Tetsushi Kamegawa

About

Tetsushi Kamegawa is a prominent robotics researcher whose work has fundamentally advanced the fields of search-and-rescue robotics, snake-like robot locomotion, and medical robotics. He is perhaps best known for pioneering the development of snake-like rescue robots, most notably the "KOHGA" platform (2004, 190 citations), which introduced a modular, multi-crawler architecture capable of navigating dangerously confined disaster environments. His subsequent refinement, "KOHGA2," addressed critical mechanical limitations by incorporating stuck-avoidance capabilities, demonstrating his commitment to practical, field-deployable systems. Kamegawa's research has significantly expanded snake robot locomotion theory, exploring helical rolling motion inside pipes, screw-drive mechanisms for omnidirectional mobility, and sound-based localization techniques for autonomous in-pipe inspection. His 2019 work on separable search-and-rescue robots further pushed boundaries by enabling a snake robot to detach from a mobile platform and operate independently as a multi-agent system. Notably, Kamegawa has also bridged robotics and medicine, contributing to CT-guided robotic needle insertion systems that demonstrated real clinical feasibility in both animal experiments and first-in-human trials. With over 700 cumulative citations across his most influential works, his research represents a compelling intersection of mechanical innovation, autonomous navigation, and life-saving application.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Development of the snake-like rescue robot "kohga"

   190 citations · 2004
2. 2
   Snake robots to the rescue!

   88 citations · 2002
3. 3
   Development of a separable search-and-rescue robot composed of a mobile robot and a snake robot

   73 citations · 2019
4. 4
   Development of an unit type robot "KOHGA2" with stuck avoidance ability

   71 citations · 2007
5. 5
   Modeling and Control of a Snake-Like Robot Using the Screw-Drive Mechanism

   57 citations · 2012
6. 6
   V-shift control for snake robot moving the inside of a pipe with helical rolling motion

   55 citations · 2011
7. 7
   Robotically Driven CT-guided Needle Insertion: Preliminary Results in Phantom and Animal Experiments

   53 citations · 2017
8. 8
   Robotic needle insertion during computed tomography fluoroscopy–guided biopsy: prospective first-in-human feasibility trial

   46 citations · 2019
9. 9
   A snake robot propelling inside of a pipe with helical rolling motion

   42 citations · 2010
10. 10
    Sound-based online localization for an in-pipe snake robot

    41 citations · 2016

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links