Yoshio Matsumoto

• National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology

Background Robots offer many unique opportunities for helping individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Determining the optimal motion of robots when interacting with individuals with ASD is important for achieving more natural human-robot interactions and for exploiting the full potential of robotic interventions. Most prior studies have u...

Introduction Social skills training (SST) is used to help individuals with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) better understand the perspectives of others and social interactions, develop empathy skills, and learn how to engage with others socially. However, many individuals with ASC cannot easily sustain high motivation and concentration during such...

Android robots are employed in various fields. Many individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have the motivation and aptitude for using such robots. Interactions with these robots are structured to resemble social situations in which certain social behaviors can occur and to simulate daily life. Considering that individuals with ASD have st...

Many individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) demonstrate some challenges with personal narrative writing. Sentence completion tests (SCT) is a class of semi-structured projective techniques and encourage respondents to disclose their private narratives. Even in SCT, only providing beginning of sentences is inadequate to compensate atypical...

The rapid expansion of online job interviews during the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to continue after the pandemic has subsided. These interviews are a significant barrier for individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). There is little evidence-based training for online job interviews for individuals with ASD, and the development of new tra...

Image-based motion capture system have a limited measurement range, and the inertial motion capture system cannot directly acquire the position information. In addition, simple and robust measurement is required in the realization field, but it is difficult with the conventional motion capture system. Therefore, in this research, we constructed a s...

COVID-19 has affected many areas of daily life, including communication and learning. Social distancing is essential to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In these situations, teaching communication skills is essential for helping individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) reach their full potential. To provide communication education while main...

With recent rapid advances in technology, human‐like robots have begun functioning in a variety of ways. As increasing anecdotal evidence suggests, robots may offer many unique opportunities for helping individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Individuals with ASD often achieve a higher degree of task engagement through the interaction wit...

This paper discusses the usage of a robotic monitoring device and decision-making by staffers at a care facility. The target monitoring device is a commercial product (Silhouette Monitoring Sensor, King Tsushin Kogyo Co., Ltd.) that monitors a person on a bed through silhouette images. We conducted research at a care facility before and after it st...

Japan has become a rapidly aging country with a 21% rate of aging as of 2007. Everyone would like to have a situation where the elderly can live their daily lives without trouble. However, the elderly are more apt to develop health problems, and there are more than a few elderly who need care. As the elderly increase as a percentage of the total po...

The recent demographic trend across developed nations shows a dramatic increase in the aging population, fallen fertility rates and a shortage of caregivers. Robotic solutions to clothing assistance can significantly improve the Activity of Daily Living (ADL) for the elderly and disabled. We have developed a clothing assistance robot using dual arm...

The preliminary efficacy of interview training using an android robot whose appearance and movements resemble those of an actual human for treating social and communication difficulties in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has been demonstrated. Patient preferences regarding the appearance of robots are crucial for incentivizing them...

To measure the life log of humans and enjoy virtual or augmented reality video games, several wearable devices have been developed that allow users to intuitively input commands. However, monitoring and estimating three-dimensional human motions for extended periods using the wearable devices is difficult. Therefore, this study aims to develop a me...

Various robotic devices for elderly care have been developed and commercialized in Japan. However, the introduction of such devices to the society has not been enough. One of the major reasons for this is that it is still not clear how we can best make use of them. In other words, we still do not have sufficient knowledge and evidences of such devi...

Establishing a treatment method for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) not only to increase their frequency or duration of eye contact but also to maintain it after ceasing the intervention, and furthermore generalize it across communication partners, is a formidable challenge. Android robots, which are a type of humanoid robot with ap...

Interventions for job interviews targeting the impaired theory of mind observed in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are limited. We developed a role-play-based guidance system for job interviews using an android robot resembling a real person. Individuals with ASD worked in pairs and played dual roles in mock job interviews. Specifi...

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have trouble with non‐verbal communication, which is strongly associated with poor social function.¹ There are few evidence‐based interventions for children with ASD, so tutors find it difficult to teach non‐verbal communication skills. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Job interviews are significant barriers for individuals with autism spectrum disorder because these individuals lack good nonverbal communication skills. We developed a job interview training program using an android robot. The job interview training program using an android robot consists the following three stages: (1) tele-operating an android r...

