Mana Sasagawa

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Mana Sasagawa is a pioneering researcher in human-robot interaction, with a focus on affective touch and non-anthropomorphic emotional expression. Her work explores how robots can communicate emotions through tactile feedback, texture changes, and movement, challenging the traditional reliance on facial or vocal cues. In her most-cited paper, "Affective Touch Robots with Changing Textures and Movements" (2020, 8 citations), Sasagawa demonstrates how tabletop robots equipped with multiple texture modules can convey emotional states through haptic stimulation alone—a breakthrough for designing subtle, intuitive human-robot communication. This research bridges robotics and psychology, offering new pathways for assistive technologies, therapeutic robots, and socially aware machines. Though early in her career, Sasagawa’s contributions are already shaping how we think about non-verbal emotional interaction, with implications for users who may benefit from touch-based interfaces, such as individuals with sensory or communication differences. Her work stands out for its creativity and rigor, positioning her as a rising voice in affective robotics and tangible interaction design.