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About

Masahiro Shiomi is a pioneering researcher in human-robot interaction (HRI), with a focus on designing robots that function as social and communicative agents in real-world public spaces. His early work demonstrated the potential of humanoid robots as passive-social media, notably through a field experiment at a train station (2007, 22 citations), where he explored how robots could subtly influence human behavior without direct interaction. Building on this, he developed a semi-autonomous communication robot for a train station field trial (2008, 18 citations), advancing the integration of robots into daily environments. Shiomi’s research also delves into the psychological and neural underpinnings of HRI, as seen in his study on the "Midas touch" effect—using event-related potentials during the ultimatum game (2012, 9 citations)—which revealed how physical touch from a robot can alter human decision-making and emotional responses. His work bridges robotics, cognitive science, and social psychology, offering foundational insights into how robots can be designed for effective, empathetic public interaction. With over 50 citations across his key papers, Shiomi’s contributions have shaped the field of social robotics, inspiring further studies on robot-mediated communication and human-robot empathy.