisors by acting as mentors and working diligently to secure sponsorships. Nettles said, We knew we would do better this year.

At the end of the first day of competition, we placed fourth and remained in the top eight throughout the second day. When the finals began, we were in the top six. We are proud of our team members who realized through this experience the benefit of working hard and remaining to be persistent.

Hemingway Tigers 6222 received help from several other teams last year; they made the administration of the school proud to see them helping other teams this year. According the Principal Glen Kennedy, it has been amazing to see students with nothing in common talking together and working collaborative to create the best robot for competition.

I am very impressed with the improvements of this team in such a short period of time. These students are amazing and dedicated, and I know that they will not forget this experience. I am appreciative to everyone who helped students to realize that they have outstanding skills that can help them later in life.

Shamar Washington, who is a senior and one of the eighteen students on Team 6222, shared that when he first became involved with robotics, it was a smaller more inexperienced team. He mentioned that when the team arrived at the competition last year, they lost but learned a lot from the experience. We were amazed at the robots that were there, Washington said. He shared that their goal was to make the top eight and he is proud that all team members did a great job. There is no leader, we all have a role to play. Danial helped us organize this team and we contributed equally. We had so much support as we prepared for this years competition, Washington added.

Torrance Wilson, Director of Career and Technology Education, said, It is through experiences like this that students realize how their skills in science and math can be used in various careers. I watched these students prepare for competition with so much enthusiasm. They have made us very proud, and we appreciate sponsors and parents for their support and interest in this STEM initiative.

Michael Harper feels that it is important to have good communication skills to be an effective member of the team. You really dont need a lot of experience because its always something you can do on the team, Michael added. Michael is a senior and plans to become a game designer.

Robotics competitions prepare students for the real-world and foster intense learning that promotes increase interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Students at Hemingway High School and Hemingway Career and Technology Center have made the district proud as they have challenged themselves with the assistance of their teachers and mentors to become immerse in creative challenges, project planning and management, design thinking and teamwork. We look forward to hearing more positive things about Hemingway 6222. We encourage more students at Hemingway High School with talents in mathematics and science to become involved with robotics, pursue STEM careers and become leaders in science and technology said Superintendent of Williamsburg County School District, Carrie Brock.

Hemingway Tiger 6222 Drive Team members are Michael Harper, Johnavan Barkers, Logan Evans and Warren Williams. Team Coordinators are Trelashia Sessions and Zaria Thompkins. Team Mechanics are Rayshawn Lewis, Brayon Alston, Hakeem Thompson and Azavia Scott. Safety Coordinators are Gavin Rollins and Ronzell Bluefort. Team Programmers are Logan Carley and Sean Cannon. Team Support Staff Members are Quaila Flegler, Chalinda Lasane and Amaya Greene. Team Spokesperson is Shamar Washington.

Carolina Cool, Grand Strand Business Alliance, Metal Fab and Contractors, GS Tech, Fastenal, BC Films, Coastal Distribution and Reprap Guru sponsored the team.

Mrs. Doreen Green and Ms. Betty Seller, both teachers at Hemingway High School, assist Nettles with the team along with Gregory Glisson, teacher at Hemingway Career and Technology Center.

FIRST Robotics Competition is an international high school robotics competition. Annually, each team of students and mentors work during a six-week period to build game-playing robots weighing in excess of 100 pounds.

These robots complete specific tasks with specifications that changes yearly making the competition thrilling with a more level playing field for each team. Hemingway 6222 placed 55 out of 62 in 2015-2016.

The FIRST Robotics Competition is one of four robotics competition programs organized by FIRST, the other three being FIRST Lego League Jr., FIRST Lego League, and the FIRST Tech Challenge.

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Summit High's Chaos Theory, Mtn. View High's High Desert Droids robotics teams qualified for world championship (Photos: Bend-La Pine Schools)

Summit High's Chaos Theory, Mtn. View High's High Desert Droids robotics teams qualified for world championship (Photos: Bend-La Pine Schools)

BEND, Ore. - Creativity, design, engineering, teamwork and ingenuity: Thats what it takes to put together a successfulroboticsteam. Two local high school teams demonstrated those qualities and more in qualifying for the FIRST World Championshiproboticscompetition in Houston, Texas April 19-22.

Chaos Theory, from Summit High School, and High Desert Droids, from Mountain View High School, both qualified for this prestigious competition thanks to their outstanding results during the regular season and at the Northwest regional competition that took place last weekend.

This is the first time Summits Chaos Theory has qualified for the world competition. The team, which began five years ago, includes 16 students. The team advanced in part due to winning a Judges Award for several accomplishments, including the creation of a localroboticsleague that includes 11 local middle and high school teams.

Mountain Views High Desert Droids includes 25 students and has been an active team for 16 years. The team won the Creativity Award at the regional contest, which is an award given to teams based on the design of the robot and how the team placed the game. High Desert Droids made nearly every item on the robot, using machine equipment at Mountain View High School.

More about the FIRSTroboticscompetition: Each January, the FIRSTroboticsgroup releases a new problem to solve. Teams have six-and-a-half weeks to design, build and program robots to accomplish certain tasks. This year the robots had to load and shoot whiffle balls, load and place gears onto a ship and climb a rope.

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Two Bend robotics teams earn top honors - KTVZ - KTVZ