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Robotic systems for laparoscopic minimally invasive surgery (MIS) always end up with highly sophisticated mechanisms and control schemes – making it a long and hard development process with a steep price. This paper aims to propose and realize a new, efficient and convenient strategy for building effective control systems for surgical and even other complex robotic systems.

A novel method that takes advantage of the modularization concept by integrating two middleware technologies (robot operating system and robotic technology middleware) into a common architecture based on the strengths of both was designed and developed.

Tests of the developed control system showed very low time-delay between the master and slave sides; good movement representation on the slave manipulator; and high positional and operational accuracy. Moreover, the new development strategy trial came with much higher efficiency and lower costs.

This method results in a modularized and distributed control system that is amenable to collaboratively develop; convenient to modify and update; componentized and easy to extend; mutually independent among subsystems; and practicable to be running and communicating across multiple operating systems. However, experiments show that surgical training and updates of the robotic system are still required to achieve better proficiency for completing complex minimally invasive surgical operations with the proposed and developed system.

This research proposed and developed a novel modularization design method and a novel architecture for building a distributed teleoperation control system for laparoscopic MIS.

Aims to describe how Japan sees robotics for the future based on the author's observation of robots displayed at the World Expo 2005.

Visits with the Expo and the relevant symposium.

Japan is convinced of the immense potential of the new robotic market.

Gives the Japanese view on robotics for the future to observers outside Japan.

Robot localization technology has been widely studied for decades and a lot of remarkable approaches have been developed. However, in practice, this technology has hardly been applied to common day-to-day deployment scenarios. The purpose of this paper is to present a novel approach that focuses on improving the localization robustness in complicated environment.

The localization robustness is improved by dynamically switching the localization components (such as the environmental camera, the laser range finder and the depth camera). As the components are highly heterogeneous, they are developed under the robotic technology component (RTC) framework. This simplifies the developing process by increasing the potential for reusability and future expansion. To realize this switching, the localization reliability for each component is modeled, and a configuration method for dynamically selecting dependable components at run-time is presented.

The experimental results show that this approach significantly decreases robot lost situation in the complicated environment. The robustness is further enhanced through the cooperation of heterogeneous localization components.

A multi-component automatic switching approach for robot localization system is developed and described in this paper. The reliability of this system is proved to be a substantial improvement over single-component localization techniques.

Aims to describe the new tendency of Japanese robotic industry observed at the International Robot Exhibition 2005 in Tokyo.

Reports new robots, robotic systems and research.

Finds that Japanese robotics is trying to support the future direction of the nation.

Introduces an approach to study what is going on in the Japanese robotic community based on the social needs of the country.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a report of the world first robotized cellular production system developed by IDEC Corporation.

The work is based on an interview with the development team of IDEC Corporation.

The paper finds that the IDEC system is a success that paved a way to the future automated cellular production system that enables high‐mix, low‐volume production.

The paper provides an up‐to‐date insight into how to automate high‐mix low‐volume production.

The paper elaborates how a robotized cellular production system is realized.

This paper aims to report the collaboration between Microsoft and Tmsuk and describe the possible impact on the development of robotics software and the robot industry for the future.

The paper gives an insight into the collaboration, based on an interview with the CEO of Tmsuk.

Microsoft will be one step ahead in the robotic software standardization race. Tmsuk will evaluate the performance in the real world applications.

Tmsuk will evaluate Microsoft's Robotic Studio for its “practical” robotic applications and feed its findings back to Microsoft. The outcome is worth watching.

Microsoft Robotic Studio is the first robotic software development kit and Tmsuk is trying to prove it by its real world expertise. This is the first attempt to apply Micro Robotics Studio to practical applications in the real world.

The purpose of this paper is to review the iREX2007, the International Robot Exhibition 2007 held in Tokyo, Japan, with emphasis on new trends in the Japanese robot industry.

The paper is based on in‐depth interviews with exhibitors and also major users in attendance at the show.

The Japanese manufacturing industries that shifted their plants and established production technologies overseas are now coming back and constructing new plants in Japan. For these plants they are now trying to re‐build a new manufacturing system that will enable Japan to regain global competency. Many exhibits of robots clearly demonstrated how robotics is responding to the needs.

Robot builders need to respond to new demands from users. Robot users will need to rethink robots as a valuable tool for solving new requirements.

The paper provides information on the trend of the robot industry, reflecting new requirements from society.

Generation Z will be the leading consumer group in the future. Using convenience stores, the study provides an in-depth analysis on Gen Z’s current experience and future expectations from retail stores. The study further highlights the differences between Gen Z’s perception of convenience stores across three different regions – the USA, South Korea and Japan.

This study conducted a series of in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 36 Gen Z participants from the USA (12), South Korea (11) and Japan (13). All interviews were first coded based on a preselected list of themes and were further coded with new themes that emerged from exploratory coding.

Each regional cohort varied in terms of how they experienced and what they expected from convenience stores. US participants showed negative or utilitarian attitudes toward convenience stores, whereas South Korean participants had a positive, personal attachment to them. In comparison, Japanese participants had a relatively neutral attitude. However, all three groups showed a common preference for smart technology and health concerns surrounding convenience store foods.

Convenience store chains should consider the cultural nuances when designing future services. The chains should further strive to remove the health concerns about the foods provided at the stores and design smart technologies that enhance user experience.

The present study broadens the knowledge in this budding consumer segment where current research is limited. It further sheds light on the variance among Gen Zers across different cultural contexts.