Mitsuru Higashimori

About

Mitsuru Higashimori is a robotics researcher whose work spans mobile robot locomotion, high-speed robotic manipulation, and the handling of deformable materials. He is perhaps best known for developing the extraordinary "100G Capturing Robot," a high-acceleration robotic gripper capable of seizing objects at 100 times the force of gravity — work that has attracted over 125 citations across two landmark papers and pushed the boundaries of what robotic hands can physically achieve. His research into dynamic manipulation, including a biomimetically inspired study of how pizza chefs wield their tools, demonstrates a distinctive flair for drawing engineering insight from everyday human dexterity. Higashimori has also made substantial contributions to mobile robotics, pioneering wheel-leg hybrid mechanisms — including an armadillo-inspired retractable module — that significantly improve obstacle-climbing capability. His work on viscoelastic and rheological object handling, modeled using Maxwell and four-element frameworks, has advanced robotic food processing and soft-material manipulation. More recently, he introduced the amphibious "Omni-Paddle" mechanism for ground-water border locomotion. With over 450 cumulative citations, Higashimori's portfolio reflects a career defined by creative mechanical design and rigorous dynamic analysis across diverse and challenging robotic domains.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Mechanical design of the Wheel-Leg hybrid mobile robot to realize a large wheel diameter

   95 citations · 2010
2. 2
   The 100 G capturing robot - too fast to see

   78 citations · 2003
3. 3
   Dynamic Manipulation Inspired by the Handling of a Pizza Peel

   57 citations · 2009
4. 4
   Design of the 100G Capturing Robot Based on Dynamic Preshaping

   49 citations · 2005
5. 5
   Active shaping of an unknown rheological object based on deformation decomposition into elasticity and plasticity

   44 citations · 2010
6. 6
   An Optimum Design of Robotic Hand for Handling a Visco-elastic Object Based on Maxwell Model

   44 citations · 2007
7. 7
   A New Four-Fingered Robot Hand with Dual Turning Mechanism

   26 citations · 2006
8. 8
   “Omni-Paddle”: Amphibious spherical rotary paddle mechanism

   22 citations · 2011
9. 9
   Armadillo-inspired wheel-leg retractable module

   21 citations · 2009
10. 10
    Robotic finger mechanism equipped omnidirectional driving roller with two active rotational axes

    16 citations · 2012

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links