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Welcome to the webpage of the Robotic Manipulation Group in the Systems Control Laboratory, Wakayama University. We are doing research on robotic manipulation towards practical application in the industry, especially for the next-generation robotic manufacturing systems which could contribute to agile manufacturing. Mainly, we are developing versatile robotic hands and manipulation strategy for the hands to realize robotic assembly tasks.

Specific topics of our research can be seen here.


News & Topics
Nov. 11, 2024 Our paper, "A Robust Grasping Strategy Using a Versatile Hand with Parallel Stick Fingers for a Cylindrical Part at an Arbitrary Position in a Parts Tray Compartment," was accepted for publication in Journal of the Robotics Society of Japan.
Oct. 3, 2024 Associate Prof. Dobashi won the Best Paper Award in the Department of Systems Engineering, Wakayama University for our paper, "Analysis of the Performance of Robotic Assembly Systems Considering the Usage of Tools or Jigs for the Task-board Task in the WRS 2018."
Sep. 19, 2024 Associate Prof. Dobashi won the 2023 Young Researcher's Award at Wakayama University.
Sep. 6, 2024 At RSJ2024, our research, "Study on Four-Fingered Hand and Grasping Strategy for Realizing In-Hand Reorientation of an Object," was presented by the member, Ms. Nakagawa.
Sep. 5, 2024 At RSJ2024, our research, "Efficient Arrangement Planning of Tableware Considering Weight Balance Toward Full Robotization of Removal of Tableware," was presented by the member, Mr. Kudo.
Sep. 4, 2024 At RSJ2024, our research, "Study on Design Guidelines of Parallel Gripper Jaws and Motion Strategy for Realizing Grasping and Opening a Terminal Cover" and "Study on Grasping and Motion Strategies for Realizing Palletizing and Depalletizing Cardboard Boxes," were presented by the members, Mr. Kinugawa and Mr. Igai, respectively.
Sep. 3, 2024 At the 20th IEEE/ASME International Conference on Mechatronic, Embedded Systems and Applications (MESA 2024), our research, "Quasi-Static Analysis of Orientational Alignment of a 2-D Part toward a 2nd-order Form Closure Grasp with Circular Fingers," was presented by the member, Mr. Sumi.
Jul. 15, 2024 Our paper, "Study on a Stem Removal Method for Cherry Tomatoes Capable of Avoiding Dehiscence Using an Iris Mechanism," was accepted for publication in Journal of the Robotics Society of Japan.
Jun. 7, 2024 Our paper, "Quasi-Static Analysis of Orientational Alignment of a 2-D Part toward a 2nd-order Form Closure Grasp with Circular Fingers," was accepted for the 20th IEEE/ASME International Conference on Mechatronic, Embedded Systems and Applications (MESA 2024).
May 16, 2024 At the 2024 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2024), our research, "Development of a Versatile Robotic Hand Toward Jig-less Assembly of a Shaft-shaped Part," was presented by the ex-member, Mr. Shibata. Also, he won the 2024 IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Japan Joint Chapter Young Award (ICRA 2024) for the paper.
Mar. 25, 2024 Mr. Shibata won the 2023 JSME Miura Award, Mr. Ogawa won the 2023 SICE Excellent Student Award, and Mr. Sakaguchi won the 2023 JSME Hatakeyama Award as well as Excellent Student Award at Wakayama University.
Jan. 11, 2024 Our paper, "Design of Gripper Jaws Applicable to Multiple Sizes and Types of Bowls for Upside-down Placement in a Dishwasher Rack," was accepted for publication in Journal of the Robotics Society of Japan.
Dec. 22, 2023 Our paper, "Jig-less Assembly of a Gear Unit with a Versatile Hand Equipped with Functions for Reorientation and Alignment of a Shaft-shaped Part," was accepted for publication in Journal of the Robotics Society of Japan.
Dec. 16, 2023 At SI2023, our research, "Analysis of the Relationship between the Pressed Depth and the Change of the Contour in Grasping of Shaped Food with a Parallel Gripper," was presented by the member, Mr. Tanimura.
Dec. 15, 2023 At SI2023, our research, "Study on a Robust Grasping Strategy using a Versatile Hand with Parallel Stick Fingers for a Cylindrical Part supplied in a Compartment of a Tray," was presented by the member, Mr. Sakaguchi.
Dec. 12, 2023 Our paper, "Study on a Method to Derive the Optimal Grasping Points for an Object with Indeterminate Center of Gravity," was accepted for publication in Journal of the Robotics Society of Japan.
