The Department of Electronics and Information Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Tokushima Bunri University, offers a combination of lectures, exercises, and experiments in related subjects. This helps students to acquire expertise in computer hardware and software, as well as the ability to learn continuously and use their initiative in taking actions. At the end of each semester, questionnaires are conducted for all subjects to assess students' level of understanding and the appropriateness of teaching methods. Instructors use this information to assess the status of each subject and strive to improve students' understanding. In addition, to understand the trends and characteristics of the improvement in students' abilities and understanding, this study investigates the situation at the end of the second year of study. A questionnaire survey is conducted to ascertain the status of improvement in knowledge and abilities. Based on the obtained response data, the polychoric correlation coefficient is calculated and the data are analyzed using multiple correspondence analysis.

One of the problems with wheelchairs is that the vibrations generated during driving can cause users to experience motion sickness, discomfort, and annoyance. Wheelchair tire pressure is considered to be one of the factors that affects the ride comfort of a wheelchair. However, it is not yet known how much influence the tire pressure of a wheelchair has. One of the reasons for this is that it is not possible to accurately measure tire pressure with the English valve used in wheelchairs. Therefore, we created a tire pressure indicator to accurately measure the tire pressure of wheelchairs. The purpose of this study is to use the tire pressure display to evaluate the impact of changes in tire pressure on assistive wheelchairs on vibration. In addition, in this experiment, we created a device to push the assistive wheelchair using an electric wheelchair in order to make the assistive wheelchair move at a constant speed, aiming to improve the reliability of the data. In this paper, we examined the effects of different running speeds on ride comfort.In this study, we use a triaxial accelerometer to measure the vibration of the tire pressure of a manual attendant-controlled wheelchair in four patterns: 80kPa, 160kPa, 240kPa, and 320kPa. This measurement is performed at three different running speeds: low speed, medium speed, and high speed. FFT analysis is performed on the acceleration in three directions measured by the triaxial accelerometer, and the maximum power spectrum, frequency and integral value at the maximum power spectrum are determined. From these values, evaluate the trends caused by changes in tire air pressure. Verify the relationship with tire pressure. Riding comfort was evaluated using the SD method, and two types of evaluation were performed: stationary and running. The evaluation items consisted of three items, sitting comfort, sense of security, and sitting comfort of the buttocks, for both static and running conditions, and four items, including the strength of shaking while running. Responses were obtained on a five-point scale from 1 to 5. In this study, we verified the results of vibration measurements and sensory evaluations, and verified ride comfort due to differences in driving speed and tire air pressure.

In this study, we performed a demonstration experiment to determine a highly visible light emission pattern while feeling that the stimulus is suppressed using sensory evaluation. We performed sensory evaluation of stimulus intensity and visibility of simple blinking that repeats on and off and fade-in/fade-out blinking that gradually brightens and fades to investigate the trade-off relationship between stimulus adaptation and arousal. In the experiment, we compared the light-emitting blocks that are constantly lit, simple blinking, and fade-in/fade-out blinking and clarified the relationship of the blinking stimulus with visibility. In this experiment, subjects underwent the sensory evaluation for three types of environmental illuminance (20 lx, 50 lx, and 100 lx) and were asked to evaluate the strength of stimulation, visibility, and discomfort of each blinking pattern using normal light as a reference. When the surrounding illuminance was low (20 lx), the overall evaluation value was higher because the fade-in/fade-out flashing was less stimulating and easier to find. Conversely, when the ambient illuminance was high (50 lx), simple blinking was more stimulating and easier to find, and the overall evaluation value was higher. Although it was a simple blinking, it seemed that the visibility for the visually impaired had been secured. Moreover, in the case of 100 lx, the difference in the illuminance between the surroundings and the light-emitting block was small; therefore, finding the light-emitting block in both simple blinking and fade-in/fade-out blinking was difficult, and the overall evaluation value was very low. It was found that simple or fade-in/fade-out blinking is selected depending on the ambient illuminance. By installing light-emitting blocks that blink in an optimal blinking pattern at the entrance of a crosswalk, it is expected that the blinking will be effective in guiding the visually impaired while considering pedestrians and the surrounding environment.

