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About

Yoshihiro Ujiie is a pioneering researcher in human-robot interaction, specializing in the psychological impact of robots designed to coexist with humans. His work focuses on how the shape, size, and motion of robots—particularly humanoid robots and mobile manipulators—affect human perception, trust, and sense of security. Ujiie’s major contribution lies in developing virtual reality (VR) evaluation systems to assess human psychology without the need for physical robots, a cost-effective and scalable approach. His most-cited paper, "Comparison of human psychology for real and virtual mobile manipulators" (2006, 32 citations), demonstrates the validity of VR-based assessments by comparing human responses to real and virtual robots. In "Psychological assessment of humanoid robot appearance and performance using virtual reality" (2008, 23 citations), he further explores how robot appearance influences user acceptance. Ujiie’s work has laid foundational methods for designing socially acceptable service robots, with his studies cited in fields ranging from robotics to cognitive science. His research is notable for bridging engineering and psychology, offering practical tools for creating robots that humans feel safe and comfortable around.