Hirochika Inoue

Biography

Hirochika Inoue’s pioneering work on robotics capabilities has provided critical components of today’s intelligent robots. In 1970, Dr. Inoue showed that force feedback was the key function for a robot to carry out dexterous manipulation like precise machine assembly. During the 1980s he explored visual guidance of robot motion with the development of a real-time robot vision system that enabled robots to interact with their environment and perform intelligent-like behavior. Applied to early versions of humanoids, this work set the standard for the use of vision in human–robot interaction seen in today’s Japanese robots. During the mid-1990s, Dr. Inoue and his students developed intelligent humanoid robots that not only walked but could also manipulate objects and act under visual guidance.

An IEEE Life member, Dr. Inoue is currently a Professor Emeritus of the University of Tokyo and advisor with the Digital Human Engineering Research Center at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Tokyo, Japan.