Authors:
Shunya Aoki
1
;
Sho Yokota
1
;
Akihiro Matsumoto
1
;
Daisuke Chugo
2
;
Satoshi Muramatsu
3
;
Katsuhiko Inagaki
3
and
Hiroshi Hashimoto
4
Affiliations:
1
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Toyo University, Saitama, Japan
;
2
School of Engineering, Kwansei Gakuin University, Sanda, Japan
;
3
Dept. of Applied Computer Eng., Tokai University, Hiratsuka, Japan
;
4
Adv. Institute of Industrial Tech, Shinagawa, Japan
Keyword(s):
Mechatronics, Sensing, Active Steering Caster, Shopping Cart, Passive Robotics.
Abstract:
The steering of the shopping cart is affected by its load, leading to the need for the user to make corrective adjustments and apply excessive force. In this study, the system assists the steering of a shopping cart by actively steering casters based on the user’s operational intention estimated from the user’s force. This paper provides a brief introduction to the operational interface and the active steering caster. Subsequently, it elaborates on the steering assist system designed for translational movement. Furthermore, we conduct experiments to evaluate the steerability through subjective and objective assessments. These results confirmed that the system can support the operating force and corrective steering. In addition, subjects feel less weight than the conventional carts and have more intuitive sense than the conventional cart.