Papers
10
Total Citations
81
H-Index
5
About
Hiroki Higa is a pioneering researcher in assistive robotics, dedicating his career to designing and developing robotic systems that restore independence for people with severe physical disabilities, particularly those affecting the upper extremities. His work centers on the engineering of intelligent, mobile robotic arms capable of performing everyday tasks — most notably self-feeding — that many individuals with limb disabilities cannot accomplish unaided. Higa's most celebrated contribution, a 7-degree-of-freedom self-feeding assistive robotic arm (2020, 21 citations), demonstrated human-like arm motion during meals using advanced inverse kinematics simulation. This built upon a decade-long research trajectory beginning with his portable mobile robotic arm design (2010, 19 citations), a compact 5 kg system that fit within a standard laptop briefcase, making assistive technology genuinely accessible. His subsequent work introduced vision-based control systems, HOG-based food detection algorithms, and eye-movement interfaces, progressively enhancing robot autonomy and usability. More recently, Higa has explored soft robotics, developing a thermoplastic polyurethane robotic hand capable of grasping 50 types of everyday objects (2022). With over 80 cumulative citations across his body of work, Higa's research represents a sustained and impactful commitment to improving the quality of life for individuals with physical disabilities through practical, human-centered robotic innovation.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1
- 2A mobile robotic arm for people with severe disabilities19 citations · 2010
- 3A Vision-Based Assistive Robotic Arm for People with Severe Disabilities9 citations · 2014
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7Design of a Mobile Robotic Arm for People with Severe Disabilities4 citations · 2011
- 8
- 9
- 10Trial Development of a Robotic Hand Based on Soft Robotics2 citations · 2022
Key Collaborators
Related papers
- A Self-Feeding Assistive Robotic Arm for People with Physical Disabilities of the Extremities
- Trial Development of a Mobile Feeding Assistive Robotic Arm for People with Physical Disabilities of the Extremities
- A mobile robotic arm for people with severe disabilities
- A mobile robotic arm for people with severe disabilities: Evaluation of scooping foods
- A Vision-Based Assistive Robotic Arm for People with Severe Disabilities
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