Max Robotics — Global Service Robot Directory + US Certification

About

Naoyuki Sawasaki is a robotics researcher whose career spans several decades and encompasses a remarkably diverse range of contributions to robotic manipulation, humanoid systems, service robotics, and aerial inspection technologies. His earliest and most-cited work, "Tumbling Objects Using a Multi-fingered Robot" (1991, 57 citations), established him as an innovative thinker in robotic manipulation, demonstrating how pushing and tumbling operations could dramatically expand the practical domains of robotic use. This thread continued through his investigations into cooperative manipulation by autonomous intelligent robots in the early-to-mid 1990s, exploring optimal force distribution through local sensor feedback. Sawasaki later contributed to Japan's prestigious Humanoid Robotics Project (HRP), co-authoring multiple papers on humanoid applications in building and home management services, reflecting his commitment to translating research into real-world utility. His 2006 work on embedded vision systems and communicative service robots further demonstrated his versatility across hardware design and human-robot interaction. Perhaps most notably, his late-career pivot toward drone-based infrastructure inspection — culminating in a widely cited bridge inspection system using two-wheeled multicopters and 3D modeling (2017, 34 citations) — showcases his ability to address urgent societal challenges through cutting-edge robotics, leaving a meaningful legacy across multiple generations of the field.