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Research on housework labor saving and automation for housework robots is growing as the population grays and improved electronics are becoming available to the home. Special problems for housework robots include the enormous recognition complexity needed if such robots are to be highly independent of the work environment. Robot must deal, for example, with the variety of ""nonsolid"" household objects. We studied the technology by which a robot handles nonsolid objects, focusing on putting clothing to order at a specified site. Concrete subtasks this involves include removing one type of clothing from a wash and spreading out, classifying, folding, and putting it in a specified place. This paper proposes a ""unfolding"" planning strategy.

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2-2, Kand a-N is h i k ic ho Chi yo d a-k u , To k y 0, 1 0 1 J ap an AbstractThe research on the labor saving and the automation of housework by robots are proceeding rapidly with the reasons of increasing population of aged persons and advancing electronics in houses. The special problems concerning housework robots are the enormous complexity of working environment and huge number and various kinds of objects in a house. Therefore the recognition function of the robot is desired highly independent from working environment. Moreover, the robot should be able to treat various kind of "Non-solid Form Objects" exist in a house. The object of this research is to develop the technology by which the robot can manage the Non-solid form objects, especially clothes. The final goal of the research is the creation of the housekeeping robot which can manage unarranged clothes into the order at the specified place. Some of the concrete subtasks of this work are taking out one clothes, expanding, classifying, folding, and putting it on the specified place. In this paper we propose a planning strategy for unfolding task of clothes.

COVID-19 is around the world. We attempt to apply three-step method in ISO/IEC Guide 51: 2014 to COVID-19 infection control in the workplace. The results show that the COVID-19 infection control measures include the eradication of the virus, the destruction of infectivity, the detoxification and weakening and the elimination of opportunities for infection as “Inherently Safe Design Measures”, the avoidance of contact as “Safeguarding and Complementary Protective Measures” and the reduction of contact and the avoidance of seriousness as “Information for Use”. Among these specific measures, the New Normal, especially in the manufacturing industries, would be “telecommuting” and “unmanned workplaces”, which are part of the elimination of opportunities for infection, and “changes in flow lines” and “changes in airflow”, which are part of the avoidance of contact. Where “telecommuting” and “unmanned workplaces” are feasible, they should be implemented as much as possible, and where they are not, attempts should be made to minimize human-to-human contact by “changes in flow lines”. In addition, in the area of “changes in airflow”, there are high expectations for future research on how to establish a ventilation design for COVID-19, in which but also the source would be workers themselves, not only combustible gases and toxic gases.