Sinji KOTANI

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About

Sinji Kotani is a pioneering figure in autonomous mobile robotics, with a career-long focus on biologically inspired navigation strategies for self-contained robots. His most cited work, “Self-contained mobile robot in campus road,” introduces the SbS (Sign-pattern fixed-action-chain) strategy, which draws from ethological studies of lower animals to enable robust outdoor navigation. Kotani’s major contribution is the development of Harunobu-4, a robot equipped with two color TV cameras and a 68020 VME system, capable of navigating campus roads through two core fixed-action behaviors: boundary-following (using road edges and flowerbeds as sign patterns) and goal-directed movement (using pillars, gates, and trees). The robot’s travel is governed by a “run command sheet”—a list of sign patterns and corresponding actions—allowing it to move from start to goal without pre-mapped routes. Kotani also integrated obstacle avoidance and step-climbing as fixed-action behaviors, using ultrasonic and bumper sensors. Though his citation count is modest (3 citations for this paper), his work represents an early, principled attempt to embed animal-like behavioral chains into a fully self-contained mobile platform, influencing subsequent research in behavior-based robotics and outdoor autonomous navigation.