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About

Sumito Nagasawa is a pioneering roboticist whose work bridges micro-robotics, bio-inspired design, and advanced control systems. His primary research focuses on developing miniature robots for swarm exploration, particularly micro hexapod robots capable of navigating hazardous environments like disaster zones. Nagasawa’s major contributions include a novel fabrication method that assembles micro hexapod robots from a single flexible printed circuit (FPC) sheet, dramatically reducing production costs and enabling mass production for swarm applications. His most cited work, “Posture stability control of a small inverted pendulum robot in trajectory tracking using a control moment gyro” (12 citations), introduces an innovative control method using a gyroscopic stabilizer to maintain balance in miniature inverted-pendulum robots. Further impact is seen in his MEMS-based compliant sheet fabrication (10 citations) and origami-like SU-8-coated rigid frame designs (7 citations), which enhance structural integrity while maintaining lightweight, low-cost production. Nagasawa has also developed SMA-based micro-hands for gesture communication and stacked electrostatic angle sensors for precise joint control. His interdisciplinary approach extends to engineering education, where he addresses challenges in online project-based learning for robotics workshops. With over 40 total citations across his portfolio, Nagasawa’s work is driving the next generation of affordable, agile micro-robots for real-world exploration.