Masazumi Imai

Research

My research focuses on motion planning and control for multi-limbed robots on lunar and planetary terrain, inside space stations, and on asteroids.

Lunar and Planetary Climbing Exploration: Limbed Climbing Robotics

Rocky cliffs and lava tubes on the Moon and planets are scientifically valuable but difficult to access. Limbed climbing robots use grasping mechanisms at their limb tips to traverse extreme environments with uneven terrain and steep slopes. This research aims to establish autonomous locomotion capabilities for limbed climbing robots to explore diverse lunar and planetary terrain.

Related Publications

  1. LIMBERO: A Limbed Climbing Exploration Robot Towards Traveling on Rocky Cliffs

    Kentaro Uno*, Masazumi Imai*, Kazuki Takada, Teruhiro Kataonami, Yudai Matsuura, Antonin Ringeval-Meusnier, Keita Nagaoka, Mikio Eguchi, Ryo Nishibe, Kazuya Yoshida

    Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2026

    * These authors contributed equally to this work.

    VideoarXiv

  2. Admittance Control-based Floating Base Reaction Mitigation for Limbed Climbing Robots

    Masazumi Imai, Kentaro Uno, Kazuya Yoshida

    Proceedings of the 27th International Conference Series on Climbing and Walking Robots and the Support Technologies for Mobile Machines (CLAWAR 2024), vol. 1115, pp. 157-168, 2024

    DOIarXiv

Intra-Vehicular Mobility in Space Stations

This research focuses on motion planning and control for intra-vehicular robots that assist astronauts inside space stations, aiming to improve the efficiency of human activities in orbit.

Related Publications

  1. Graph-Based Simultaneous Path and Foothold Planning for Multi-Limbed Intra-Vehicular Robots in Space Stations

    Masazumi Imai, Kentaro Uno, Kazuya Yoshida

    Proceedings of the International Conference on Space Robotics (iSpaRo), pp. TBD, 2026

    VideoarXiv

  2. Towards the Automation in the Space Station: Feasibility Study and Ground Tests of a Multi-Limbed Intra Vehicular Robot

    Seiko Piotr Yamaguchi*, Kentaro Uno*, Yasumaru Fujii, Masazumi Imai, Kazuki Takada, Kazuya Yoshida

    Proceedings of the IEEE/SICE International Symposium on System Integration (SII), pp. 1095-1101, 2025

    * These authors contributed equally to this work.

    DOIarXiv

Locomotion in Microgravity

Limbed robots that move by grasping their surroundings offer a way to travel safely in microgravity environments, such as space stations and asteroids. This research focuses on reaction-aware motion planning and locomotion strategies in microgravity.

Related Publications

  1. RAMP: Reaction-Aware Motion Planning of Multi-Legged Robots for Locomotion in Microgravity

    Warley F. R. Ribeiro, Kentaro Uno, Masazumi Imai, Koki Murase, Kazuya Yoshida

    Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), pp. 11845-11851, 2023

    ICRA 2023 Outstanding Locomotion Paper FinalistIEEE RAS Japan Joint Chapter Young Award (ICRA 2023)VideoDOIarXivCode

  2. Mobility Strategy of Multi-Limbed Climbing Robots for Asteroid Exploration

    Warley F. R. Ribeiro, Kentaro Uno, Masazumi Imai, Koki Murase, Barış Can Yalçın, Matteo El Hariry, Miguel A. Olivares-Mendez, Kazuya Yoshida

    Proceedings of the 24th International Conference Series on Climbing and Walking Robots and the Support Technologies for Mobile Machines (CLAWAR 2023), pp. 33-45, 2023

    Highly Commended PaperDOIarXivCode