Tomoko Kurotobi

About

Tomoko Kurotobi is a pioneering roboticist whose work sits at the intersection of biomechanics and humanoid robotics, with a primary focus on biologically-inspired musculoskeletal systems. Her research aims to bridge the gap between rigid industrial robots and the fluid, adaptive motion of living beings. Kurotobi's major contribution is her foundational design philosophy for "musculoskeletal humanoids," most notably demonstrated in her highly cited 2013 paper (63 citations), which outlines a comprehensive approach to replicating the complex interplay of bones, redundant muscles, and tendons found in the human body. She has advanced the field by tackling the immense challenge of achieving natural, dynamic contact motions—such as jumping, running, and landing—by mimicking human shock absorption strategies. A particularly innovative achievement is her "Direct-Mapping Method," which uses a wearable device with a muscle-like arrangement of linear encoders to intuitively control a tendon-driven robot, effectively allowing a human operator's movements to be directly mirrored by the machine. Through these contributions, Kurotobi has established a critical framework for building humanoids capable of the robust, versatile, and compliant behaviors necessary for real-world interaction.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Design Approach of Biologically-Inspired Musculoskeletal Humanoids

   63 citations · 2013
2. 2
   Achievement of complex contact motion with environments by musculoskeletal humanoid using humanlike shock absorption strategy

   9 citations · 2012
3. 3
   Motion control based on modification of the Jacobian map between the muscle space and work space with musculoskeletal humanoid

   5 citations · 2012
4. 4
   Controlling tendon driven humanoids with a wearable device with Direct-Mapping Method

   4 citations · 2012

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links