Hidehiko Okabe

Public Works Research Institute, Institute of Polymers

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Hidehiko Okabe is a pioneering figure in the field of robotic manipulation, with a focused expertise in developing sensor-integrated robotic hands for handling deformable materials, particularly cloth. His research addresses the fundamental challenge of enabling robots to interact with non-rigid, unpredictable objects—a task far more complex than handling solid parts. Okabe’s major contributions center on the design and experimental validation of a two-fingered robot hand equipped with a strain gauge sensor. This innovative hand can perform multiple critical functions: picking up a single piece of cloth from a stack, judging its thickness, and controlling its tension. His foundational work, spanning from 1989 to 2002, has accumulated over 49 citations, demonstrating its lasting influence on the robotics community. By tackling the specific, real-world problem of automated cloth handling, Okabe laid essential groundwork for applications in textile manufacturing, laundry automation, and soft robotics. His studies, which experimentally verified the hand’s plural functions, remain a key reference for researchers seeking to bridge the gap between rigid industrial automation and the flexible, adaptive manipulation required for handling textiles and other compliant materials.