Yumiko Muto

Papers

Total Citations

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About

Yumiko Muto is a pioneering researcher in human-robot interaction, specializing in the nuanced synchronization of verbal and nonverbal communication. Her work focuses on how timing control of utterance and gesture can make interactions between humans and humanoid robots feel more natural and intuitive. In her most-cited paper (2009, 22 citations), Muto investigates the critical challenge of combining verbal and nonverbal robot functions to establish future-oriented human-robot relationships, moving beyond simple command-response systems. She further developed a timing control model based on observed correlations in human-human dialogue, proposing mechanisms that allow robots to coordinate speech and body motion effectively. More recently, Muto has applied her expertise to posture analysis and evaluation for elderly adults (2017, 3 citations), demonstrating the broader societal relevance of her work in assistive robotics. Her contributions are foundational for creating communication robots that can engage in fluid, context-aware interactions—a key step toward integrating robots into daily life. Muto’s research bridges engineering, cognitive science, and social robotics, offering valuable insights for students and researchers aiming to design robots that truly understand human communicative rhythms.