Waseda University’s Sugano Laboratory is using Parametric Technology’s Pro/Engineer software as its main engineering tool for the development of a human-symbiotic robot called “Twendy-One.” It is a result of a joint research effort by the Sugano Laboratory, headed by Professor Shigeki Sugano, and the private business sector.
One of the most challenging tasks in designing Twendy-One related to the cabling design for robotic joints.
In 1999, Professor Sugano and his team developed “Wendy,” a human symbiotic robot with dexterous hands and human-like fingertips. It flawlessly broke an egg open — an engineering and robotics first. Twendy-One is based on Wendy technology and will be used for assisting in daily human activities.
The Twendy-One project team used Pro/Engineering Piping and Cabling Extension software to parametrically define cable properties and automatically locate optimal routes. As the team deployed high-output actuators, thicker cables were introduced, making cabling design a challenge. Twendy-One has a large number of sensors and actuators all over its body which require many cables and advanced engineering techniques. The project team succeeded in generating accurate cable routings by specifying certain points on the cable routes and automatically updating the cable design when changes were made.
Professor Sugano says, “We were careful about the appearance and materials for the outer shell of a human-symbiotic robot to avoid harm to humans and the environment. Exposing many cables outside the robot’s body shell could have created major problems. Therefore, we placed all cables inside the shell. Cables must be compact to not interfere with moving parts. We could have used piping or solid models to define cable models. However, using Pro/Engineer, we defined the cable properties and created models while we visualized how the cables behaved.”
Yohei Uemura, a second year mechanical engineering master’s program student, adds, “When a cable route was updated based on a design change, the cable often protruded from the allowable space. Pro/Engineer immediately issued alerts when that occurred. The software enabled us to perform mechanical and cabling designs concurrently while graphically viewing the orientations and locations of the circuit boards and their relative positioning.”
Twendy-One is 146.7-cm tall and weights 111-kg. The robot integrates hand and fingertip manipulators and other technologies at an advanced level. The Twendy-One project has attracted attention at other engineering schools. Its development gives students the opportunity to learn about the technology and become knowledgeable about the product development process.
Parametric Technology, Inc.
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::Design World::
Source: :: Design World ::
