Keisuke Sakai

Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Osaka Institute of Technology

Papers

Total Citations

112

H-Index

About

Keisuke Sakai is a robotics researcher whose work bridges the gap between autonomous navigation and intuitive human-robot interaction. His foundational research in view-based robot navigation, introduced in his highly cited 2002 paper (99 citations), pioneered the use of visual appearance models—specifically "view sequences"—for route memorization and path following, offering a robust alternative to traditional metric mapping. This approach has influenced the field of appearance-based localization and navigation. Beyond navigation, Sakai has explored the social and interactive dimensions of robotics. He developed a system enabling a mobile robot to play "Red Light, Green Light" with a human using a laser range finder, demonstrating real-time player recognition and responsive behavior. He also contributed to human-robot teaching by creating a method where a robot follows a user to a target location, then uses orientation estimation to determine where an object is placed. While these interactive works have more modest citation counts, they showcase Sakai’s commitment to making robots more accessible and cooperative in everyday environments, blending perception, control, and social intelligence.