Masanori Harada

The University of Tokyo, National Defense Academy of Japan

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Masanori Harada’s research bridges the early web and modern robotics education, with a focus on distributed information systems and accessible STEM learning tools. His pioneering work on distributed web robots, detailed in his 1998 paper “Experiments of collecting WWW information using distributed WWW robots” (15 citations), laid groundwork for large-scale web crawling and information retrieval. More recently, Harada has made significant contributions to affordable robotics education. His 2022 paper “An Inexpensive Autonomous Mobile Robot for Undergraduate Education: Integration of Arduino and Hokuyo Laser Range Finders” (11 citations) demonstrates how to combine low-cost Arduino microcontrollers with Hokuyo laser range finders to create autonomous robots for mechanical engineering curricula. This work directly addresses the need for practical, budget-friendly STEM tools, enabling students to gain hands-on experience with sensors and control systems. Harada’s impact is evident in the sustained relevance of his early web research and the growing adoption of his educational robotics framework. His career exemplifies a shift from foundational internet technologies to democratizing robotics education, making complex systems accessible to undergraduates through clever integration of off-the-shelf components.