engineering

Masahiro Mori (roboticist)

Masahiro Mori (roboticist) is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Masahiro Mori (roboticist) rather than just read about it. In short: Masahiro Mori (森政弘, Mori Masahiro; 12 February 1927 – 12 January 2025) was a Japanese roboticist noted for his pioneering work in the fields of robotics and automation, his research achievements in humans' emotional responses to non-human entities, as well as for his views on religion. The ASIMO robot was designed by one of Masahiro's students.

Key takeaways

Masahiro Mori (roboticist) belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Masahiro Mori (roboticist) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Masahiro Mori (roboticist) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Masahiro Mori (森政弘, Mori Masahiro; 12 February 1927 – 12 January 2025) was a Japanese roboticist noted for his pioneering work in the fields of robotics and automation, his research achievements in humans' emotional responses to non-human entities, as well as for his views on religion. The ASIMO robot was designed by one of Masahiro's students.

Life and career In 1970, Mori published "Bukimi No Tani" (不気味の谷 The Uncanny Valley) in Energy. The article forwarded the hypothesis that as robots become more humanlike, they appear more familiar until a point is reached at which subtle imperfections of appearance make them look eerie. The observation led Mori to the belief that robot builders should not attempt to make their creations overly lifelike in appearance and motion. In 1974, Mori published The Buddha in the Robot: a Robot Engineer's Thoughts on Science and Religion in which he discussed the metaphysical implications of robotics. In the book, he wrote "I believe robots have the buddha-nature within them—that is, the potential for attaining buddhahood." In 1988, Mori founded the first nationwide robot-building competition in Japan and widely promoted robot competitions in the years since then. Of Robocon, Mori said, "When we lose ourselves in an activity, we become creative, friendly and funny. Think of how children are when they are playing. They are completely absorbed in the game; their eyes shine and they are all smiles. They're into the game, not themselves. That's the message of Robocon, too: To not be self-centered, but to love others and share the joy of creating wonderful things." Mori was later president of the Mukta Research Institute, which he founded in Tokyo in order to promote his views on religion and robots. The institute also provides consultation on the use of automation and robotics in industry. Mori died on 12 January 2025, at the age of 97.

References

External links Mori, M. (1970/2012). The uncanny valley (K. F. MacDorman & N. Kageki, Trans.). IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine, 19(2), 98–100. doi:10.1109/MRA.2012.2192811 Mori, M. (2005). On the uncanny valley. Proceedings of the Humanoids-2005 workshop: Views of the Uncanny Valley. 5 December 2005, Tsukuba, Japan. Mori, Masahiro: Das unheimliche Tal. Übersetzung aus dem Japanischen: MacDorman, Karl F.; Schwind, Valentin. in: Haensch, Konstantin Daniel; Nelke, Lara; Planitzer, Matthias (Hrsg.): Uncanny Interfaces. Textem Verlag, Hamburg 2019. S. 212–219, doi:10.5281/zenodo.3226987. ISBN 978-3-86485-217-6

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Masahiro Mori (roboticist)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Masahiro Mori (roboticist) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Masahiro Mori (roboticist) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Masahiro Mori (roboticist) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Masahiro Mori (roboticist)

In research: Masahiro Mori (roboticist) appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Masahiro Mori (roboticist) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Masahiro Mori (roboticist) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1927 births, 2025 deaths, 20th-century Japanese Buddhists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Masahiro Mori (roboticist) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Masahiro Mori (roboticist) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Masahiro Mori (roboticist) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Masahiro Mori (roboticist) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Masahiro Mori (roboticist) in simple terms?

Why does Masahiro Mori (roboticist) matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Masahiro Mori (roboticist)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Masahiro Mori (roboticist).