IFTOMM JAPAN & TOKYO TECH SMS-CENTER SEMINAR
DATE: November 6, 2015
TIME: 17:00-18:30
PLACE: Conference Room 304, 3F, Ishikawadai 3rd Building,
Ookayama Campus, Tokyo Institute of Technology
CONTACT: Yukio Takeda (takeda@mech.titech.ac.jp)

SEMINAR 1

Towards the development of a multi-purpose assistive robot vehicle
Dr. Jorge Solis, Associate Professor, Karlstad University
Abstract: At Karlstad University, we have proposed the development of a multi-purpose humanfriendly robot for assisting elderly persons as well as assisting care givers. The focus of the researchis embodying perceptual (sensing the incoming stimuli), cognitive (processing the incoming stimuli)
and bodily-kinaesthetic (response to the incoming stimuli as a result of combining perceptual andmotor skills) capabilities. Due to the complexity of the proposed research, two assistive robots
vehicles are under development at Karlstad University: an intelligent carrying-medical tools robotvehicle (Solis et al., 2014) and a human-friendly assistive robot vehicle for supporting physicallyelderly (Solis et al., 2015). The human-friendly robot vehicle for carrying-medical tools (iCAR) is
composed by a mobile robot vehicle with on board sensors, and two-actuated and four-passivewheels. On the other hand, the human-friendly walking assistive robot vehicle (hWALK) is composedby a two-wheeled inverted pendulum mobile robot, a 3-DOFs desktop haptic interface, a mobilecomputer and a wireless module for communication purposes. A PID controller has been
implemented for the stability control and preliminary experiments were presented to verify thestability of the two-wheeled inverted pendulum.
SEMINAR 2

Overview of Research Areas in Mechanical and Materials Engineering at
Karlstad University
Dr. Gunnel Fredriksson, Lecturer, Karlstad University
Abstract: The presentation will give an overview of research areas at the department of Mechanicaland Materials Engineering at Karlstad University, Sweden. Most of the courses at advanced levelare given in English and are open to exchange students. The research at the department is mainly
conducted within the multi-disciplinary research group “CMM, Characterizing and modeling ofmaterials – from nano to macro”. Here scientists from different disciplines; materials engineering,materials physics, mechanics and manufacturing, are working together. Focus areas in research arefatigue, tribology, solar cells and new carbon-based nanomaterials. Examples of applications inthese research areas will be explained in detail.

1Jorge Solis - CV
Associate Professor
Department for Engineering and Physics, Karlstad University
Email: jorge.solis@kau.se
Website: http://www.kau.se/en/elektroteknik/robotics
Phone: +46-54-700-1956 Fax: +46-54-700-1829

1. PhD degree− Ph.D. in Robotics, Robotic Control Systems for Learning and Teaching HumanSkills, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (Supervisors: Prof. Massimo Bergamasco,Prof. Carlo Alberto Avizzano, Prof. Paolo Ancilotti)
2. Docentship level− Docent in Electrical Engineering, Karlstad University
3. Present employment− Associate Professor, Department of Engineering and Physics, 2011-present
4. Previous employments− 6/2011- Current: Adjunct Researcher, Research Institute for Science andEngineering, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan− 4/2009 - 5/2011: Assistant Professor, Research Institute for Science andEngineering, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan− 10/2009 - 11/2009: Visiting Professor, Warsaw University of Technology, Warsaw,
Poland− 4/2006 - 03/2008: Research Associate, Department of Modern MechanicalEngineering, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
5. Appointments/board participation− General co-chair of the 14th Mechatronics Forum International Conference,Karlstad, Sweden, June 16-18th 2014.
− Representative from Karlstad University to the steering group for the Vocational
Education in Automation Engineering, Vocational School, Karlstad City
− Representative from Karlstad University to the steering group for the Automation
Network, Karlstad City− Co-Chair of the IEEE/RAS TC on Biorobotics− Official External Reviewer for Mexican National Council on Science andTechnology in area of Engineering and Industry, Mexico− Associate Editor for the International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems, IEEE
International Conference on Robotics and Automation, etc.
6. Selected scientific research grants (Principal investigator)− Development of a human-friendly assistive robot vehicle for supporting physicallyelderly and assisting care givers for the ambient assisted living, Grant-in-aid for
Associate Professor and Professor Research Support (LOPS14) from Karlstad
University (Dnr C2014/633), 2015~2017,Total Fund: 800,000 SEK− Development of an active interactive human-friendly robot by emulating thedexterity and perceptual capabilities of humans, Japanese Ministry of Education,
Culture, Sport, Science and Technology, 2011~2014,Total Fund: 3.3 million JPY

1Gunnel Fredriksson – CVLecturer
Department of Engineering and Physics, Karlstad University, Sweden
Email: gunnel.fredriksson@kau.se
Phone: +46-54-700 1258

1. Academic qualifications− Degree of Licentiate in Materials Science, Electrical Discharge Machining and theProperties of Tool Steels, Uppsala University (Supervisors: Prof. Sture Hogmark,Prof. Jens Bergström)− MSc in Engineering Physics, Uppsala University
2. Present employment− Lecturer in Materials Engineering, Department of Engineering and Physics, 1987present
3. Previous employments
10/1982 - 9/1987: Component Engineer, Ericsson, Stockholm
4. Appointments− Programme co-ordinator of the Master Programme in Mechanical Engineering(2012 - present)− Head of department of Materials and Mechanical Engineering (2006 – 2012)
5. Research Interests− Electrical discharge machining of tool steels with focus on its influence on
microstructure and fatigue properties.
− Additive manufacturing and selective laser melting of stainless steels, with focus
on microstructural characterization and electron microscopy.