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About

Sakiko Yoshikawa is a pioneering researcher at the intersection of human-robot interaction, affective computing, and care robotics, with a particular focus on how robots can replicate and deliver therapeutic touch. Her work addresses one of modern healthcare's most pressing challenges: the global shortage of human caregivers, especially for older adults. Yoshikawa's most significant contributions center on developing robotic systems capable of performing gentle stroke touch that elicits genuine emotional and physiological responses in humans. Her landmark 2022 study, "Robot touch with speech boosts positive emotions" (16 citations), demonstrated that combining robotic touch with verbal communication meaningfully enhances positive emotional outcomes — a finding with substantial implications for eldercare and social robotics. Building on this, her 2023 and 2024 research confirmed that robotic pleasant stroke touch can produce responses comparable to human touch, even in older adult populations, bridging a critical gap between laboratory findings and real-world clinical application. Early foundational work on her human-imitation hand (2020) established the technical and evaluative groundwork for this research trajectory. With a growing citation record across subjective and physiological assessment methodologies, Yoshikawa's research is shaping the future of compassionate, robot-assisted caregiving.