Orbituary: Prof. Emeritus Masahiro Mori, world-renowned robotics pioneer, dies at 98
Global robotics pioneer and Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech, currently Institute of Science Tokyo) Professor Emeritus Masahiro Mori died at the age of 98 on January 12, 2025.
Mori was engaged in robotics research for nearly 40 years, and was a world-renowned robotics researcher. In particular, he introduced the concept known as the uncanny valley, which continues to have a significant impact on robot development today. According to Mori, the uncanny valley is a phenomenon in which, "As robots begin to look more and more like humans, they also began to feel more familiar. However, when they become too anthropomorphic, at a certain point, they begin to make us uncomfortable, and we don't even want to look at them. I don't know why these feelings arise."
Mori also founded the Robot Contest (Robocon1) to promote robotics. Robocon began in 1988 and is televised annually on NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation).
During an interview with CNN, Mori said, "Japanese robotics is leading the world, and the main reason for this is that the robot is not regarded as an enemy of humans, but is viewed as a friend. And from my perspective as a Buddhist scholar as well, ethics is extremely important for the future of robotics research. Therefore, it is important to not just pursue progress and worldly desires, and to not be swayed by the external environment. It is essential to temporarily stop moving forward, quiet the inner-mind, control your own heart, and bring it into a natural state."
Mori's research and ideas have become increasingly important in recent years with the rapid progress of AI and robotics.
Profile of Professor Emeritus Mori
Mori was appointed as professor in the Department of Control Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, at Tokyo Institute of Technology in 1969. He retired in 1987. Based on his technical and philosophical perspective, he was able to attain tremendous achievements in the field of robotics. In 1970, he discovered the uncanny valley phenomenon, and garnered a large response. At EXPO Okinawa in 1975, he exhibited the Three-eyed Beatles, in which robots formed groups and moved autonomously. He began research on bipedal walking robots in his laboratory in 1971, developing one with flexible knees together with a control theory. He believed that this required not only technological inventiveness, but also a creative viewpoint and philosophy on locomotion.
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- Robot contest – A contest with roots in Tokyo Tech. This robot contest for Japan's technical colleges, which celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2017, has been televised by the Japan Broadcasting Corporation since 1988. The Robocon International Design Contest, which began two years later, originated from a collaboration between Tokyo Tech and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.