Tokyo, Japan, October 25, 2011 – NSK Ltd. (NSK; Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan; President and CEO: Norio Otsuka) today announced that it has developed a four-legged, wheeled robot that utilizes a newly developed external recognition technology and guidance function to detect the position of stairs, autonomously recognize the shape of the stairs and then guide the user up and down staircases.
The robot developed by NSK is a four legged, wheeled robot equipped with drive wheels on each of its legs and highly capable of maneuvering over flat and stepped terrain. It is also capable of autonomously recognizing stairs through the use of independent processing of external information detected through image and distance sensors, and then guiding the user up and down staircases. This technology resulted from the development of technology aimed at achieving an autonomous robot capable of assisting human eyesight. This technology has potential application as an alternative to wheelchairs, guide dogs and service dogs. NSK will exhibit this product at Tokyo Big Sight (located in the Koto Ward of Tokyo) from Wednesday, November 9 to Saturday, November 12 at iREX 2011 (International Robot Exhibition). Visitors to the NSK booth will have the opportunity to see a demo and gain insight into the expanding needs of the market. NSK will be performing on-site verification in the actual market in order to confirm the practical use and safety of this product in the real world.
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