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About

Makoto Hatakeyama’s research career bridges two distinct frontiers: precision micro-manufacturing and human-robot communication. In the early 2000s, Hatakeyama pioneered methods for constructing three-dimensional microstructures, most notably through the “multi-face FAB” technique, which used fast atom beams and co-focus rotational robots to pattern-etch multiple workpiece faces. This work, cited 7 times, laid mechanical groundwork for micro-systems integration. Later, Hatakeyama shifted focus to embodied interaction, proposing models where robots use synchronic bodily expressions—such as gesture and posture—to lead human communication. The 2003 paper “Robot and human communication using bodily expressions” (4 citations) introduced an ontology of communicative robot actions independent of physical form, exemplified by a waiter robot scenario. Hatakeyama’s two-layered approach to communicative artifacts (2007, 3 citations) further advanced how robots can serve as “embodied knowledge media.” Though citation counts are modest, Hatakeyama’s contributions are notable for their interdisciplinary ambition: from mechanical micro-fabrication to the subtle choreography of human-robot rapport. This work offers early, prescient insights into how machines might not only build tiny structures but also build trust through movement.