N. Kawahara

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About

N. Kawahara is a pioneering researcher in the field of microrobotics and wireless energy transmission systems, with a particular focus on developing miniaturized robotic systems capable of navigating confined spaces. Working primarily in the early 2000s, Kawahara made significant contributions to the design and implementation of in-pipe micro locomotive systems — compact, wireless robots engineered to inspect the interior surfaces of pipes as small as 10 mm in diameter. Among Kawahara's most notable achievements is the development of a microwave-based wireless energy supply system, which eliminates the need for physical tethering by transmitting power and commands to microrobots through 14 GHz microwave signals, achieving impressive DC conversion efficiencies. This breakthrough enabled fully autonomous in-pipe inspection robots equipped with CCD cameras, locomotive devices, and integrated control circuits — a remarkable engineering feat at such a miniature scale of just 9.5 mm in diameter. Kawahara's work has accumulated citations across multiple foundational papers — including 31, 18, 17, and 13 citations respectively — reflecting sustained interest from the robotics and micromachining communities. These contributions laid important groundwork for modern wireless microrobotics, influencing subsequent research in medical, industrial, and infrastructure inspection applications.