Cocoro Nakagawa

About

Cocoro Nakagawa is a pioneering researcher in human-robot interaction, with a particular focus on social robotics and its therapeutic applications for children with autism spectrum disorder. Best known as the creator of **Keepon** — a small, yellow, snowman-shaped robot crafted from soft silicone rubber — Nakagawa has dedicated much of their career to understanding how minimally designed robots can facilitate natural, nonverbal communication and emotional expression in children with developmental challenges. Nakagawa's most influential work, "Keepon" (2008, 459 citations), along with companion studies on autism therapy (314 and 223 citations respectively), established that even a robot of deliberately simple design could meaningfully engage children who struggle with interpersonal communication. This insight challenged prevailing assumptions that humanoid complexity was necessary for social connection. Their concept of "attention coupling" — the spatio-temporal coordination of mutual attention as a prerequisite for social interaction — further deepened the theoretical foundations of the field. Through longitudinal observations in daycare and therapeutic settings, Nakagawa demonstrated that child-robot interaction can serve as a genuine tool for communication-care. With over 1,200 cumulative citations, their body of work remains essential reading for researchers in social robotics, developmental psychology, and assistive technology.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Keepon

   459 citations · 2008
2. 2
   Interactive robots for communication-care: a case-study in autism therapy

   314 citations · 2006
3. 3
   Children–robot interaction: a pilot study in autism therapy

   223 citations · 2007
4. 4
   Can a robot empathize with people?

   67 citations · 2004
5. 5
   Attention coupling as a prerequisite for social interaction

   34 citations · 2004
6. 6
   A Playful Robot for Research, Therapy, and Entertainment

   30 citations · 2009
7. 7
   A humanoid in company with children

   27 citations · 2005
8. 8
   Social interaction facilitated by a minimally-designed robot: Findings from longitudinal therapeutic practices for autistic children

   27 citations · 2007
9. 9
   Social robots for children: practice in communication-care

   25 citations · 2006
10. 10
    Designing and Observing Human-Robot Interactions for the Study of Social Development and its Disorders

    24 citations · 2005

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links