Ayami Yokoyama

Papers

Total Citations

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About

Ayami Yokoyama is a pioneering researcher in human-robot interaction, with a focused expertise in developing robotic systems capable of engaging with children. Her primary research areas include computational modeling of social robots, active intention estimation, and child-robot play dynamics. Yokoyama’s major contribution lies in proposing playmate robot systems that can autonomously interact with children by estimating their mental states, a significant departure from traditional therapeutic service robots. Her 2012 paper, "Playmate robots that can act according to a child's mental state" (16 citations), introduces a high-degree-of-freedom domestic robot capable of playing high-level games, addressing societal issues like child neglect and declining play quality. This work is complemented by her 2008 paper on active intention estimation (13 citations) and a 2013 follow-up (4 citations), which together form a cohesive framework for action decision models based on mental state estimation. Though her citation counts are modest, Yokoyama’s work is notable for its innovative approach to creating emotionally responsive playmates, laying groundwork for future socially assistive robotics. Her research stands as a thoughtful contribution to making robots more intuitive and beneficial for child development.