Katsuhiko YAMADA

About

Katsuhiko Yamada is a robotics and control systems researcher whose career has been defined by pioneering contributions to space robotics, particularly the dynamics and control of free-flying robotic systems. His most influential work centers on arm path planning for space robots — developing elegant mathematical frameworks that exploit manipulator motion to govern spacecraft attitude without conventional thrusters. His 2002 paper on space robot arm path planning (35 citations) and his earlier foundational 1994 studies on attitude control and angular momentum management collectively established him as a key figure in this specialized field. Yamada's research on impact estimation during satellite capture (25 citations) addressed a critical safety challenge in on-orbit servicing, characterizing the impulsive forces generated when a robotic hand contacts a tumbling target. His 2006 work on impulsive control for angular momentum management of tumbling spacecraft further extended this practical scope. Beyond space robotics, Yamada contributed to industrial manipulator control through disturbance observer methodologies and learning-based contact motion controllers. With a body of work spanning computational algorithms, feedback control, and cyclic arm motion strategies, his research has meaningfully shaped how engineers approach autonomous robotic operations in the challenging microgravity environment of space.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Arm path planning for a space robot

   35 citations · 2002
2. 2
   Attitude control of space robot by arm motion

   28 citations · 1994
3. 3
   Impact estimation of a space robot at capturing a target

   25 citations · 2002
4. 4
   Impulsive control for angular momentum management of tumbling spacecraft

   23 citations · 2006
5. 5
   Arm path planning of a space robot with angular momentum

   23 citations · 1994
6. 6
   Feedback Control of Space Robot Attitude by Cyclic Arm Motion

   20 citations · 1997
7. 7
   Efficient Computation Algorithms for Manipulator Control of a Space Robot

   20 citations · 1990
8. 8
   Positioning control of direct drive robot with two-degree-of-freedom compensator

   10 citations · 2002
9. 9
   Attitude Control of a Space Robot by the Arm Motion

   6 citations · 1993
10. 10
    A fine contact motion of manipulators based on learning control

    5 citations · 2003

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links