Kohtaro Matsumoto

About

Kohtaro Matsumoto is a pioneering researcher in space robotics, teleoperation, and orbital construction systems, whose work has significantly advanced humanity's capacity to operate robotic systems in space. Best known for his foundational contributions to time-delayed teleoperation, Matsumoto tackled one of the field's most persistent challenges: the 5–7 second signal delay that hampers real-time Earth-based control of orbital robots. His highly cited 2002 paper on force reflection for time-delayed teleoperation (74 citations) proposed innovative force-reflecting hand controllers and predictive simulation techniques that dramatically improved operator performance under these constraints. This work was complemented by an influential survey of teleoperation time-delay solutions (32 citations) and validated through hands-on experimentation with Japan's landmark Engineering Test Satellite-7 (ETS-7), where Matsumoto led teleoperated truss construction experiments in orbit. He also made notable contributions to the capture of non-cooperative tumbling satellites — a critical capability for space debris removal — and later expanded his vision toward lunar exploration, designing crawler-type vehicles and robotic architectures for lunar outpost construction. With a body of work spanning on-orbit assembly, force control, and planetary mobility systems, Matsumoto's research has left a lasting imprint on the future of space robotics.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Force reflection for time-delayed teleoperation of Space robots

   74 citations · 2002
2. 2
   Ground Experiment of Mechanical Impulse Method for Uncontrollable Satellite Capturing

   33 citations · 2001
3. 3
   Teleoperation with time delay: A survey and its use in space robotics

   32 citations · 2002
4. 4
   Force reflection for ground control of Space robots

   16 citations · 2000
5. 5
   TELEOPERATION CONTROL OF ETS-7 ROBOT ARM FOR ON-ORBIT TRUSS CONSTRUCTION

   13 citations · 1999
6. 6
   Deployable Truss Operation by ETS‐VII Robot Arm Using Force Accommodation Control

   5 citations · 2001
7. 7
   On-Orbit Construction Experiment by Tele-Operated Robot Arm

   5 citations · 1997
8. 8
   Teleoperation of a Truss Structure by Force Command in ETS-VII Robotics Mission

   4 citations · 2002
9. 9
   Design and Mobility Evaluation of a Crawler-Type Lunar Vehicle

   4 citations · 2006
10. 10
    A Plan for Lunar Outpost Construction by using Robots

    3 citations · 2011

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links