Sungchul Kang
Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Samsung (South Korea), Korean Association Of Science and Technology Studies, Seoul National University, Kookmin University, Dongbu HiTek (South Korea), Korea Institute of Robot and Convergence, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Korea University of Science and Technology, Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi
Papers
80
Total Citations
1,744
H-Index
24
About
Sungchul Kang is a prominent robotics researcher whose work spans human-robot interaction, compliant mechanisms, surgical robotics, and autonomous navigation. His career has been defined by a persistent focus on making robots safer and more capable in real-world environments, particularly where humans and machines must coexist or collaborate. Kang's most influential contribution is his development of variable stiffness mechanisms for robot joints, most notably his leaf spring-based designs, which have collectively attracted hundreds of citations and addressed a fundamental tension in service robotics: balancing compliance for safety against performance. His early work on safe arm design using magneto-rheological compliant joints (2004) laid important groundwork for this research thread. Beyond manipulation, Kang has made significant contributions to robotic sensing, developing anthropomorphic hands equipped with PVDF-based tactile sensors capable of detecting both contact force and slip. His research extends into minimally invasive surgical robotics, where he has tackled instability challenges in concentric-tube robots and designed continuously variable stiffness mechanisms for microsurgical tools. Additional work on impedance learning via reinforcement learning and outdoor mobile robot navigation demonstrates the breadth of his expertise. With over 800 combined citations across his top works, Kang's research has meaningfully shaped modern service and medical robotics.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1A Robot Joint With Variable Stiffness Using Leaf Springs215 citations · 2011
- 2Robotics in Hazardous Applications107 citations · 2016
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6Development of Anthropomorphic Robot Hand with Tactile Sensor : SKKU Hand II58 citations · 2006
- 7Anisotropic Patterning to Reduce Instability of Concentric-Tube Robots58 citations · 2015
- 8Development of Tactile Sensor for Detecting Contact Force and Slip53 citations · 2006
- 9A variable stiffness joint using leaf springs for robot manipulators50 citations · 2009
- 10