Max Robotics — Global Service Robot Directory + US Certification

About

Hiroumi Horimoto is a robotics and marine technology researcher whose work sits at the compelling intersection of autonomous underwater systems and marine biology. His primary research focus is the development of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) capable of observing and tracking marine life without the invasive practice of attaching tracking tags to animals — a significant ethical and practical advancement in wildlife monitoring. Horimoto's most influential contribution, "Tracking a Sea Turtle by an AUV with a Multibeam Imaging Sonar" (2020), has garnered 38 citations and demonstrates a fully realized system for robotic sea turtle observation. This work builds upon a progressive research trajectory beginning with his 2018 paper on autonomous sea turtle detection and his 2019 study proposing convolutional neural network-based tracking methods, which together have accumulated an additional 22 citations. Collectively, his research establishes a robust pipeline — from detection to autonomous tracking — using multibeam imaging sonar as the primary sensing modality. By enabling long-term, tag-free observation of marine animals, Horimoto's research opens new possibilities for understanding wildlife behavior in natural underwater environments, offering an innovative tool for marine biologists and conservationists worldwide. His work exemplifies how robotics can be thoughtfully applied to solve real ecological challenges.