The advantages of using a tele-operated robot to facilitate otherwise difficult verbal disclosure of thoughts and concerns was examined. In a field study, individuals with autism spectrum disorder, who often face obstacles in social interaction, were provided daily-life-guidance by a robot tele-operated by their caregiver. In cases in which the rob...

Technological agents could be effective tools to be used in interventions for enhancing social orienting for some young children with ASD. We examined response to social bids in preschool children with ASD and typical development (TD) at a very early age (i.e., around 3 years) using social prompts presented by technological agents of various forms...

Background A growing body of anecdotal evidence indicates that the use of robots may provide unique opportunities for assisting children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, previous studies investigating the effects of interventions using robots on joint attention (JA) in children with ASD have shown insufficient results. The robots used...

The population in advanced countries is rapidly aging, and these countries are faced with various issues pertaining to the rapidly aging population. It is expected that manpower shortages for nursing care of the elderly will be resolved using robotic devices. A method is necessary for quantifying the load of the human body that is envisaged to enco...

Recently, many humanoid robots have been developed and actively investigated all over the world in order to realize partner robots which coexist in the human environment. For such robots, high communication ability is essential in order to naturally interact with human. However, even with the state-of-the-art interaction technology, it is still dif...

Research suggests that many individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often demonstrate challenges providing appropriate levels of information during conversational interchanges. Considering the preference of individuals with ASD, and recent rapid technological advances, robotic systems may yield promise in promoting certain aspects of conver...

Identification of meaningful endophenotypes may be critical to unraveling the etiology and pathophysiology of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). We investigated whether impressions of "humanness" for android robot might represent a candidate characteristic of an ASD endophenotype. We used a female type of android robot with an appearance similar to t...

Recent rapid technological advances have enabled robots to fulfill a variety of human-like functions, leading researchers to propose the use of such technology for the development and subsequent validation of interventions for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Although a variety of robots have been proposed as possible therapeutic to...

Video of android robot. (WMV)

The feasibility and preliminary efficacy of an android robot-mediated mock job interview training in terms of both bolstering self-confidence and reducing biological levels of stress in comparison to a psycho-educational approach human interview was assessed in a randomized study. Young adults (ages 18–25 years) with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)...

Some unilateral lower-limb amputees load the intact limb more than the prosthetic limb. This can cause chronic pains, fatigue, lumbago, and joint diseases, including knee osteoarthritis. To avoid and counteract these symptoms it is necessary to improve their asymmetric gait. Increasing the function of the hip abductor muscle is important to maintai...

Some children with social anxiety and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterized by deficits in social communication consisting of a lack of speech in specific social situations in which there is an expectation of speaking, although these children do speak in other situations. Comorbid social anxiety and ASD is considered hard to treat. A va...

We investigated whether it is easier for adolescents with ASD to establish communication using eye-gaze with an android than a human. Two-days-experiment was conducted to measure eye-gaze patterns of subjects during conversation with two types of interlocutor, a female type android robot and a human female, where the interlocutors used their gaze t...

This paper describes the influence of the appearance and synchronizing operation of android to the extension of “personal space” from an operator to the android. We proposed a hypothesis that the extension of personal space from an operator to the android is affected by their agency and sympathy to the android. To verify this hypothesis, we conduct...

Humanoid robots selectively immitate aspects of human form and behavior. Humanoids come in a variety of shapes and sizes, from complete human-size legged robots to isolated robotic heads with human-like sensing and expression. This chapter highlights significant humanoid platforms and achievements, and discusses some of the underlying goals behind...

We present a forward dynamics (FD) simulation technique for human figures when they are supported by assistive devices. By incorporating a geometric skin deformation model, called linear blend skinning (skinning), into rigid-body skeleton dynamics, we can model a time-varying geometry of body surface plausibly and efficiently. Based on the skinning...