Nov. 23, 2023 Our paper, "Development of a Versatile Robotic Hand toward Jig-less Assembly of a Shaft-shaped Part," was accepted for publication in IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters. Also, our paper, "Development of a Precise Measurement Device with a Flatbed Scanner for the Pose of a Part in Alignment Operations," was accepted for publication in Journal of the Robotics Society of Japan.
Nov. 10, 2023 Dr. Dobashi's commentary paper, "A Robotic Hand Mechanism and a Grasp Planning Method to Realize Sensor-less Grasping," was published in the magazine of the Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, Mechanical Design.
Oct. 7, 2023 Our paper, "Study on Feasibility of Alignment of Parts for 2nd-order Form Closure Grasps with Circular Fingers Based on Dynamic Analysis," was accepted for publication in Journal of the Robotics Society of Japan.
Oct. 5, 2023 The co-authored book, "Robot Mechanics (revised edition)," was published.
Sep. 15, 2023 Our research on a versatile robotic hand with telescopic fingers was introduced in an article of the newspaper, the Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun.
Sep. 14, 2023 At RSJ2023, our research, "Development of a Precise Measurement Device with a Flatbed Scanner for the Pose of a Part in Alignment Operations" and "Study on Analytical Derivation of the Permissible Initial Position Error Region of a Cylindrical Part for Grasping with Rotational Chuck-type Three-fingered Hand," were presented by Associate Prof. Dobashi and the member, Mr. Takahashi, respectively.
Sep. 13, 2023 At RSJ2023, our research, "Study on Effective Method to Remove Stems of Cherry Tomatoes with a Robot," was presented by the member, Mr. Nagasako. Moreover, Associate Prof. Dobashi won the 37th Best Paper Award of the Robotics Society of Japan.
Sep. 12, 2023 At RSJ2023, our research, "Study on Feasibility of Alignment of Parts for 2nd-order Form Closure Grasps with Circular Fingers Based on Dynamic Analysis," "Study on a Method to Derive the Optimal Grasping Points for an Object with Indeterminate Center of Gravity," "Design of Gripper Jaws Applicable to Multiple Sizes of Bowls for Upside-down Placement in a Dishwasher Rack," and "Jig-less Assembly of a Gear Unit with a Versatile Hand Equipped with Functions for Reorientation and Alignment of a Shaft-shaped Part," were presented by the members, Mr. Sumi, Mr. Naotaka, Mr. Otsuji, and Mr. Shibata, respectively.
Sep. 4, 2023 Our paper, "Analysis of the Performance of Robotic Assembly Systems Considering the Usage of Tools or Jigs for the Task-board Task in the WRS 2018," was accepted for publication in Advanced Robotics.
Apr. 28, 2023 Our paper, "Orientational Transition of a Part by Parallel Gripper Allowing Interference with the Gripper Jaw and Release in an Unstable Orientation," was accepted for publication in Journal of the Robotics Society of Japan.
Apr. 1, 2023 Dr. Dobashi was promoted to associate professor.
Mar. 28, 2023 The co-authored paper, "Jigless assembly of an industrial product by a universal robotic hand mounted on an industrial robot," was accepted for publication in Robotica.
Mar. 24, 2023 Ms. Kanaya won the 2022 JSME Miura Award, and Mr. Otsuji won the 4th Excellent Student Award of the Robotics Society of Japan.
Feb. 23, 2023 Our paper, "Derivation of a Permissible Initial Pose Error Region of a Part to be Grasped based on the Dynamic Pushing Operation Analysis Considering Wobbling," was accepted for publication in Journal of the Robotics Society of Japan.
Feb. 8, 2023 Mr. Ogawa won the Best Session Presentation Award of the SI2022 for our research, "Analysis of the Robotic Assembly for the Task-board Task in the WRS 2020." [article (in Japanese)]
Jan. 30, 2023 Our paper, "A Search Method of Stable Grasping Points for Grasping and High-speed Transportation of Food," was accepted for publication in Journal of the Robotics Society of Japan.
Jan. 19, 2023 At the 2023 IEEE/SICE International Symposium on System Integrations (SII 2023), our research, "Study on Jig-less Assembly of Shaft-shaped Parts with an Improved Versatile Hand with Parallel Stick Fingers," was presented by the member, Mr. Shibata.
Dec. 16, 2022 At SI2022, our research, "Statistical Modeling for Determining Hardness of Cherry Tomatoes by Stem Removal Operation," was presented by the member, Mr. Nagasako.
