Max Robotics — Global Service Robot Directory + US Certification

About

Masashi Seki is a robotics researcher focused on automating the labor-intensive operations of convenience stores, particularly the stocking, display, and disposal of products. His work addresses the challenge of handling a wide variety of product shapes and sizes in dynamic retail environments. Seki’s major contributions include the development of an XYZ stage-type display robot system for stock and disposal tasks (8 citations), which represents a significant step toward fully automating these operations. He also designed a novel robot hand with free-rotating grips that can switch between three grasping modes (2 citations), enabling robots to correct fallen product postures and handle items in any orientation. Additionally, Seki has pioneered automated display shelf systems with conveyor belt-type product face-up mechanisms and dynamic layout changes, aiming to reduce clerk workload and create new shopping experiences. His work on micro-logistics nodes envisions a future where shelves autonomously manage inventory and optimize product displays based on time and demand. With a growing portfolio of publications from 2021 to 2024, Seki is at the forefront of integrating robotics into retail automation, offering practical solutions to pressing labor shortages while enhancing customer engagement.