Masanori Yokoyama

Tokyo Institute of Technology, NTT (Japan), NTT (United States)

Papers

Total Citations

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About

Masanori Yokoyama explores the intersection of human-robot interaction and communication dynamics, with a focus on how timing and non-verbal cues shape dialogue. His research investigates the subtle influence of pause duration and nod response timing in human-robot conversations, demonstrating that precise control of these elements significantly impacts perceived communication quality. Yokoyama’s work on the "Transgazer" system addresses the challenge of effective gaze behavior in one-to-many interactions, enabling robots to direct and avert their gaze with appropriate timing—a critical yet underexplored aspect of social robotics. He has also applied these principles in real-world settings, evaluating robot-led presentations at exhibitions to reduce human presenter fatigue. Additionally, his contributions extend to cloud robotics, where he designed a network-aware sensor observation framework to enhance robotic systems’ computational efficiency. Despite modest citation counts, Yokoyama’s studies provide foundational insights into the timing of verbal and non-verbal robot behaviors, advancing the design of more natural and socially aware communication robots. His work is particularly valuable for researchers developing robots for public-facing roles, such as guides or exhibitors, where seamless interaction is essential.