Toward Okinawa-Style Robot-Embedded Systems

SUMMARY For the Okinawan economy to grow independently, it is essential to create new businesses; this will require the cultivation of technologies that will form the basis for those businesses, as well as the training of technicians and researchers. To promote the creation of new businesses and innovation that are “Unique to Okinawa,” the Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan set up a cooperative research committee to develop Okinawa-style robot-embedded systems. We proposed the concept of Okinawa-style robot-embedded systems. To realize this concept, we organized technical meetings to promote research. Now our research focuses on developing playback-type navigation robots for use in land and air, and also on developing an underwater robot for conserving marine life in the waters around Okinawa. It is necessary to conduct proper measurements, observations, and sampling in water. To successfully perform these tasks, we needed to develop an underwater robot. We have made efforts in developing hardware, software, and applications for embedded techniques. We suggest that coarsely integrated operand scanning (CIOS) and bilateral filters (BFs) be implemented in hardware. We also developed devices to improve quality of life and to support disabled children through software.