# Episode Twenty-One: Sean Katagiri

- Show: [Robot Talk](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk)
- Published: 2022-10-14
- Length: 14m
- Episode: 21
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2022-10-14-episode-twenty-one-sean-katagiri
- Listen: https://ukrobotics.libsyn.com/episode-21

## Summary

Sean Katagiri, a robotics engineer at The National Robotarium, discusses his work on autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) for offshore energy inspection and legged robots for construction site monitoring. He explains the technical challenges of subsea operations, including the transition from tethered to resident systems, the limitations of LIDAR and sonar underwater, and the similarities between underwater and space robotics. Katagiri also describes how The National Robotarium aims to bridge the gap between academic research and industrial application, specifically using Spot robots to automate progress tracking on construction sites.

## Chapters

- [0:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2022-10-14-episode-twenty-one-sean-katagiri#t=7) Introduction: Sean Katagiri and The National Robotarium
- [1:43](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2022-10-14-episode-twenty-one-sean-katagiri#t=103) Subsea Inspection: AUVs for Offshore Energy Structures
- [4:31](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2022-10-14-episode-twenty-one-sean-katagiri#t=271) Underwater vs. Space Robotics: Constraints and Hardware
- [5:26](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2022-10-14-episode-twenty-one-sean-katagiri#t=326) Tethered vs. Resident Systems: Power and Communication
- [6:43](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2022-10-14-episode-twenty-one-sean-katagiri#t=403) Sensor Challenges: LIDAR, Sonar, and Visual Data
- [7:51](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2022-10-14-episode-twenty-one-sean-katagiri#t=471) Legged Robots for Construction Site Monitoring
- [11:13](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2022-10-14-episode-twenty-one-sean-katagiri#t=673) The National Robotarium: Bridging Academia and Industry

## Topics

- [Robotics & autonomy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/robotics-and-autonomy)
- [Sensors & measurement in products](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sensors)
- [Batteries & low-power design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/batteries-and-low-power)
- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- The National Robotarium (company)
- Spot robots (product)
- LIDAR (tool)
- Sonar (tool)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Nic Radford on developing underwater robots; Celebrating 100 episodes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2022-12-01-nic-radford-on-developing-underwater-robots-celebrating-100-episodes) (The Robot Report Podcast)
- [282: Tin Can Through a Wet Noodle](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2019-03-21-282-tin-can-through-a-wet-noodle) (Embedded.fm)
- [363: Squishy Nature](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2021-02-26-363-squishy-nature) (Embedded.fm)
- [Ep084: Awful Floppy Disk Music, Robot Climbs Walls, An Undersea Lab, Inside a Digital Pregnancy Test](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2020-09-11-ep084-awful-floppy-disk-music-robot-climbs-walls-an-undersea-lab-inside-a-digita) (Hackaday Podcast)
- [222. Tree-Climbing and Reef-Restoring Robots](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2025-06-17-222-tree-climbing-and-reef-restoring-robots) (The Next Byte Podcast)

## Citing this page

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