Dec. 14, 2022 At SI2022, our research, "Analysis of the Robotic Assembly for the Task-board Task in the WRS 2020" and "Derivation of the Optimal Grasping Points for an Object with Indeterminate Center of Gravity," were presented by the members, Mr. Ogawa and Mr. Naotaka, respectively.
Nov. 4, 2022 At the 9th Engineering Research Seeds Joint Conference of Osaka Metropolitan Univ. and Wakayama Univ., Lecturer Dobashi presented on our research, "Study on External Sensorless Manipulation for Assembly of Rigid and Flexible Parts with Robotic Hands."
Oct. 6, 2022 Lecturer Dobashi won the Best Paper Award in the Department of Systems Engineering, Wakayama University for our paper, "Robust Assembly Strategy of a Timing Belt in the Belt Drive Unit against its Shape Uncertainty with a Single Parallel Jaw Gripper."
Oct. 2, 2022 Our paper "Study on Jig-less Assembly of Shaft-shaped Parts with an Improved Versatile Hand with Parallel Stick Fingers" was accepted for the 2023 IEEE/SICE International Symposium on System Integrations (SII 2023).
Sep. 8, 2022 At RSJ2022, our research, "A Search Method of Stable Grasping Points for Grasping and High-speed Transportation of Food," "Reorientation of Parts with a Parallel Jaw Gripper Allowing Interference between the Jaws and Parts and Releasing at Unstable Orientations," and "Study on Causal Relationship between Difficulty Elements and Difficulty in Robotic Assembly," were presented by the members, Mr. Yamamoto, Mr. Saito, and Mr. Murakawa, respectively.
Sep. 6, 2022 Our paper, "Planning of Robust Grasping Strategy of Cylindrical Parts in Contact with Inner Sides of a Parts Tray Using a Versatile Robotic Hand with Parallel Stick Fingers," was accepted for publication in Journal of the Robotics Society of Japan.
Sep. 5, 2022 At RSJ2022, our research, "Planning of Robust Grasping Strategy of Cylindrical Parts in Contact with Inner Sides of a Parts Tray Using a Versatile Robotic Hand with Parallel Stick Fingers" and "Derivation of the Permissible Initial Pose Error Region of a Part Based on Dynamical Analysis of Pushing Operation Considering Wobbling," were presented by the members, Ms. Kanaya and Mr. Nguyen, respectively.
Jul. 12, 2022 The co-authored paper of Lecturer Dobashi, "Task board for the World Robot Summit 2020," was accepted for publication in Advanced Robotics.
Jul. 10, 2022 The co-authored paper of Lecturer Dobashi, "Evaluation Technology of Robotic Assembly Systems with the Task Board," was published in Journal of The Society of Instrument and Control Engineers.
Jun. 28, 2022 The co-authored paper of Lecturer Dobashi, "World robot summit 2020 assembly challenge - summary of the competition and its outcomes," was accepted for publication in Advanced Robotics.
Jun. 2, 2022 At ROBOMECH2022, our research, "Analysis of the Task-board Task in the WRS 2018 considering Usage of Tools," was presented.
Apr. 5, 2022 Our research on an assembly strategy of a timing belt by a parallel jaw gripper was introduced in an article of the newspaper, the Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun.
Mar. 25, 2022 Mr. Minami won the 2022 SICE Excellent Student Award, and Mr. Shibata won the 3rd Excellent Student Award of the Robotics Society of Japan.
Feb. 4, 2022 Our paper, "Robust Assembly Strategy of a Timing Belt in the Belt Drive Unit against its Shape Uncertainty with a Single Parallel Jaw Gripper," was accepted for publication in Advanced Robotics.
Jan. 24, 2022 Mr. Shibata won the Best Session Presentation Award of the SI2021 for our research, "Development of Finger Mechanism of a Versatile Robotic Hand for Jig-less Assembly of a Shaft-shaped Part." [article (in Japanese)]
Jan. 11, 2022 At the 2022 IEEE/SICE International Symposium on System Integrations (SII 2022), our research, "Case Study on a Grasping Strategy of a Cylindrical Part along Inner Sides of a Parts Tray Using a Parallel Stick Fingered Hand," was presented by the member, Ms. Kanaya.
Dec. 17, 2021 At SI2021, our research was presented by the members, Mr. Yamamoto, Mr. Murakawa, and Mr. Shibata, and also the collaborative research by Associate Prof. Shibata at Kindai University (the presentation title of each person can be seen here).
