Toshiyuki Shiwa

Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International, Keio University

Papers

Total Citations

582

H-Index

About

Toshiyuki Shiwa is a pioneering researcher in human-robot interaction, specializing in the subtle social dynamics that make robot communication feel natural and intuitive. His work focuses on two critical areas: how robots establish conversational roles through gaze cues, and the optimal timing of robot responses in dialogue. Shiwa’s landmark 2009 paper, "Footing in human-robot conversations" (385 citations), applies sociologist Erving Goffman’s concept of "footing" to robotics, demonstrating how a robot can use gaze to signal who is participating in a conversation and in what capacity—a foundational insight for designing socially aware robots. His series of studies on response timing (totaling nearly 200 citations) systematically investigates system response time (SRT), establishing design guidelines for when robots should pause, delay, or respond quickly to avoid awkwardness and maintain user engagement. Notably, his 2008 and 2009 papers on response delay strategies and habituation effects reveal how users adapt to robot pacing over time, a key consideration for long-term interaction. Shiwa’s contributions bridge social science and engineering, providing concrete, evidence-based principles for building robots that feel less mechanical and more like genuine conversational partners.