Yoichi Matsuyama

About

Yoichi Matsuyama is a leading researcher in socially-aware robotics and multiparty conversational AI, whose work bridges the gap between human communication dynamics and autonomous agents. His key research areas include embodied conversational agents, rapport estimation, and group conversation facilitation. Matsuyama’s most notable contribution is the development of SARA (Socially-Aware Robot Assistant), an intelligent personal assistant that analyzes visual, vocal, and verbal cues to estimate rapport with users and respond with appropriate social behaviors—a system that has garnered 80 citations. He also pioneered frameworks for facilitation robots that regulate engagement in four-participant conversations, addressing the unique challenges of multiparty dynamics (58 citations). His work on communication activation robots for group settings, including applications for elderly care, has been recognized with over 100 total citations across his top papers. Matsuyama’s research has been validated through field trials and psychological evaluations, demonstrating real-world impact in enhancing human-robot interaction. His achievements include designing expressive opinion generation systems and emotional speech synthesis for conversational agents, making him a key figure in creating robots that can naturally participate in and enrich human social interactions.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Socially-Aware Animated Intelligent Personal Assistant Agent

   80 citations · 2016
2. 2
   Four-participant group conversation: A facilitation robot controlling engagement density as the fourth participant

   58 citations · 2015
3. 3
   Framework of Communication Activation Robot Participating in Multiparty Conversation

   24 citations · 2010
4. 4
   Field Trial Analysis of Socially Aware Robot Assistant

   20 citations · 2018
5. 5
   Conversation robot participating in and activating a group communication

   19 citations · 2009
6. 6
   Designing communication activation system in group communication

   11 citations · 2008
7. 7
   Automatic Expressive Opinion Sentence Generation for Enjoyable Conversational Systems

   10 citations · 2014
8. 8
   Psychological evaluation of a group communication activativation robot in a party game

   9 citations · 2010
9. 9
   SCHEMA

   6 citations · 2009
10. 10
    Sentiment Analysis for Emotional Speech Synthesis in a News Dialogue System

    5 citations · 2020

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links