Naoto Yoshida

Science Groove (Japan), Kansai University, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo University of Science

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Naoto Yoshida is a pioneering researcher at the intersection of robotics, artificial intelligence, and human-robot interaction, with a particular focus on creating emotionally resonant and autonomously adaptive machines. His work is defined by a deep exploration of how robots can express and manage internal states, bridging the gap between mechanical function and biological-like behavior. Yoshida’s major contributions include the development of the Body-Emotion Model (BEM), a framework that enables robots to exhibit involuntary physical reactions—such as breathing patterns—to convey nuanced emotional states, as demonstrated in his highly cited 2016 study on a stuffed-toy robot (24 citations). He further advanced the field by applying homeostatic reinforcement learning (RL) to robotics, showing how agents can autonomously prioritize conflicting needs (e.g., hunger vs. safety) to maintain internal balance, a concept detailed in his 2024 papers on integrated behaviors (11 citations) and long-term nutritional modeling (3 citations). His most impactful work, however, is the 2021 case study on LOVOT (47 citations), a home robot that uses character animation to forge genuine emotional bonds with users. By treating robots as embodied, emotionally expressive beings, Yoshida is redefining what it means for machines to be truly “alive” in human spaces.