Papers
5
Total Citations
321
H-Index
4
About
Yoshihiko Kuwana is a pioneering researcher at the intersection of biorobotics, chemical sensing, and insect neuroscience, best known for his groundbreaking work integrating living biological sensors with autonomous robotic systems. His most celebrated contributions center on harnessing the extraordinary chemical sensitivity of silkworm moth (*Bombyx mori*) antennae — capable of detecting just a few molecules of the pheromone Bombycol — as functional biosensors for mobile robot navigation. Kuwana's seminal 1999 study, which has accumulated 133 citations, demonstrated that a mobile robot equipped with real moth antennae could authentically replicate the pheromone-tracking behavior of male silkworm moths, a feat unachievable with conventional artificial gas sensors. His 2002 work on insect antenna-based steering control (91 citations) further refined this approach, offering practical frameworks for biologically inspired robot guidance systems. Across multiple publications, Kuwana employed recurrent neural networks to model and synthesize the emergent navigational behaviors observed in moths, bridging biological observation with computational modeling. His research has significantly advanced the fields of biosensors, biorobotics, and neuroethology, inspiring subsequent generations of researchers exploring living tissue integration in autonomous systems.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1
- 2Steering control of a mobile robot using insect antennae91 citations · 2002
- 3
- 4Synthesis of pheromone-oriented emergent behavior of a silkworm moth34 citations · 2002
- 5Synthesis of the pheromone-oriented behavior of silkworm moths by a mobile robot with moth antennae as pheromone sensors4 citations · 1999