Murata, Kowa develop personalized electric walking assist car

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Murata Manufacturing Co has teamed up with Kowa Co, a general manufacturer of welfare products, to develop a personalized electric walking assist car that goes by the name of KeePace.

As a result of the progress made in assist control systems, which incorporate Murata’s MEMS gyro sensor and inclinometers as well as its inverted pendulum control technology, uphill mobility support and turning functions have undergone a quantum leap in improvement.

Murata’s technological PR robots — the MURATA BOY bicycle-riding robot and MURATA GIRL unicycle-riding robot — use inverted pendulum control technology centered on gyro sensors to detect the inclination of the robot body to achieve “stopping without falling over,” where the robot comes to a standstill without toppling over.

The company applied this technology and exhibited a concept model of an electric walking Aassist car at last year’s CEATEC JAPAN 2011. Now it has worked on the joint development of this kind of vehicle with Kowa, which has cornered a 50% share of Japan’s market for electric walking assist cars for the elderly and handicapped, as a personalized transport vehicle designed to be used by the elderly and the handicapped who have problems walking.

Incorporated in the “assist control systems,” which are a Murata core technology, are Murata’s MEMS gyro sensors and inclinometers and the inverted pendulum control technology that makes use of these sensors, and by the optimal design of the drive mechanism and control units, a smaller size has been achieved while the uphill mobility support and turning functions have been significantly enhanced.

Hideharu Ieki, Executive Vice President of Murata Manufacturing, says, “We believe that there is still plenty of room for electronics to find uses in nursing care and welfare equipment.”