Norihiro Hagita
Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International, Advanced Science, Technology & Management Research Institute of Kyoto, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Kyoto Seika University, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Robotics Research (United States), Keihin (Japan), The University of Osaka, Osaka University of Arts, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Communication, Information, Médias
Papers
250
Total Citations
9,793
H-Index
53
About
Norihiro Hagita is a pioneering researcher in human-robot interaction (HRI), whose work has fundamentally shaped how robots communicate, navigate, and integrate into everyday human environments. With over 2,400 citations across his most influential papers, Hagita has made exceptional contributions to social robotics, nonverbal communication, and real-world robot deployment. His most celebrated work explores how robots can engage humans naturally in public spaces — from shopping malls to science museums and elderly care centers — tackling formidable challenges such as noisy environments, unscripted interactions, and building genuine rapport with diverse users. His research on conversational "footing" (385 citations) demonstrated how robots can use gaze cues to manage participant roles, while his investigation of approach behaviors (300 citations) produced a learning-based model enabling robots to initiate conversations with moving pedestrians. Hagita has also made significant contributions to android telepresence and the psychology of human-robot perception, including a notable empirical investigation of Mori's uncanny valley theory (237 citations). His work on nonverbal leakage reveals how robots can convey subtle emotional signals unconsciously perceived by humans. Across his career, Hagita has distinguished himself by grounding theoretical insights in rigorous, real-world field trials — a hallmark that makes his research both scientifically compelling and practically transformative.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1Footing in human-robot conversations385 citations · 2009
- 2How to approach humans?300 citations · 2009
- 3An affective guide robot in a shopping mall297 citations · 2009
- 4A Communication Robot in a Shopping Mall296 citations · 2010
- 5Is The Uncanny Valley An Uncanny Cliff?237 citations · 2007
- 6Android as a telecommunication medium with a human-like presence220 citations · 2007
- 7Interactive humanoid robots for a science museum217 citations · 2006
- 8A conversational robot in an elderly care center185 citations · 2011
- 9Nonverbal leakage in robots179 citations · 2009
- 10Interactive Humanoid Robots for a Science Museum168 citations · 2007