Kunihiro Sakamoto

Kanagawa Institute of Technology, The University of Tokyo

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Kunihiro Sakamoto’s research lies at the intersection of assistive robotics and autonomous decision-making under uncertainty. His most influential work, “Human balance measurement and human posture assist robot design” (2003, 7 citations), introduces a novel posture assist robot specifically designed for elderly and disabled individuals with impaired balance. The robot features a two-joint ankle and waist structure with a foot force pad, enabling it to sense body balance and actively raise a patient who has fallen—a practical contribution to rehabilitation and elder care robotics. In parallel, Sakamoto has advanced real-time robot decision-making with his work on the real-time QMDP method (2006, 5 citations), which integrates particle filters for state estimation with dynamic programming value functions to select optimal actions despite uncertain sensory input. This work addresses critical challenges in autonomous navigation and manipulation. While his citation counts are modest, Sakamoto’s contributions are notable for their direct application to human-robot interaction and safety, particularly in assistive contexts. His dual focus on mechanical design and algorithmic robustness makes his research valuable for students and engineers developing robots that must operate reliably in unpredictable, human-centered environments.