Masahiro Yagi

University of Wisconsin System, University of Wisconsin–Madison

Papers

Total Citations

106

H-Index

About

Masahiro Yagi is a pioneering figure in the field of bipedal robotics, with a focused career dedicated to solving one of the most challenging problems in humanoid locomotion: navigating environments cluttered with unknown obstacles. His research centers on sensor-based motion planning and the synthesis of stable walking patterns, enabling robots to move autonomously through real-world scenes without pre-mapped data. Yagi’s most influential work, “Biped robot locomotion in scenes with unknown obstacles” (2003, 78 citations), established a foundational framework for using local sensor information to dynamically adjust walking trajectories. He further advanced the field by investigating specialized maneuvers, such as turning pattern synthesis (2002, 17 citations), which is critical for free navigation on two-dimensional surfaces. His early contributions (2000, 11 citations) laid the groundwork for online decision-making systems that allow biped robots to negotiate obstacles based on real-time shape and location data. Yagi’s cumulative impact—evident in the continued citation of his work—has helped bridge the gap between theoretical gait generation and practical, obstacle-aware locomotion, making him a key reference for researchers in humanoid robotics and autonomous navigation.