Rieko Osu

Kyoto University, Research Organization of Information and Systems, Japan Science and Technology Agency

Papers

Total Citations

186

H-Index

About

Rieko Osu is a pioneering researcher at the intersection of robotics, motor control, and computational neuroscience, best known for her groundbreaking work on the bidirectional flow of ideas between biological and robotic systems. Her most influential contribution is the development of a Kendama learning robot based on bi-directional theory (1996, 175 citations), which demonstrated how dynamic optimization principles can enable robots to learn complex motor tasks through observation and practice—a concept that has become foundational in motion capture and learning-by-watching paradigms. This work, executed using the SARCOS Dextrous Slave Arm, showed that robots with human-like kinematic structures could acquire dexterous manipulation skills by internalizing movement pattern perception. Osu has also championed the reciprocal exchange between biological and robotic research (2000), arguing that insights from anthropomorphic robots can illuminate neural mechanisms of motor control. Her career exemplifies how computational models of movement can both inspire robotic design and deepen our understanding of human motor learning, making her a key figure in the fields of bio-inspired robotics and motor neuroscience.