Junji Yamato

About

Junji Yamato is a pioneering researcher in human-robot interaction, with a career focused on understanding how physical robots influence human decision-making and social behavior more profoundly than on-screen agents. His most cited work (199 citations) demonstrates that a robot’s physical presence and tracking behavior can significantly sway user choices, a finding that challenged assumptions about virtual versus embodied agents. Yamato’s influential “artificial emotional creature” project (92 citations) broke from traditional robotics metrics of speed and accuracy, instead exploring machines designed for emotional connection. He further advanced the field by developing haptic interfaces for pet-like robots to recognize human touch (54 citations) and by programming conversational robots to use vocal and bodily “fillers”—like “ummm” or chin strokes—to recover from awkward silences during turn-taking (26 citations). Through comparative studies, Yamato consistently showed that physical robots are more effective social actors than computer-generated agents, creating a more direct emotional coupling with humans. His layered control systems for stereo vision heads also contributed to developmental robotics. With a career spanning foundational work on social robotics, Yamato’s insights remain essential for designing robots that feel truly present and persuasive.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Differences in effect of robot and screen agent recommendations on human decision-making

   199 citations · 2004
2. 2
   Artificial emotional creature for human-machine interaction

   92 citations · 2002
3. 3
   Recognizing human touching behaviors using a haptic interface for a pet-robot

   54 citations · 2003
4. 4
   A conversational robot with vocal and bodily fillers for recovering from awkward silence at turn-takings

   26 citations · 2015
5. 5
   Effect of robot's tracking users on human decision making

   14 citations · 2005
6. 6
   Evaluation of Communication with Robot and Agent: Are Robots Better Social Actors than Agents?

   13 citations · 2001
7. 7
   Human-Robot Dynamic Social Interaction

   11 citations · 2003
8. 8
   A layered control system for stereo vision head with vergence

   10 citations · 2003
9. 9
   An Image Processing Based Method for Chewing Detection Using Variable-intensity Template

   5 citations · 2018
10. 10
    Effect of Robot and Screen Agent Recommendations on Human Decision-Making

    5 citations · 2007

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links