The tire pressure of manual attendant-controlled wheelchairs was measured in four patterns of 80 kPa, 160 kPa, 240 kPa, and 320 kPa. The number of trials for each of the four patterns of tire pressure was 10 times for a total of 40 times. The maximum power spectrum, frequency at the maximum power spectrum, and integral value were obtained from the FFT analysis data for the acceleration in three directions measured using the triaxial accelerometer, and the trends due to changes in tire pressure were evaluated. Tire pressure indicators made for this study were attached to both rear wheels of the manual attendant-controlled wheelchairs, and a dummy weight of 50 kgf was placed on the seat. Acceleration in three directions, including up/down, front/back, and left/right directions, was measured using a three-axis accelerometer attached to a heavy object. The tire pressure of the manual wheelchair for assistance was measured in four patterns of 80 kPa, 160 kPa, 240 kPa, and 320 kPa. The number of trials for each of the four patterns of tire pressure was 10 times for a total of 40 times. FFT analysis was performed using numerical analysis software for acceleration in three directions measured using a triaxial accelerometer. The maximum power spectrum, frequency at the maximum power spectrum, and integral value were obtained from the FFT-analyzed data, and the relationship with tire pressure was verified. Riding comfort was evaluated using the SD method, and the following two types of evaluation were performed: stationary and running. For both static and running conditions, the evaluation consisted of three items, including sitting comfort, sense of security, and sitting comfort of the buttocks, and four items, including the strength of shaking while running. Responses were obtained on a five-point scale from 1 to 5. Consequently, in this study, an air pressure indicator for English valves was attached to manual attendant-controlled wheelchairs, and vibration measurements were performed under controlled conditions. As a result of experiments using the manufactured vibration measuring device, it was found that the vibration tends to increase as the tire pressure rises. Furthermore, it was found that the higher the tire pressure, the worse the ride comfort.

Vision is said to account for 80% of the information acquired of the five human senses. The presentation of light is an effective way to convey visual information. A blinking presentation especially attracts attention. A low-vision person acquires peripheral information through residual vision. In this case, light effectively supports the travel of low-vision persons. A blinking light stimulates more than a continuous light. However, a blinking light is not sufficiently compatible with the surrounding environment. This research investigates the effectiveness of blinking lights under different illuminance.

The progressive aging of society has increased expectations for the spread of nursing care robots to support long-term care and welfare services. This research had the goal of developing a communication system as one of the elemental technologies of nursing care robots, along with a method that allows care robots to consider a user’s emotions. The estimation of emotions based on a user’s electroencephalogram and heartbeat has attracted attention. However, users may experience stress when wearing the sensors needed for such measurements. To prevent this system from causing stress in users, we had the goal of developing an estimation model for emotions based on the pulse, which is relatively easy to measure. Various autonomic nervous activity indices (pNN50, RMSSD, LF, HF, LF/HF) were adopted for the estimation model, and transfer functions were established. These indices were considered in time domain and frequency domain analyses of the heart rate variability. The pulse was measured while the user was watching a video and converted into an accelerated plethysmogram using second order differentiation. Then, the autonomic nervous activity indices were calculated. The transfer function from the input to output was identified using these autonomic nervous activity indices as inputs and the responses to a questionnaire that was administered after watching the video as outputs.

A novel gaze-based user interface (UI) is proposed for the remote control of robots and electric wheelchairs. A task-based experiment showed that this UI is more suitable for remote control than a conventional interface. The UI was applied to the control of a commercially available low-cost electric wheelchair. By using a 360° camera and an eye tracker that can be used outdoors, the visibility of obstacles and the usability of the gaze-driven electric wheelchair were greatly improved. The gaze-driven electric wheelchair exhibited good performance in a task-based evaluation experiment.

One of the indicators that affects the comfort of a wheelchair is tire pressure. However, since the English valve which is most frequently used for a wheelchair has a structure that it can not put out air even if it can be arbitrarily inserted, how much the tire pressure of the wheelchair will affect the vibration Has not been revealed yet. The purpose of this study was to measure the vibration generated in the wheelchair due to the difference in tire pressure using the pneumatic pressure indicator dedicated to the English valve and the influence of the road surface and vibration of the manual attendant-controlled wheelchairs.

