Development of "OCTO," a safe and gentle robot that is considerate to people

Development of "OCTO," a safe and gentle robot that is considerate to people
~Selected for the Unexplored IT Talent Discovery and Development Project~

Satoshi Harada, 4th year student Faculty of Engineering Department of Mechanical Systems Engineering

Satoshi Harada, a fourth-year student Faculty of Engineering Department of Mechanical Systems Engineering, was selected for the "Unexplored IT Talent Discovery and Development Program (hereinafter referred to as the Unexplored Program*)" with the theme "Development of an Octopus-shaped Robot and Simulator for Cleaning the Bathtub." We asked him about his thoughts on developing "soft robots" and his studies at TUAT Technology.

* Unexplored IT Talent Discovery and Development Project
This project is sponsored and implemented by the Information-Technology Promotion Agency, Incorporated Administrative Agency institution under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Its purpose is to discover and develop outstanding human resources who have original ideas and technologies that can create innovation using IT, as well as the excellent ability to utilize these.

What made you apply for the MITOU Project?

I had a theme that I wanted to develop and thought there was a possibility that they could assist me with that.
If you are selected for the MITOU Project, you will receive the development costs necessary to realize what you want to create, as well as support from PMs (project managers) who are top runners in the IT field in academia and industry.
When I applied, I was excited at the thought of having nine months to turn my own unique idea, something that had never existed before, into a reality.
It was also appealing to have the opportunity to interact with wonderful creators of the same generation.

Could you tell us about OCTO?

"OCTO" stands for Original Cleaning Tender Octopus-type robot, and is an octopus-shaped robot that cleans your bathtub.
When we think of a robot, we may generally imagine something like Astro Boy, made of metal and powered by a combination of motors and gears. In contrast, OCTO is made of flexible rubber material and is powered by a supply of compressed air. These types of soft robots are called soft robots, and are a field that has been actively researched recently.
By reducing the pressure inside the suction cups attached to its feet, it can climb walls and hold tools such as sponges and toothbrushes, making it a versatile and multifunctional robot. It is extremely lightweight, weighing only about 580 grams, does not break down even underwater, and can operate in environments where electronic circuits do not work, such as extremely low temperatures, and in environments such as nuclear reactors where normal robots malfunction due to the effects of radiation. OCTO is a prototype developed with the future in mind, in mind, of a society in which robots exist and operate in all kinds of environments. The bathroom environment was chosen as one example of its use.

What inspired you to come up with the idea for OCTO?

It all started when I lived alone in the Keyaki dormitory at TUAT. By leaving my parents, I started doing my own cooking, laundry, and other housework, but the most difficult part was cleaning the bath. The bath in the dormitory did not have a drying function, so I had to wipe the water that splashed on the walls and ceiling with a rag after taking a bath. If left unattended, the water would turn into limescale and lead to dirtying the bathroom. Doing this every day was a lot of work, and there were days when I couldn't finish my report (laughs). I thought it would be convenient if I could automate the task of wiping the bathroom with a rag with a robot. When I looked into it, I found that in Noritz's "Home Appliance Awareness Survey," the most common cleaning task that people wanted to automate was cleaning the bath. That's when I became interested in developing a robot that could clean the bath, especially one that could move and work on walls and ceilings. I also thought it would be unique to make it out of soft materials to ensure safety for people in a living environment.

A few months ago, I read an article about the start of a demonstration experiment of a remote-controlled robot by TELEXISTENCE at a convenience store. Also, considering the unmanned convenience store at Takanawa Gateway Station and the development status and spread of self-driving cars, I think that humans and machines will coexist more and more in familiar environments in the future. When the concept of ubiquitous computing becomes more widespread and omnipresent computers are accompanied by bodies, a world where robots exist everywhere in familiar environments will arrive, and naturally, robots will be introduced into living environments, but it seems dangerous to live with a heavy, hard, metal-covered robot. If a robot falls from the sky, the impact of the fall may damage the floor or injure a child. However, a light, soft octopus-shaped robot weighing about 600g ensures safety and looks cute. By developing and demonstrating this octopus-shaped robot, I would like to present to everyone a vision of a future society in which robots are naturally next to us and help us in our lives. This robot is packed with my imagination of the future society and my dreams (laughs).
　

