Koichi Taura

The University of Osaka, Kyoto Seika University, Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International

Papers

Total Citations

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About

Koichi Taura is a pioneering researcher in the field of human-robot interaction, with a focus on teleoperated android robots and the psychological mechanisms underlying body ownership and emotion regulation. His work explores how humans can experience a sense of embodiment and emotional connection through robotic avatars, even when visual feedback is the primary sensory channel. Taura’s major contributions include the discovery and characterization of Body Ownership Transfer (BOT)—an illusion where operators feel external robotic parts as their own. His studies have shown that motion synchronization and social interaction significantly enhance this effect, with implications for telepresence and therapy. Notably, his 2013 paper on teleoperated androids as emotion regulation media (26 citations) demonstrates how facial feedback from robots can modulate operator emotions, a finding with potential applications in mental health and remote communication. Taura’s work, though early in citation impact, has laid foundational insights into the cognitive and emotional dynamics of human-robot symbiosis, making him a key figure in advancing empathetic and embodied robotic systems.