Papers
35
Total Citations
473
H-Index
12
About
Toru Omata is a leading figure in the development of dexterous, high-performance robotic hands and novel in-pipe mobile robots. His key research areas include anthropomorphic hand design, grasping-force amplification, and bio-inspired locomotion. Omata’s most impactful contribution is a lightweight (328 g) anthropomorphic robot hand that achieves a remarkable grasping force through a unique combination of flexion drives and a force-magnification mechanism (85 citations). He also pioneered the twisted bundled tube locomotive device for in-pipe inspection (57 citations) and a helical rotation robot inspired by spirochete bacteria (26 citations), both enabling flexible, non-damaging movement through small, winding pipes. His work extends to medical robotics with an assemblable three-fingered hand for laparoscopic surgery (20 citations), designed to be inserted through trocars and assembled inside the abdominal cavity. Omata has also advanced fundamental grasp theory, showing that fingertip equilibrium force computation is a linear programming problem (36 citations), and developed load-sensitive continuously variable transmissions for robot fingers (23 citations). His research consistently bridges elegant mechanical design with practical applications in surgery, inspection, and manipulation.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1
- 2A Twisted Bundled Tube Locomotive Device Proposed for In-Pipe Mobile Robot57 citations · 2015
- 3Fingertip positions of a multifingered hand36 citations · 2002
- 4Helical rotation in-pipe mobile robot26 citations · 2010
- 5Load-sensitive continuously variable transmission for robot hands23 citations · 2004
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