Hirohiko Kawata
Papers
8
Total Citations
186
H-Index
6
About
Hirohiko Kawata is a pioneering robotics engineer whose research has fundamentally advanced the field of mobile robot sensing and autonomous navigation. Best known for developing the SOKUIKI sensor — an ultra-small, lightweight 2D laser range finder — Kawata's work has provided the robotics community with a compact, high-precision tool for environment recognition that balances performance with practical hardware constraints. His landmark 2005 paper on the optical range sensor system has garnered 88 citations, reflecting the widespread adoption of his hardware innovations across mobile robot platforms worldwide. Building on this foundation, Kawata extended his contributions into software and algorithmic domains, most notably through his development of "Intensity-ICP," a scan matching technique that leverages laser reflection intensity for robust robot localization and mapping. This approach, detailed in his 2006 work with 46 citations, overcomes a critical limitation of conventional methods by performing reliably even in geometrically featureless environments. His subsequent research explored object lightness estimation and landmark-based positioning systems, further broadening the SOKUIKI sensor's applicability. Collectively, Kawata's body of work represents a significant bridge between sensor hardware engineering and practical autonomous robot deployment.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1Development of ultra-small lightweight optical range sensor system88 citations · 2005
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