Norihiro Abe

Kyushu Institute of Technology, The University of Osaka

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Norihiro Abe is a pioneering researcher in the integration of virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence for industrial automation and remote maintenance. His key research areas include VR-based systems for machinery diagnostics, intelligent understanding of technical diagrams, and the development of autonomous robotic assembly. Abe’s most significant contribution is his work on remote maintenance systems for rotating machinery, where he demonstrated how VR can replace physical human presence for diagnosis and repair tasks—a concept that has gained increasing relevance in modern industry. His 2004 paper on this topic, with 10 citations, laid foundational ideas for telepresence in maintenance. Earlier, his 1990 paper on understanding illustrative diagrams in assembly manuals (6 citations) was a landmark in computer vision and robotics, proposing a system that could interpret visual instructions to guide automated assembly. Though his citation counts are modest, Abe’s work is notable for its foresight in combining VR, robotics, and diagram understanding—long before these fields converged. His research remains a reference for scholars exploring human-robot collaboration and intelligent maintenance systems.