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About

Shinji Hokamoto is a robotics and aerospace engineer whose research has centered on the dynamics and control of space robotic systems, with particular expertise in nonholonomic control, flexible manipulators, and vision-based navigation. His foundational work in the mid-1990s established rigorous formulations for flexible space robots featuring deployable and slewing links, addressing the complex interplay between structural flexibility and manipulator dynamics — contributions that continue to inform spacecraft robotics design. His 2007 study on feedback control of planar space robots tackled the challenging problem of reorientation under angular momentum conservation constraints, developing smooth time-invariant control strategies for inherently nonholonomic systems. Hokamoto also extended his investigations to tethered space robots, exploring tension-based control methodologies that broaden the operational possibilities for on-orbit servicing. More recently, his 2013 work on wide-field optic flow navigation demonstrated a productive expansion into biologically inspired guidance systems for autonomous vehicles. With citations spanning multiple decades and research threads, Hokamoto has established a consistent and impactful presence in space robotics, offering students and researchers a rich body of work bridging theoretical dynamics with practical control engineering challenges.