F. Yamaoka

Nissan (Japan), Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International

Papers

Total Citations

147

H-Index

About

F. Yamaoka is a pioneering researcher in human-robot interaction, specializing in lifelike communication robots and proximity control. Their work bridges robotics and developmental psychology to create robots that interact with people in natural, intuitive ways. Yamaoka's most influential contribution is a model of proximity control for information-presenting robots (2010, 84 citations), which enables robots to autonomously adjust their physical position when presenting information—a critical capability for real-world applications like shopkeepers displaying products or museum guides. This foundational work has shaped how robots manage spatial relationships during communication. Additionally, Yamaoka has explored what makes robots appear "lifelike" by drawing on developmental psychology findings about how infants distinguish animate from inanimate entities (2006, 36 citations). Their investigation into the relationship between contingency and complexity in lifelike robots (2007, 27 citations) further advanced understanding of how responsive a robot should be to seem natural. Through this body of work, Yamaoka has established key principles for designing robots that can engage people in everyday social settings, making them feel more like companions than machines.