Along with the assisted wheelchair, a self-propelled wheelchair is also used as an assisted wheelchair by a caregiver; however, the problem with wheelchairs is that the vibration during driving causes motion sickness, discomfort, and annoyance for users. The tire pressure of the wheelchair is considered an influencing factor affecting the ride quality of the wheelchair; however, the extent of the effects of tire pressure on the wheelchair remains unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the factors influencing the tire pressure changes of the self-propelled wheelchair on the vibration using the tire pressure indicator. Furthermore, this experiment aimed to improve data reliability by manufacturing a device that pushes out a self-propelled wheelchair using an electric wheelchair to run the self-propelled wheelchair at a constant speed. A dummy heavy object was placed on the seat of the self-propelled wheelchair of the vibration measuring device manufactured in this experiment, and a triaxial accelerometer was mounted on it. Moreover, an electric wheelchair is used to drive the uneven road surface at a constant speed at regular intervals. The tire pressure display manufactured in this study was attached to both sides of the rear wheel of the self-propelled wheelchair, and a dummy weight of 50 kg was placed on the seat. Then, acceleration in the vertical direction is measured by a three-axis accelerometer mounted on a heavy object. In this study, the effects of tire pressure on ride quality were considered by looking at the correlation between ride quality by sensory evaluation and vibration analysis.

Approximately 80% of people with visual impairment have residual visual acuity. As such, the authors have developed a light-emitting block that is placed at the entrance of a pedestrian crossing to support those with visual impairment at night. A blinking light has generally been used for selectively distinguishing the target light source from the surrounding light source. However, this type of blinking (i.e., simple blinking) can be stimulating, making it suitable for night-time road construction sites but not for normal road environments. Therefore, the authors have focused on phase-in-phase-out blinking, which gradually brightens and darkens with each blink, thereby suppressing stimulation. This blinking pattern has been considered to reduce visibility just by suppressing the stimulus. However, focusing on the human sensory characteristics of adaptation and arousal, evidence has suggested the existence of a blinking cycle and pattern that awakens while suppressing stimuli.Therefore, the current study sought to identify blinking cycles and patterns that awaken while suppressing light stimulation. The intensity of light stimulation is evaluated via sensory evaluation. Based on the intensity of the stimulus and degree of arousal, we searched for the optimum blinking cycle that promotes adaptation, a human sensory characteristic, and arousal from the blinking pattern and verified the visibility of the obtained blinking pattern in individuals with visual impairment and healthy subjects. Previously, we had conducted an experiment in a region with a period of 4–7 s. This time, however, we conducted an experiment in a region with a period of 2– 3.5 s. This study verified that phase-in-phase-out blinking is effective for pedestrians while considering the surroundings.The purpose of this experiment was to determine the optimal blinking method for supporting people with visual impairment. Although it is desirable to provide support for people with visual impairment by promoting stronger visibility, introducing flashing blinks in public facilities may cause discomfort to healthy people around them. For instance, introducing a blinking light of approximately 1 Hz, which has a fast blinking cycle, at the entrance of a pedestrian crossing can enter the driver's field of vision, causing discomfort and making the driver look away, thereby leading to accidents. The ideal blinking light for support is that which limits arousal to some extent and does not induce discomfort. Based on the blinking patterns used in this experiment under the aforementioned condition, we believe that a fade-in-fade-out type pattern with a blinking cycle of 2 s and a lighting time of 2 and 3 s would be effective. The reason for this is that the intensity of the stimulus obtained from the sensory evaluation of healthy subject and those with visual impairment is suppressed, visibility is secured to some extent, and the blinking method does not induce discomfort. Thus, the fade-in-fade-out blinking method can be expected to suppress discomfort.

We are developing devices that apply a linear equation mechanism in which three joints are coupled with a differential mechanism through continuously variable transmissions (CVTs). One of these devices is an adjustable lift cart in which three joints are connected to two axes of the left and right wheels of the cart and to one axis that lifts the cart's loading platform. The adjustable lift cart can lift the loading platform up or down to a desired height while it is moved horizontally by human power. The cart's loading platform moves forward and upward (or downward) as if it is on a virtual guiding surface. Until now, the virtual guiding surface generated by the linear equation mechanism has been a flat surface defined by a single normal vector. In this work, we show that not only flat but also curved surfaces can be generated by setting the normal vector as a function of the displacement or velocity of the cart.

