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About

Kenta Yonekura is a robotics researcher whose work centers on the physical control and dynamic manipulation of objects by humanoid robots, with a particular emphasis on rhythmic physical human-robot interaction. His major contributions lie in solving the complex challenge of enabling robots to perform tasks that require simultaneous control of energy transmission, rotational axis, and centrifugal force—such as rope turning. In his most cited work (11 citations), Yonekura introduced a method for physically controlling the rotation center of an unsupported object, a feat previously difficult to achieve. He further advanced this by developing techniques for flexible object manipulation, allowing a humanoid robot to turn a rope autonomously. Yonekura also contributed to whole-body motion input systems, creating a key pose input method using a Kinect sensor that simplifies motion generation for bipedal robots. His research on multimodal rhythms in physical interaction revealed that humans rely more on auditory and force cues than visual ones during cooperative tasks, offering key insights for designing more intuitive human-robot collaboration. Through these achievements, Yonekura has laid foundational work for robots that can physically cooperate with humans in dynamic, rhythmic tasks.