Dec. 7, 2021 Our paper, "Fundamental Study on the Feasibility of Alignment of Parts for 2nd-order Form Closure Grasps by Two Circular Fingers," was accepted for publication in Journal of the Robotics Society of Japan.
Oct. 22, 2021 Our paper, "Case Study on a Grasping Strategy of a Cylindrical Part along Inner Sides of a Parts Tray Using a Parallel Stick Fingered Hand," was accepted for the 2022 IEEE/SICE International Symposium on System Integrations (SII 2022).
Sep. 16, 2021 Lecturer Dobashi and our research were introduced in an article of the web magazine, robot digest.
Sep. 10, 2021 At RSJ2021, our research, "Fundamental Study on the Feasibility of Alignment of Parts for 2nd-order Form Closure Grasps by Two Circular Fingers," was presented by the member, Mr. Minami.
Sep. 1, 2021 Lecturer Dobashi and our research were introduced in a sequel article of the magazine, SEISANZAI Marketing Magazine.
Aug. 26, 2021 Lecturer Dobashi and our research were introduced in an article of the web magazine, robot digest.
Aug. 1, 2021 Lecturer Dobashi and our research were introduced in an article of the magazine, SEISANZAI Marketing Magazine.
Jun. 7, 2021 At ROBOMECH2021, our research, "Orientational Transition Analysis of Three-Dimensional Part Allowing Release Motion in Unstable Orientations," was presented by the member, Mr. Saito.
May 16, 2021 The co-authored paper of Lecturer Dobashi, "A Work Time Calculation Method of Parts Alignment Robots Using State Transition Speed Diagram," was accepted for publication in Journal of the Robotics Society of Japan.
Apr. 15, 2021 The co-authored paper of Lecturer Dobashi, "Analysis of Multi-arm Robot Assembly Using a Task Board for the World Robot Summit 2018," was published in Transactions of the Institute of Systems, Control, and Information Engineers.
Mar. 25, 2021 Mr. Fukunishi won the 2020 JSME Miura Award, and Ms. Kanaya won the 2nd Excellent Student Award of the Robotics Society of Japan.
Jan. 26, 2021 Mr. Minami won the Best Session Presentation Award of the SI2020 for our research, "Study on Feasibility of Alignment for 2nd-Order Form Closure Grasp by Robotic Hand with Parallel Stick Fingers." [article (in Japanese)]
Jan. 14, 2021 At the 2021 IEEE/SICE International Symposium on System Integrations (SII 2021), our research, "Optimal Design of Rotational Chuck-type Hand with Three Parallel Stick Fingers for Assembly Tasks through Grasp Optimization," was presented by the member, Mr. Fukunishi.
Jan. 13, 2021 At the 2021 IEEE/SICE International Symposium on System Integrations (SII 2021), our research, "Study on Generality of Roller Chain Assembly Strategy with Parallel Jaw Gripper," was presented by the member, Mr. Tatemura.
Dec. 25, 2020 The co-authored paper of Lecturer Dobashi, "Analysis of Multi-arm Robot Assembly Using a Task Board for the World Robot Summit 2018," was accepted for publication in Transactions of the Institute of Systems, Control, and Information Engineers.
Dec. 16, 2020 At SI2020, our research was presented by the members, Mr. Murakawa, Mr. Minami, Ms. Kanaya, Mr. Funai, Mr. Takagi, and Mr. T. Yamamoto (the presentation title of each member can be seen here).
Nov. 06, 2020 Our paper, "Study on Generality of Roller Chain Assembly Strategy with Parallel Jaw Gripper," was accepted for the 2021 IEEE/SICE International Symposium on System Integrations (SII 2021).
Oct. 05, 2020 Our paper, "Optimal Design of Rotational Chuck-type Hand with Three Parallel Stick Fingers for Assembly Tasks through Grasp Optimization," was accepted for the 2021 IEEE/SICE International Symposium on System Integrations (SII 2021).
Sep. 28, 2020 At the webpage of the Innovation JAPAN 2020 (in Japanese), our research of an assembly strategy of a roller chain by a parallel jaw gripper was presented.
Aug. 4, 2020 At the webpage of the Virtual Open Campus of Wakayama University (in Japanese), the introductionary video of our research on the versatile robotic hand with robust grasping strategy for assembly tasks was released.
