Shinobu Nakagawa
Papers
2
Total Citations
20
H-Index
2
About
Shinobu Nakagawa is a pioneering researcher at the intersection of traditional Japanese performing arts and humanoid robotics. Her work focuses on affective robot motion design, drawing inspiration from Bunraku—Japan's UNESCO-recognized puppet theater—to create emotionally expressive robotic movements that avoid the "uncanny valley." Nakagawa's major contribution lies in translating the aesthetic principles of Bunraku, particularly the rhythmic structure of *Jo-Ha-Kyū* (a traditional dramatic tempo), into robotic motion algorithms. Her most cited paper (2019, 16 citations) establishes a framework for converting Bunraku's emotional expressions into robot affective motions, while her 2021 work extends this by implementing 3D "squash and stretch" techniques—a hallmark of Bunraku puppetry—on a life-size humanoid robot with novel mechanical structures. By bridging centuries-old performance art with cutting-edge robotics, Nakagawa offers a culturally grounded alternative to Western-centric approaches to human-robot interaction. Her research not only advances affective computing but also demonstrates how intangible cultural heritage can inform modern technology, making her work uniquely valuable for students and researchers in social robotics, human-robot interaction, and embodied cognition.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
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- 2