We report a portable 6-DOF (six degrees of freedom) motion tracking system which uses high-accuracy AR markers. It enables easy measurement of 6-DOF motion of multiple tracking points by a single camera. We examined the measurement accuracy of the motion tracker by comparing with an ordinary motion-capture system. The pose estimation errors are abo...

In this paper, we propose a method of parallel processing of one-shot structured-light system to realize online 3D reconstruction of moving objects. The proposed method is based on a projector-camera system that reconstructs a shape from a single image where a static pattern is cast by a projector; such a method is ideal for acquisition of moving o...

The benefit of service robot includes many aspects, for example, to the elderly or handicapped people, to the caregivers and to the facilities for the facilities. In this paper, we focus on the description of benefits for the elderly or handicapped people. However there are still various aspects as the benefit as 'what kind of function the robot ca...

Visual markers are useful tools assisting visual recognition of object pose in robotic applications. But they have two fundamental problems in orientation estimation. One is degradation of orientation accuracy in frontal observation. The other is 'pose ambiguity' that the orientation cannot be determined uniquely. We previously developed a novel vi...

This paper reports the results from two experiments, conducted in Japan and Australia, to examine people’s perception and trust towards an android robot. Experimental results show that, in contrast to popular belief, Australian participants perceived the robot more positive than Japanese participants. This is the first study directly comparing huma...

Internal (neuronal) representations in the brain are modified by our experiences, and this phenomenon is not unique to sensory and motor systems. Here, we show that different impressions obtained through social interaction with a variety of agents uniquely modulate activity of dorsal and ventral pathways of the brain network that mediates human soc...

This paper reports the results from an experiment examining people’s perception and trust when interacting with an android robot. Also, they engaged in an economic trust game with the robot. We used the physical distance to the robot, and questionnaires to measure the participants’ character and their perception of the robot. We found influences of...

There are growing needs for assistive robots which support independent life of elderly and disabled people or help people who work at the assistance and the nursing care. We are studying on establishment of the methodologies of developing such robotic care devices. We use ICF (International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health) and...

In this paper, we report the impression of our android robot obtained in experiments and reactions of people to the android in demonstrations in medical and nursing fields. Our newly developed android robot Actroid-F is utilized for this research. Since the total system for controlling the android is light and compact, it is easy to install in medi...

The iArm is a service robot arm to help people with upper-limb disability in their daily lives. The iArm has been produced for about 10 years in the Netherlands. The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology has developed RAPUDA (Robotic Arm for Persons with Upper-limb DisAbility). The effectiveness of the RAPUDA was evaluate...

Personal space is the area surrounding individuals into which intrusion by others causes discomfort and strangeness. We found that when other people approach a highly human-like android robot which is operated in synchronization with human motion, the operator sometimes feels as if he/she is approached. Based on this observation, we hypothesized th...

In order to develop assistive robots which truly contribute to the QOL improvement, elaborate designs based on effectiveness analyses in human life are indispensable. We are developing a design framework utilizing ICF (International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health), and planning to make a design support tool. Although the ICF p...

This paper proposes two types of outdoor environment simulators to evaluate and test vision-based safety sensors for personal care robots. One of the simulators is the artificial sunlight lampheads, which reproduce near-natural direct sunlight. The other is the simulated-snow chamber, which simulates visibility reduction due to snowfall. The specif...

There are body-powered hooks and myoelectric prosthetic hands that trans-radial amputees can use for work. Though the body-powered hooks have good workability for complex operations, the design of the hook is unappealing and the harness is cumbersome. The myoelectric prosthetic hand has a natural appearance similar to the human hand and intuitive o...

Fiducial markers (AR/visual markers) are still useful tools in many AR/MR applications. But conventional markers have two fundamental problems in orientation estimation. One is degradation of orientation accuracy in frontal observation. The other is “pose ambiguity” where the estimated orientation repeats switching between two values. We previously...

In order to develop useful assistive devices, analyses and understanding of human functions are necessary. We recorded the activities of daily living, and classified the usage of both hands using the vocabulary of ICF (International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health) approved by WHO. We confirmed that the usage of the non-dominan...