May 31, 2020 At the 2020 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2020), our research, "Strategy for Roller Chain Assembly with Parallel Jaw Gripper," was presented by the member, Mr. Tatemura.
May 22, 2020 At SCI'20, our research, "Form Measurement of Timing Belt toward Automatic Assembly Independent of Individual Differences with Parallel Gripper," was presented by the member, Mr. Nishimura, and he won the SCI Student Presentation Award of the 64th Annual Conference of ISCIE (SCI'20). Also, the collaborative research with Kobe University, AIST, Kindai University, etc., "Overview of "Assembly Challenge", a Robot Competition of Industrial Robotics Category, World Robot Summit 2020" and "Development of a Task Board for Assembling a Belt Drive Unit," were presented.
Apr. 16, 2020 Lecturer Dobashi won 2019 JSME Young Engineers Award.
Mar. 25, 2020 Mr. Tatemura won the 1st Excellent Student Award of the Robotics Society of Japan.
Mar. 17, 2020 Our research on an assembly strategy of a roller chain by a parallel jaw gripper was introduced in an article of the newspaper, the Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun.
Jan. 22, 2020 Our paper, "Strategy for Roller Chain Assembly with Parallel Jaw Gripper," was accepted for the 2020 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2020).
Jan. 19, 2020 Our paper, "Strategy for Roller Chain Assembly with Parallel Jaw Gripper," was accepted for publication in IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters.
Jan. 15, 2020 At the 2020 IEEE/SICE International Symposium on System Integrations (SII 2020), our research, "Minimization of Actuator's Driving Force of Chuck-type Hand with Three Parallel Stick Fingers through Grasp Optimization," was presented by Mr. Fukunishi.
Dec. 27, 2019 Mr. Yamaguchi won the Best Session Presentation Award of the SI2019 for our research, "Development of Versatile Robotic Hand to Realize Picking, Reorientation and Alignment of Shaft-shaped Part without Utilizing Environment." [article (in Japanese)]
Dec. 14, 2019 At SI2019, our research, "Mechanical Analysis on Manipulation Strategy for Grasping Parts Supplied in the Corner of a Tray by Versatile Robotic Hand with Parallel Stick Fingers," "Assembly Strategy of Timing Belt with Parallel Gripper," "Experimental Study for Reducing Damage to Jaw in Roller Chain Assembly with Parallel Gripper," and "Development of Versatile Robotic Hand to Realize Picking, Reorientation and Alignment of Shaft-shaped Part without Utilizing Environment" were presented by the members, Mr. Tanimukai, Mr. Nishimura, Mr. Tatemura, and Mr. Yamaguchi, respectively.
Nov. 4, 2019 At the 2019 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2019) Workshop, our research, "Analysis and Consideration of Side Bow for Roller Chain Assembly," was presented by the member, Mr. Tatemura.
Sep. 18, 2019 The co-authored paper of Lecturer Dobashi, "Assembly Challenge: A Robot Competition of the Industrial Robotics Category, World Robot Summit -Summary of the Pre-Competition in 2018-," was published in Advanced Robotics.
Jun. 7, 2019 At ROBOMECH2019, our research, "Method to Realize Picking, Reorientation and Alignment of Shaft-shaped Part with Single Robotic Hand without Utilizing Environment," was presented by the member, Mr. Yamaguchi.
Apr. 26, 2019 The co-applied patent of Lecturer Dobashi, "Productivity Evaluation System and Method of Mechanical Systems," was granted.
Apr. 25, 2019 The co-authored book of Lecturer Dobashi, "Robot Mechanics," was reprinted with slight modifications.
Apr. 15, 2019 The co-authored paper of Lecturer Dobashi, ""Assembly Challenge", a Robot Competition of the Industrial Robotics Category, World Robot Summit 2018," was published in the Journal of the Robotics Society of Japan.
Mar. 5, 2019 The Best Session Presentation Award of the SI2018 was given to our research, "Wobble Judgment of 3-D Part in Pushing Operation by Stick Finger Considering Admissible Motion" presented by the member, Mr. Yamamoto.
[article (in Japanese)]
Jan. 15, 2019 At the 2019 IEEE/SICE International Symposium on System Integrations (SII 2019), our research, "Geometrical Solution of Finger Arrangement Problem onto Target Part toward Design of Chuck-type Hand with Three Parallel Stick Fingers," was presented by Lecturer Dobashi.
Jan. 6, 2019 Our developed versatile robotic hand was introduced in the TV program on TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System) Television, "Origin of the Future".