Toru Makino

Papers

Total Citations

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About

Toru Makino is a leading researcher in the field of parallel robotics, with a particular focus on cable-driven and redundantly actuated mechanisms. His work centers on the design, kinetostatics, and control of novel parallel robots that leverage kinematic and actuation redundancy to overcome traditional limitations. Makino’s most significant contribution is the development of the "Atarigi Carrier" (ATARIGI), a two-limb, six-degrees-of-freedom parallel robot inspired by the Japanese cooking pestle. This innovative design, detailed in his 2018 paper, achieves both kinematic and actuation redundancy through eight actuators, enabling enhanced dexterity and force control. Earlier, in 2016, he proposed an 8-cable-driven parallel robot (CDPR) with a pulley-embedded moving platform, where kinematic redundancy was used to solve cable collision avoidance—a critical challenge in cable robotics. While his citation counts (8 and 4 for his most-cited works) reflect a specialized, emerging field, the originality of his designs—such as the ATARIGI’s biomimetic two-hand manipulation concept—marks him as a creative force in mechanism design. His research is particularly valuable for applications requiring high payload, large workspace, or safe human-robot interaction, making him a key figure to watch in the evolution of parallel and cable-driven robotics.