Shota Horiguchi

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About

Shota Horiguchi is a researcher at the forefront of human-robot interaction, specializing in developing service robots that can operate effectively in real-world, unstructured environments. His work centers on enabling robots to move beyond passive, reactive responses to proactively anticipate and initiate interactions with people who need assistance. Horiguchi’s key contribution is in the domain of proactive service robotics, where he has pioneered methods for robots to detect and predict the start of user interaction in "the wild"—that is, in dynamic, crowded, and unpredictable public spaces. His most-cited paper, "Anticipating the Start of User Interaction for Service Robot in the Wild" (2020, 6 citations), lays the groundwork for this paradigm shift, proposing computational models that allow robots to recognize subtle cues indicating a person’s intent to engage, such as gaze direction, body posture, or approach trajectory. This work is critical for moving service robots from laboratory settings into practical applications like shopping malls, airports, and hospitals, where they can offer timely, context-aware assistance. Though early in his career, Horiguchi’s research is already influencing the design of more intuitive and socially adept autonomous systems, promising a future where robots are not just tools but proactive partners in everyday life.