What difficulties did you encounter during development?

It was difficult to balance my graduation research and studying for the graduate school entrance exam. I think it was tough to be expected to deliver a certain level of quality under time constraints.
Also, making the pneumatic actuator was difficult. If there was even a small scratch or hole, it would burst and air would leak out, and the actuator would not deform properly. It was a continuous process of trial and error, including applying a special adhesive for silicon and trying about eight different types of rubber material. I also designed all the molds for making the pneumatic actuators myself using CAD (computer-aided design tool), but I had to adjust the screw holes in millimeters, so making the hardware was difficult in the first place. The amount of work was too huge for one person to do, including designing the circuit for the pneumatic system and sketching it, soldering the electronic components to the universal board, and incorporating a program that enables wall walking, so I think I worked for 10 hours every day. I often had to stay up all night.

What did you learn at TUAT?

Actually, when I was a student, I did not have a strong preference in choosing a department, and it was my father's advice that I chose Department of Mechanical Systems Engineering. This is a pet theory, but I feel that what department you study in is a means to an end, not an end in itself. If you want to cure someone's disease, you can discover compounds that are beneficial to animals and the human body and create new drugs. Even in an environment where medical personnel are in short supply, it is possible to receive surgery by an excellent doctor anytime and anywhere by collaborating with "Da Vinci," a medical robot that can perform surgery from a distance. Alternatively, AI may be able to diagnose a patient's condition from images such as X-rays, echoes, and MRIs. While the knowledge and technologies used in each of these fields are different, they are all related to medicine, and they are all working toward the same goal: to save lives. I hope that the knowledge and techniques I have learned will make someone happy, but that is the goal, and the means may have been whatever I wanted. Anyway, no matter which department I entered, I entered university with the decision to continue learning until my learning leads to something that makes someone happy. I didn't even know what an M3 screw was before I entered college, but I decided to learn more than others because I didn't know more than others, so I took classes up to my credit limit, took Department of Computer and Information Sciences classes in other departments, read University Library books on electrical, electronic, mechanical, and information fields from cover to cover, and bought TUAT a book at the Co-op called I also bought a copy of Transistor Technology (a magazine specializing in electronics technology) from the co-op and read it every month. Since knowledge from books alone was not enough, I joined the Robotics Research Group R.U.R. (Department of Mechanical Systems Engineering) and Laboratory of Aerospace Technology, which are authorized manufacturing circles. I have good memories of building multicopters (drones), CANSAT (small artificial satellites the size of drinking water cans), intelligent robots, and so on. I also joined a music circle, playing in ensembles and playing the jazz piano. I like "Rhapsody in blue" and Hiromi Uehara's "time out.

Please give a message to prospective students.

When I was in high school, I was shocked to hear that what I learned at university would be useless in society. It is true that what you learn in four or six years at university may not be meaningful or valuable to society. This is because I think there are many important things that you can only understand by actually working. However, this does not deny the meaning of studying at university. Because the knowledge you acquire at university is not enough, you need to continue learning after graduation based on that knowledge and think about what you have learned. I think that each and every one of us must continue to think about what we want to do. I think that there are many high school students who have not yet decided what they want to do. At least, that was the case for me. However, I think it is a good idea to enter university and study hard for now. What will you gain from studying so hard? The answer to the question is unknown, uncertain, but with a little hope, an unexplored area that no one knows. If there is no answer, why not create one by continuing to learn? Have a sense of adventure and playfulness and try various things! That's it (laughs).

(Published on March 14, 2022)