Masahiro Fujita

Bio: Masahiro Fujita is an academic researcher from Sony Broadcast & Professional Research Laboratories. The author has contributed to research in topics: Robot & Robot control. The author has an hindex of 38, co-authored 147 publications receiving 4929 citations. Previous affiliations of Masahiro Fujita include Takeda Pharmaceutical Company & Hitachi.

Development of an Autonomous Quadruped Robot for Robot Entertainment

Abstract: In this paper, we present Robot Entertainment as a new field of the entertainment industry using autonomous robots. For feasibility studies of Robot Entertainment, we have developed an autonomous quadruped robot, named MUTANT, as a pet-type robot. It has four legs, each of which has three degree-of-freedom, and a head which also has three degree-of-freedom. Micro camera, stereo microphone, touch sensors, and other sensor systems are coupled with newly developed behavior generation system, which has emotion module as its major components, and generates high complex and interactive behaviors. Agent architecture, real-world recognition technologies, software component technology, and some dedicated devices such as Micro Camera Unit, were developed and tested for this purpose. From the lessons learned from the development of MUTANT, we refined the design concept of MUTANT to derive requirements for a general architecture and a set of interfaces of robot systems for entertainment applications. Through these feasibility studies, we consider entertainment applications a significant target at this moment from both scientific and engineering points of view.

AIBO: Toward the Era of Digital Creatures:

Abstract: The twenty first century will become an era of autonomous robots which are partners of human beings Autonmous robot will help and support people in the future In this paper we introduce AIBO, the first product model of Robot Entertainment Systems The main application of this robot is a pet-style robot, which must be in lifelike appearances We suggest the introduction of how to maximize the complexity of responses and movements, to solve the problem of maximizing the lifelike appearances of autonomous robots We also describe the technologies used in AIBO as well Although AIBO is not for nursing nor dengerous work, neither, we believe the development of AIBO to be the fist step of the era of autonomous robots in the twenty first cen-tury

On activating human communications with pet-type robot AIBO

Abstract: In this paper we describe effects of human interactions with a pet-type robot, especially with AIBO. First, we describe a design concept for AIBO based on how to increase its "lifelike" appearance. By introducing statistical results of marketing, and experiments involving human-robot interactions using AIBO, we show that this pet-type robot activates human emotions effectively. Furthermore, the experiments demonstrate that AIBO helps in human-human communication. We discuss the phenomena of interaction with AIBO, and attempt to explain why this happened.

Phd by thesis

Abstract: Deposits of clastic carbonate-dominated (calciclastic) sedimentary slope systems in the rock record have been identified mostly as linearly-consistent carbonate apron deposits, even though most ancient clastic carbonate slope deposits fit the submarine fan systems better. Calciclastic submarine fans are consequently rarely described and are poorly understood. Subsequently, very little is known especially in mud-dominated calciclastic submarine fan systems. Presented in this study are a sedimentological core and petrographic characterisation of samples from eleven boreholes from the Lower Carboniferous of Bowland Basin (Northwest England) that reveals a >250 m thick calciturbidite complex deposited in a calciclastic submarine fan setting. Seven facies are recognised from core and thin section characterisation and are grouped into three carbonate turbidite sequences. They include: 1) Calciturbidites, comprising mostly of highto low-density, wavy-laminated bioclast-rich facies; 2) low-density densite mudstones which are characterised by planar laminated and unlaminated muddominated facies; and 3) Calcidebrites which are muddy or hyper-concentrated debrisflow deposits occurring as poorly-sorted, chaotic, mud-supported floatstones. These

OctoMap: an efficient probabilistic 3D mapping framework based on octrees

Abstract: Three-dimensional models provide a volumetric representation of space which is important for a variety of robotic applications including flying robots and robots that are equipped with manipulators. In this paper, we present an open-source framework to generate volumetric 3D environment models. Our mapping approach is based on octrees and uses probabilistic occupancy estimation. It explicitly represents not only occupied space, but also free and unknown areas. Furthermore, we propose an octree map compression method that keeps the 3D models compact. Our framework is available as an open-source C++ library and has already been successfully applied in several robotics projects. We present a series of experimental results carried out with real robots and on publicly available real-world datasets. The results demonstrate that our approach is able to update the representation efficiently and models the data consistently while keeping the memory requirement at a minimum.

Designing Sociable Robots

Abstract: From the Publisher: Cynthia Breazeal here presents her vision of the sociable robot of the future, a synthetic creature and not merely a sophisticated tool. A sociable robot will be able to understand us, to communicate and interact with us, to learn from us and grow with us. It will be socially intelligent in a humanlike way. Eventually sociable robots will assist us in our daily lives, as collaborators and companions. Because the most successful sociable robots will share our social characteristics, the effort to make sociable robots is also a means for exploring human social intelligence and even what it means to be human. Breazeal defines the key components of social intelligence for these machines and offers a framework and set of design issues for their realization. Much of the book focuses on a nascent sociable robot she designed named Kismet. Breazeal offers a concrete implementation for Kismet, incorporating insights from the scientific study of animals and people, as well as from artistic disciplines such as classical animation. This blending of science, engineering, and art creates a lifelike quality that encourages people to treat Kismet as a social creature rather than just a machine. The book includes a CD-ROM that shows Kismet in action.