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The Fukushima power station in Japan was affected by a major earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, inspecting the primary containment vessel remains difficult due to high radioactivity. Long-reach robot arms are useful in inspecting such hazardous environments, and a coupled tendon-driven mechanism enables realizing a long, light-weight, and thin manipulator. However, high elastic elongation of tendons due to gravity may lead to unstable joint control. In this paper, we introduce dynamics-based control as a feasible strategy for a long-reach tendon-driven robotic arm. Additionally, a planning method to identify the joint angle path ensuring stability is proposed. Considering stability analysis, the potential due to the tendon elasticity and gravity is evaluated and used as an index of joint stability. The rapidly exploring random tree is used as the planning algorithm. The effectiveness of the proposed method was demonstrated through the successful manipulation of a 5-kg payload by a 10-m long robotic arm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The OLMAR method, which stands for the on-line moving average reversion method, is reported to be one of the most powerful among portfolio selection algorithms in the stock markets. In this research, we use intensive statistical and simulation analyses of long-term data on stock market changes to uncover the secrets of why and when the superiority appears. We find that there have been long-lasting fluctuations in the stock markets and that the OLMAR method actively makes use of such characteristics. In this paper, we analyze long-term stock data from Japan and the United States. The analyses confirm the following points. 1) The OLMAR method yields superior returns. 2) By using the moving average divergence rate provided by the OLMAR method, it is possible to detect specific fluctuation characteristics in long-term stock data from Japan and the United States. 3) Superior returns cannot be obtained from data in which specific fluctuation characteristics have been corrected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The science of soft robots, or soft robotics, is currently one of the most active fields in robotics. While traditional robots consist of rigid bodies, powerful servomotors, and carefully coded programs to realize power, precision, and reliability, soft robots consist of soft and flexible bodies, actuators, and intelligence for adaptability. They are not rigid, but instead flexible toward their surroundings. These differences have the potential to make soft robotics a great new field in robotics. A JSPS KAKENHI project "Science of Soft Robots" has been in progress in Japan since 2018. Part of this special issue is made in collaboration with this project. This special issue consists of 46 works in total: 2 review papers, 29 letters, and 15 papers. One review paper, 29 letters, and 3 research papers report research activities from the JSPS KAKENHI project, and the other review paper and 12 research papers have been contributed from outside the project. As this issue will make clear, the science of soft robots is a very interdisciplinary academic field, a collaboration of many researchers from various fields, such as mechanical/electrical engineering, computer science, material sciences, biology, zoology, medicine, and nursing, among others. We believe interdisciplinary work to be a key point for the exploration of soft robotics. The editors thank all of the authors and reviewers of the contributions, and are confident that this special issue will greatly contribute to further progress in robotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Japan's population is aging at a speed unprecedented in the world, and its shortage of caregivers has become a major issue. At the same time, the Internet of Things (IoT) is expected to create unprecedented new value by connecting all people and things, allowing them to share various kinds of knowledge and information. In addition, as artificial intelligence (AI) and big data are undergoing a transformation that is changing the value of human labor, robots incorporating these innovative technologies are expected to solve the problems of the aging society. On the other hand, in the field of nursing care, the relationship between the caregiver and the care-receiver is basically a person-to-person connection. There is a question of how people and technology can coexist and produce new creations in such fields. This special issue on Nursing Robots and Support Systems for Welfare Sites includes one review paper and 23 other interesting papers that cover the following topics: ıtem Research on independence support and systems to watch over the elderly. ıtem Research on support systems for diet, recreation, medication, etc. for people with dementia. ıtem Research on control and sensor systems for vital signs and excretion. ıtem Research on rehabilitation equipment for the physically handicapped. ıtem Research on assistive technologies for mobility support. ıtem Research on upper and lower limb power assistance devices and robots. We thank all authors and reviewers of the papers as well as the Editorial Board of the Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics for their help with this special issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, the plant affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake, will continue for a long time to come, but few young people are willing to take on the challenge because they tend to have the impression that decommissioning work is a post-accident cleanup. However, decommissioning is the most important issue for Fukushima and is of global importance. Therefore, the National Institute of Technology, Fukushima College (Fukushima KOSEN), which is located closest to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, established a council of cooperation and started the Creative Robot Contest for Decommissioning in cooperation with other National Institute of Technologies (KOSEN) to increase the awareness and interest in decommissioning among the young. The robot contest, themed on issues related to the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, has been held annually since 2016 for students of KOSEN across Japan, and the 7th Creative Robot Contest for Decommissioning is scheduled to be held in December 2022. Although the ideas and robots developed by KOSEN students from all over Japan to solve the problems involved in the decommissioning will not directly contribute to future decommissioning work, the ideas and technologies learned can be used in other fields, and the participating students are expected to be active in a wide range of fields as well. This special issue contains review papers of the Creative Robot Contest for Decommissioning, development reports, and research papers on the robots developed. A total of eight papers are included: two review papers, two research papers, and four development reports on decommissioning robots designed by students. At the same time, we hope that young people in Japan and abroad will also become interested in the robots introduced in this special issue, and that the decommissioning work of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant will proceed safely and securely by combining the wisdom of the whole world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]