Toyota Unveils Third Generation Humanoid Robot T-HR3

Toyota Unveils Third Generation Humanoid Robot T-HR3

Toyota Unveils Third Generation Humanoid Robot T-HR3

Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) today revealed T-HR3, the company’s third generation humanoid robot. Toyota’s latest robotics platform, designed and developed by Toyota’s Partner Robot Division, will explore new technologies for safely managing physical interactions between robots and their surroundings, as well as a new remote maneuvering system that mirrors user movements to the robot.

T-HR3 reflects Toyota’s broad-based exploration of how advanced technologies can help to meet people’s unique mobility needs. T-HR3 represents an evolution from previous generation instrument-playing humanoid robots, which were created to test the precise positioning of joints and pre-programmed movements, to a platform with capabilities that can safely assist humans in a variety of settings, such as the home, medical facilities, construction sites, disaster-stricken areas and even outer space.

“The Partner Robot team members are committed to using the technology in T-HR3 to develop friendly and helpful robots that coexist with humans and assist them in their daily lives. Looking ahead, the core technologies developed for this platform will help inform and advance future development of robots to provide ever-better mobility for all,” said Akifumi Tamaoki, general manager, Partner Robot Division.

T-HR3 is controlled from a Master Maneuvering System that allows the entire body of the robot to be operated instinctively with wearable controls that map hand, arm and foot movements to the robot, and a head-mounted display that allows the user to see from the robot’s perspective. The system’s master arms give the operator full range of motion of the robot’s corresponding joints and the master foot allows the operator to walk in place in the chair to move the robot forward or laterally. The Self-interference Prevention Technology embedded in T-HR3 operates automatically to ensure the robot and user do not disrupt each other’s movements.

Onboard T-HR3 and the Master Maneuvering System, motors, reduction gears and torque sensors (collectively called Torque Servo Modules) are connected to each joint. These modules communicate the operator’s movements directly to T-HR3’s 29 body parts and the Master Maneuvering System’s 16 master control systems for a smooth, synchronized user experience. The Torque Servo Module has been developed in collaboration with Tamagawa Seiki Co., Ltd. and NIDEC COPAL ELECTRONICS CORP. This technology advances Toyota’s research into safe robotics by measuring the force exerted by and on T-HR3 as it interacts with its environment and then conveying that information to the operator using force feedback.

The Torque Servo Module enables T-HR3’s core capabilities: Flexible Joint Control, to control the force of contact the robot makes with any individuals or objects in its surrounding environment; Whole-body Coordination and Balance Control, to maintain the robot’s balance if it collides with objects in its environment; and Real Remote Maneuvering, to give users seamless and intuitive control over the robot. These functions have broad implications for future robotics research and development, especially for robots that operate in environments where they must safely and precisely interact with their surroundings.

Since the 1980s, Toyota has been developing industrial robots to enhance its manufacturing processes. Partner Robot has utilized the insights from that experience and built on Toyota’s expertise in automotive technologies to develop new mobility solutions that support doctors, caregivers and patients, the elderly, and people with disabilities.

T-HR3 will be featured at the upcoming International Robot Exhibition 2017 at Tokyo Big Sight from November 29 through December 2.

courtesy: pressroom.toyota.com

Toyota Launches “Start Your Impossible” Global Corporate Initiative

Toyota Launches “Start Your Impossible” Global Corporate Initiative

Toyota Launches “Start Your Impossible” Global Corporate Initiative

Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) has launched “Start Your Impossible” – a global corporate initiative that aims to inspire Toyota employees, partners, and customers and connect them with the company’s core beliefs. In an age of accelerating technological and environmental developments, “Start Your Impossible” marks Toyota’s commitment to support the creation of a more inclusive and sustainable society in which everyone can challenge their impossible.

Toyota believes that mobility goes beyond cars; it is about overcoming challenges and making dreams come true. The “Start Your Impossible” initiative reflects these values and highlights the company’s goal to provide freedom of mobility for all. “We want to share this thinking with all stakeholders, including consumers, so that we can approach this challenge together,” said Toyota President, Akio Toyoda.

Since its founding as a loom manufacturer, Toyota has been driven by a commitment to contribute to society. Over its long history, the company has grown into an innovative leader that has enabled vehicle electrification on a mass scale with the development of the Prius hybrid electric car 20 years ago and more recently, the Mirai hydrogen fuel cell electric car. Toyota sees alternative powertrains, autonomous cars, mobility-as-a-service, and robotics as significant opportunities to move people and transform the company.

As worldwide partner of The Olympic Games and The Paralympic Games, Toyota aims to encourage creating a peaceful society without discrimination through sports and a commitment to creating a sustainable society through mobility. Toyota’s values of continuous improvement and respect for people are shared by The Olympic Games, which brings together the entire world in friendship and solidarity to celebrate the highest realization of human potential.

Added Toyoda: “Throughout our history, Toyota has made the impossible possible through innovation and passion, and by continuously challenging the definition of impossible. Today, the automobile industry is clearly amidst its most dramatic period of change — and during this time Toyota remains committed to making ever better cars. Just as important, we are developing mobility solutions to help everyone enjoy their lives, and we are doing our part to create an ever better society for the next 100 years and beyond. For this to happen, we have to dream beyond conventional vehicles and create new forms of mobility that overcome the limits of today and solve the problems of tomorrow. We share this dream and this spirit of continuous improvement with Olympic and Paralympic athletes, who challenge their own limits every day. I hope that The Olympic and Paralympic Games will create an opportunity for everyone affiliated with Toyota to challenge their impossible and defy their limitations.”

As the first mobility sponsor of The Olympics Games and The Paralympic Games, Toyota aims to offer mobility services and logistics expertise. The first “Start Your Impossible” film, “Mobility for All,” introduces transportation solutions, next generation mobility, and advanced technologies. Going forward, “Start Your Impossible” will also include a variety of additional programs focused on employees, dealers and consumers, as well as seeking collaboration with the Toyota Mobility Foundation, which was established to address urban transportation challenges and expand personal mobility for all people, inspiring the next generation mobility solutions.

Toyota is also launching a new website – www.MobilityForAll.com. In consultation with the National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM) in the United States, the website (which will be rolled out in phases) is built to be accessible for users with various impairments and to allow all users to experience the site and all its content. Whether set to default, visually impaired, hearing impaired, mobility impaired or cognitively impaired, all coding and design features work to make the experience equally enjoyable for all users.

To celebrate the launch of “Start Your Impossible,” and its partnership with The Olympic Games and The Paralympic Games, Toyota today is holding its first-ever Toyota Mobility Summit in Athens, Greece, the host city of the first modern Olympic Games. The event features a live conversation with Akio Toyoda, as well as a series of discussions led by Toyota Executive Vice President Didier Leroy, with global thought leaders and Olympic and Paralympic athletes. The event will cover topics of mobility from a social, physical well-being and sports perspectives, as well as the future of mobility via technology advancements and research.

courtesy: pressroom.toyota.com