Masato Nakao

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Masato Nakao is a pioneering researcher in human-robot symbiosis and expressive robotics, with a career spanning from foundational work in robotic manipulation to innovative human-robot interaction. His most influential contribution, the 2002 paper "Realization of Expressive Mobile Robot" (41 citations), introduced a novel robot capable of nonverbal communication through movement and behavior—a critical step toward creating machines that feel familiar and approachable, especially for aging societies. Nakao’s core research areas include behavioral expression in robotics, where he demonstrated how mobile robots can convey vividness, mental distance, and attention purely through motion, as detailed in his follow-up work (2 citations). Earlier, his 1987 paper on decentralized joint control of robotic manipulators (2 citations) established technical foundations in robot motion control. Nakao’s work bridges engineering and psychology, showing that robots can communicate emotion and intent without words, making him a key figure in designing robots that coexist naturally with humans. His research remains highly relevant for students and engineers developing socially assistive robots.