This paper reports the results from an experiment examining people's perception and trust when interacting with an android robot. Also, they engaged in an economic trust game with the robot. We used proxemics, the physical distance to the robot, and questionnaires to measure the participants' character and their perception of the robot. We found in...

This paper describes the change of "personal space" of an operator of the android which is controlled to be synchronizing with the operator. The SCR (Skin Conductance Response) signal of the operator was measured as an indication of psychological or physiological arousal of the operator. The fluctuation of SCR was observed as reactions to stimuli o...

In order to develop useful assistive devices, it is necessary to analyze and understand the function of human. In this study, the activities of daily living were recorded and the performance of dominant and non-dominant hand was classified according to ICF (International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health) approved by WHO. As a re...

We presented a new application of humanoid robots as an evaluator of assistive devices, to reduce the burden of tests with human subjects. Taking the supportive wear "Smart Suit" designed to relieve the load at lower back as an example, we have conducted pilot experiments by using the humanoid robot HRP-4C. We showed the basic feasibility of this a...

This paper presents a basic study on feasibility of usage of humanoid robots as an evaluator of assistive devices, by taking advantage of its anthropomorphic shape. In this new application humanoid are expected to help evaluation through quantitative measures, which is difficult with human subjects, and also to reduce the burden coming from ethical...

Human likeness of social agents is crucial for human partners to interact with the agents intuitively because it makes the partners unconsciously respond to the agents in the same manner as what they show to other people. Although many studies suggest that an agent's human likeness plays an important role in human-robot interaction, it remains uncl...

Many assistive robots for elderly and disabled people have been developed in the past few decades. However, very few of them became commercially available. The major cause of the problem is that the cost-benefit ratio and the risk-benefit ratio of them are not good or not known. The evaluation of them should be done in the light of the impacts of a...

General, robots obtain poses of target objects by matching the images of the observed objects with data in database. However, the process of matching images costs so long time that robot's action become slow. In order to shorten response time for robots searching target objects, we propose a method for robots to obtain information of poses of obser...

This paper deals with a multiagent path-planning problem where several robots track humans to obtain detailed information on human behaviors and characteristics. For this, agents' paths are planned on the basis of the similarity between the predicted positions of humans and the agents' field of view. The long-horizon path planned on the basis of an...

We developed a novel AR marker which overcomes the biggest problem of conventional AR markers that the accuracy of pose estimation gets worse in frontal observation. We utilize a 2-D moiré pattern which is generated by a microlens array and seems to move according to the visual-line angle. We can extract pose information from the pattern by image p...

Visual markers are useful assistive tool for service robots. Existing planar visual markers have poor accuracy in pose estimation, especially in frontal direction. We solved this problem by a novel principle using a microlens array. The marker displays a changing moiré pattern according to the visual-line direction. We can extract the pose informat...

Many hand motion recognition methods using Electromyogram (EMG) signals have been developed. Because most studies used only surface EMG signals from a forearm, available motion-related information was limited. In this paper, we report a SVM (Support Vector Machine) based hand motion recognition method using hybrid sensors. The hybrid sensor consist...

With the aging population trends in developed countries, there is an increased expectation of the application of assistive robots. A variety of robots have been developed to address this challenge. Although there are many technical problems to be solved, the lack of objective evaluation indexes for evaluating the benefit to the users is one of the...

Interpretation of the living organism’s ability to utilize noise from engineering point of view may be beneficial for realizing a simple, yet adaptive, robotic system. This paper presents a bacteria-inspired mobile robot, with a 1-DOF motor and a single sensor. Even with such limitations, the underactuated mobile robot is able to navigate toward a...

In this paper, we present a dual-arm service robot system reusing open source RT components. The service robot system has four functions which are user detection, user interface, ordered object recognition and ordered object manipulation. Each function is developed by several groups as an open source RT module. We demonstrate over-the-counter sales...

Visual marker is a useful assistive tool for service robots. Existing planar visual markers have poor accuracy and stability in pose estimation, especially in frontal direction. In this study, we developed a novel visual marker based on a new principle enabling accurate and stable pose estimation even by observation from frontal direction. The mark...