Koki Yata

Papers

Total Citations

167

H-Index

About

Koki Yata is a pioneering researcher in agricultural robotics, with a specialized focus on automating the harvesting of tomato clusters in greenhouse environments. His work addresses a critical challenge in modern horticulture: replacing labor-intensive manual harvesting with intelligent robotic systems capable of operating efficiently in large-scale Dutch-style greenhouse production settings. Yata's most influential contribution, "Development of an End-Effector for a Tomato Cluster Harvesting Robot" (2010), has garnered 97 citations and represents a significant leap forward in robotic harvesting technology. Rather than targeting individual fruits, his end-effector design harvests entire fruit clusters, dramatically improving operational efficiency — a novel approach that set his work apart from conventional single-fruit robotic systems. Complementing this, his machine vision research from 2008 and 2009 (totaling 70 additional citations) laid the perceptual foundation for these robots, enabling automated detection and localization of tomato clusters in complex greenhouse environments. Collectively, Yata's body of work has accumulated over 167 citations, reflecting its meaningful impact on the agricultural engineering community. His research offers practical pathways toward sustainable, automated food production systems at a time when labor shortages and food security are pressing global concerns.