Manabu Sakai
Papers
9
Total Citations
154
H-Index
5
About
Manabu Sakai is a leading figure in computer-aided geometric design, whose work has fundamentally advanced the theory and application of smooth curve transitions. His research centers on the creation of fair, curvature-continuous curves—spirals with monotone curvature—using Pythagorean hodograph (PH) quintic and cubic Bézier polynomials. Sakai’s major contribution lies in developing elegant, single-segment solutions for smoothing arc splines, which are critical in manufacturing for CNC toolpaths and in highway and robot route planning. His most influential work, "Pythagorean hodograph quintic transition between two circles with shape control" (2007, 64 citations), provides a powerful method for G² continuous transitions with adjustable shape parameters. This was complemented by his work on G² cubic transitions (2008, 39 citations) and transitions for concentric or tangent circles (2008, 26 citations). A key achievement is his method for fairing arc splines—replacing C-, S-, and J-shaped biarc transitions with a single, smoother cubic Bézier spiral, achieving G² continuity while simplifying design. Collectively, Sakai’s research provides computationally stable, practical tools for generating high-quality, fair curves, directly impacting fields from automotive design to robotics.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1
- 2G2 cubic transition between two circles with shape control39 citations · 2008
- 3
- 4FAIRING ARC SPLINE AND DESIGNING BY USING CUBIC BÉZIER SPIRAL SEGMENTS8 citations · 2012
- 5Cubic Spiral Transition Matching G^2 Hermite End Conditions6 citations · 2011
- 6
- 7
- 8Interpolation with PH Quintic Spirals2 citations · 2010
- 9Smoothing Arc Splines by Cubic Curves2 citations · 2009