Approximately 80% of the visually impaired are composed of individuals with low vision. As people with low vision have residual visual acuity, light guidance has been deemed effective. Thus, the authors have developed a light-emitting block that is placed at the entrance to a pedestrian crosswalk to support the visually impaired at night. Generally, blinking light is accepted as a method to selectively distinguish a target light source from an ambient light source. However, on/off blinking lights, such as those used at a road construction site at night, are unsuitable for normal road environments. Therefore, the authors focused on fade-in/fade-out blinking, which gradually brightened and darkened, suppressing inappropriate visual stimulation. Therefore, this study aimed to search for blinking cycles and patterns that ensured visibility while suppressing light stimulation and reducing discomfort.

Expectations for care robots are increasing owing to the aging of society with a declining birthrate and shortage of manpower in the care field. However, the use of care robots has not yet become widespread. In this study, we explained the artificial intelligence (AI) technology to care staff and conducted a questionnaire survey to understand their needs. Then, we began to develop a care robot that was required in the care field. In this paper, we report an overview and the current status of the study.

One of the indicators that affects the comfort of a wheelchair is tire pressure. The purpose of this study was to measure the vibration generated in the wheelchair due to the difference in tire pressure using the pneumatic pressure indicator dedicated to the English valve and the influence of the road surface and vibration of the manually self-propelled wheelchairs.

Wheelchairs are very convenient for the elderly who cannot walk, but the vibration generated during use can cause discomfort to the rider and can have consequences, such as convulsions. Tire pressure is one of the factors that affects the ride quality of wheelchairs. Wheelchairs are often used indoors, in which case they travel on hard flooring or on carpet. The purpose of this study was to investigate how the road surface on which the wheelchair travels and the tire pressure of the wheelchair contribute to the vibration experienced by the rider, and the influence of the vibration on the human body. We used an air pressure indicator that measured an English valve. The vibration generated was measured and the sensory perception of comfort and security were evaluated on hard and soft surfaces at different tire pressures. The vibration test revealed that vibration tends to increase as tire pressure increases and that ride comfort decreases as tire pressure increases.

Neural networks (NNs) are effective for the learning of nonlinear systems, and thus they achieve satisfactory results in various fields. However, they require significant amount of training data and learning time. Notably, the cerebellar model articulation controller (CMAC), which is modeled after the cerebellar neural transmission system, proposed by Albus can effectively reduce learning time, compared with NNs. The CMAC model is often used to learn nonlinear systems that have continuously changing outputs, i.e., regression problems. However, the structure of the CMAC model must be expanded to apply it to classification problems as well. Additionally, the CMAC model finds it difficult to simultaneously classify categories and estimate their proportional linear measure because designated learning algorithms are required for both regression and classification problems. Therefore, we aim to build a composite-type CMAC model that combines classification and regression algorithms to simultaneously classify categories and estimate their proportional linear measures.

Vision is said to account for 80% of the information acquired of the five human senses. The presentation of light is an effective way to convey visual information. A blinking presentation especially attracts attention. A low-vision person acquires peripheral information through residual vision. In this case, light effectively supports the travel of low-vision persons. A blinking light stimulates more than a continuous light. However, a blinking light is not sufficiently compatible with the surrounding environment. This research investigates an environmentally friendly blinking pattern to arouse attention.

Wheelchairs for the elderly and people with disabilities are very convenient, but vibration generated during movement may cause user discomfort and even motion sickness. Tire pressure is one factor affecting wheelchair ride quality. The commonly used English-style valve for wheelchairs allows air to be filled into the tire but cannot be used to adjust tire air pressure. Therefore, it is unclear how wheelchair tire pressure affects the vibration of the wheelchair. Additionally, it is necessary to consider the burden on the assistant. Wheelchairs are often used indoors on hard floors and relatively flexible carpets. The purpose of this study is to clarify the relationship between vibrations generated in a wheelchair, the surface on which a wheelchair travels, tire pressure, and the influence of these vibrations on the human body. By using an air pressure indicator suitable for use with the English-style valve to measure tire air pressure, vibration measurements were conducted under controlled conditions by rolling a manual wheelchair at constant speed. The vibration test revealed that the vibration tends to increase as tire pressure increases. Additionally, it was found that ride comfort decreases as tire pressure increases.