Papers
73
Total Citations
1,142
H-Index
17
About
Kenji Tahara is a prominent robotics researcher whose work spans dexterous manipulation, multi-fingered robotic hands, human-interactive robots, and musculoskeletal systems. He is perhaps best known for his foundational contributions to the control theory of soft-fingered robotic grasping, demonstrated through his highly cited 2001 paper on superposition principles for pinch motions (161 citations), which established passivity-based feedback control as a cornerstone approach for robot fingers with deformable tips. His subsequent work extended these ideas to multi-finger dynamic object manipulation and Riemannian-geometry frameworks for constrained robotic control, earning him broad recognition in the field. Tahara's 2017 review of grasp and dexterous manipulation from a control perspective (114 citations) has become an essential reference for researchers entering the domain. Beyond manipulation, he made significant contributions to human-interactive robotics through the development of RI-MAN, a soft care robot designed for nursing and welfare applications, reflecting his commitment to socially beneficial technology. His investigations into musculoskeletal and tendon-driven systems further demonstrate his versatility. With hundreds of cumulative citations and research touching both theoretical rigor and real-world application, Tahara stands as an influential figure bridging control theory and embodied robotic systems.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
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- 5Generation of Human Care Behaviors by Human-Interactive Robot RI-MAN70 citations · 2007
- 6A Soft Human-Interactive Robot RI-MAN37 citations · 2006
- 7Development and Evaluation of a Human-interactive Robot Platform "RI-MAN"36 citations · 2007
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- 9Robotic pinching by means of a pair of soft fingers with sensory feedback26 citations · 2002
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