Papers
45
Total Citations
600
H-Index
11
About
Akio Gofuku is a prominent robotics researcher whose work spans snake robotics, mobile manipulators, and rescue robot systems. His most significant contributions lie in advancing the locomotion capabilities of snake robots, particularly in three-dimensional environments. Gofuku pioneered helical rolling motion for snake robots navigating cylindrical pipes — a breakthrough enabling inspection of confined industrial infrastructure — and extended this work to address complex branching pipe configurations, demonstrating remarkable persistence in a focused research thread spanning over a decade. His 2009 paper on cylinder-climbing locomotion (65 citations) and subsequent V-shift control work (55 citations) established foundational techniques still referenced in the field. Beyond snake robotics, Gofuku made notable contributions to mobile manipulator motion planning, developing manipulability-preserving strategies for intelligent robotic systems (71 citations). His applied work in disaster response robotics — designing rescue robots for post-earthquake survivor detection — reflects a consistent drive to translate theoretical advances into humanitarian applications. The 2019 separable search-and-rescue system (73 citations), combining mobile and snake robots into a versatile multi-agent platform, represents a capstone achievement synthesizing these research threads. With contributions accumulating over 400 citations, Gofuku's work has meaningfully shaped modern service and field robotics.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1
- 2Motion planning for mobile manipulator with keeping manipulability71 citations · 2003
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- 5A snake robot propelling inside of a pipe with helical rolling motion42 citations · 2010
- 6Development of a spherical stepping motor rotating around six axes32 citations · 2012
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