Yoshinori Kobayashi
Papers
90
Total Citations
992
H-Index
16
About
Yoshinori Kobayashi is a pioneering researcher in human-robot interaction (HRI) and assistive robotics, whose work bridges social behavior, sensor integration, and real-world robot deployment. His research has made significant contributions across two primary domains: socially intelligent service robots and assistive mobility systems. Kobayashi is perhaps best known for his influential museum guide robot research, where he applied ethnographic methods to design robots capable of naturalistic visitor engagement. His "Revealing Gauguin" project (81 citations) and subsequent techno-sociological frameworks demonstrated how robots could replicate the nuanced behaviors of expert human guides — including attention management, spatial formation, and conversation initiation — transforming how researchers approach robot deployment in public spaces. In parallel, his work on robotic wheelchairs (59 citations) addressed the critical challenge of caregiver-user collaboration, developing systems that autonomously adapt to real-world caregiving dynamics. More recently, he has advanced shopping support robots using deep learning and LiDAR to interpret human pose and behavior in commercial environments. Across his career, Kobayashi has accumulated over 370 citations, reflecting sustained influence in designing robots that genuinely understand and respond to human social context — a contribution increasingly vital as service robots enter everyday life.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1Revealing Gauguin81 citations · 2009
- 2Robotic wheelchair based on observations of people using integrated sensors59 citations · 2009
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- 4A techno-sociological solution for designing a museum guide robot42 citations · 2012
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- 6People tracking using integrated sensors for human robot interaction27 citations · 2010
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