Yukiko Hoshino

About

Yukiko Hoshino is a pioneering roboticist whose work centers on full-body tactile sensing, human-robot interaction, and behavior generation for humanoid robots. Her most influential contribution is the development of a full-body tactile sensor suit using electrically conductive fabric and strings, first presented in 1998 and refined in 2002 (137 citations). This soft, flexible sensor system enables robots to detect and respond to physical contact across their entire body—a critical capability for safe, intuitive human-robot interaction. Hoshino also advanced dynamic behavior generation with a recurrent neural network model that allows small humanoid robots to autonomously produce and switch between object handling behaviors (126 citations). Her remote-brained robot approach (62 citations) provided a platform for integrating vision, tactile, and force sensors into a unified sensor image, facilitating real-world experimentation. Through her work on behavior module architectures and emotionally grounded symbol concepts, Hoshino has shaped how robots learn and select actions based on interaction. Her research remains foundational for creating robots that can safely coexist with humans in everyday environments.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   A full-body tactile sensor suit using electrically conductive fabric and strings

   137 citations · 2002
2. 2
   Dynamic and interactive generation of object handling behaviors by a small humanoid robot using a dynamic neural network model

   126 citations · 2006
3. 3
   A Platform for Robotics Research Based on the Remote-Brained Robot Approach

   62 citations · 2000
4. 4
   Model and processing of whole-body tactile sensor suit for human-robot contact interaction

   36 citations · 2002
5. 5
   Behavior description and control using behavior module for personal robot

   26 citations · 2004
6. 6
   Softening Deformable Robot: Development of Shape Adaptive Robot using Phase Change of Low-melting-point Alloy

   11 citations · 2002
7. 7
   Learning behavior selection through interaction based on emotionally grounded symbol concept

   11 citations · 2005
8. 8
   A remote-brained full-body humanoid with multisensor imaging system of binocular viewer, ears, wrist force and tactile sensor suit

   11 citations · 2002
9. 9
   A Full-Body Tactile Sensor Suit Using Electrically Conductive Fabric.

   9 citations · 1998
10. 10
    Dynamic Generation and Switching of Object Handling Behaviors by a Humanoid Robot Using a Recurrent Neural Network Model

    6 citations · 2006

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links