Shigeo Murakami

Dainichiseika (Japan), SCREEN (Japan), Ritsumeikan University

Papers

Total Citations

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About

Shigeo Murakami is a pioneering researcher in underwater robotics, specializing in the development of small, agile robotic systems for challenging inspection tasks. His core research areas include mechanical contact mechanisms, underwater manipulation, and autonomous inspection of marine infrastructure. Murakami’s major contribution is the design of a novel mechanical contact mechanism that allows lightweight underwater robots to maintain stable positioning against currents and structural surfaces—a critical advancement for capturing clear images and enabling precise manipulator work in turbulent environments. His most-cited work, "Development of an Underwater Robotic Inspection System using Mechanical Contact" (2013, 26 citations), demonstrates how this approach enhances stability for visual inspection and manipulator tasks. In "Ship hull inspection using a small underwater robot with a mechanical contact mechanism" (2012, 14 citations), he successfully applied this technology to real-world ship hull inspections, integrating hand-eye vision and stereo camera systems. Additionally, his development of a removable multi-DOF manipulator system (2011, 9 citations) for man-portable robots expands the versatility of small underwater platforms. Murakami’s work directly addresses the practical challenges of underwater inspection, offering robust, field-ready solutions that have influenced subsequent research in marine robotics and infrastructure maintenance.