NORTH JERSEY IEEE/NJIT CONTROL SYSTEMS SEMINARS

NJIT TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY FORUM

AND

          SIGMA XI - NJIT CHAPTER          


present a seminar on

Thursday, September 10, 2009 at 5:00 – 6:00 P.M.

ECE Center, Second Floor, Room 202
New Jersey Institute of Technology


SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGIES FOR HUMAN AND THE EARTH

Dr. Yoshihiko Takahashi

Kanagawa Institute of Technology, Kanagawa, Japan


ABSTRACT

In this talk, aspects and examples of the sustainable technologies for human and the earth will be presented. The first example is a robotic wheelchair with inverted pendulum control by which a wheelchair-bound person can climb over a step without external assistance. The robotic wheelchair raises its front wheels in front of a step and maintains the inverted pendulum control to go forward and backward using the user’s body inclination. After the front wheels land on the step, the robotic wheelchair can climb over the step, assisted by DC motor force. The experimental results focus on the step climbing control and the human psychological flutter. The next example is a self-transfer aid robotic system which assists people with impaired walking ability. With the aid transfer, these users can maneuver themselves independently to carry out daily necessities. In practice, users lean their upper-bodies onto the saddle of a robotic arm, which lifts and transfers them to their destination. Our results have confirmed that this self-transfer aid robotic system can lift a human body gently and more efficiently. The third example is a low cost, small fuel cell vehicle with reduced carbon dioxide emissions. Our design is based on the rules of the Japanese light weight electrical vehicle competition, ECONO MOVE, held every year in May in Akita prefecture, Japan. In this competition, each vehicle is evaluated based on its running distance while using two 60 NL hydrogen tanks over a two hour period. We will detail the vehicle concept and fuel cell driving system. Finally, we will provide the experimental results of the improvements of the fuel cell driving system and the efficiency of the hydrogen flow rate of the system.


BIOGRAPHY

Yoshihiko Takahashi is a Professor of Mechanical Systems Engineering at Kanagawa Institute of Technology. He has also been working for Toshiba Corporation since 1980. He has been teaching control systems, mechatronics, and robotics at the same school since 1996. His research interests are in human assist robotic systems, fuel cell electrical vehicle, and applications of sustainable energy. He is the author or coauthor of more than one hundred journal and international conference papers, and four books. Yoshihiko Takahashi received his Master's and Doctor's degrees in mechanical systems engineering from Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Japan, in 1980 and 1995 respectively.



For information, contact Dr. Timothy Chang: at (973)596-3519 or at changtn@njit.edu

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