Shunsuke Aoki Talks Robots, Design and the Future of Human Machine Relationships

This interview between Shunsuke Aoki, CEO of Yukai Engineering (Japan), and Jemimah Widdicombe, Senior Curator at NCM, took place online throughout February 2026.

On display in the exhibition FRIEND, Yukai Engineering’s robots aim to reframe how people live with robots, bringing joy to everyday companionship.

Interview

Jemimah Widdicombe (JW): What inspired you to create Yukai Engineering? How did your work as co-founder of teamLab shape the way you think about technology?

Shunsuke Aoki (SA): Through my experience co-founding teamLab, I strongly came to believe that combining technology with culture can create new, unique experiences. That was true from the very early days of teamLab and it’s still what I believe today.

In Japan we have inspiring predecessors like Nintendo. They used newly emerging computer technology to create experiences that other companies could not have made. A great example is Pokémon: it is deeply rooted in Japanese cultural experiences such as catching insects as a child, collecting them and showing them to friends. Japan is an island country with rich and diverse natural environments from south to north, so small creatures are close to everyday life. That cultural essence became part of play and I think that is one reason Pokémon resonated globally.

What we aimed to do at teamLab and what we aim to do at Yukai Engineering as well, is to use emerging technologies like robotics and AI to create new, unique and joyful experiences.

JW: Visitors say your creations are reframing how they understand robots. Why is it important that robots spark joy and emotional connection?

SA: ‘Robot’ can be defined in many ways. From a purely technical perspective, a robot could be a machine that senses its environment and acts autonomously based on sensor information.

But if we adopt that definition, then an autonomous car is also a robot and even household appliances like washing machines or dishwashers could be called robots. They sense dirt or water temperature and choose an optimal process. Functionally, they are not so different.

And yet, most people don’t name their washing machine, feel affection toward it, or see it as a companion.

When people say ‘robot,’ they often imagine something beyond automation: a partner, a friend, a character with presence, something closer to what appears in science fiction. We believe that what matters is not only autonomy, but the ability to move people emotionally. We propose a different definition: a robot is a machine that can move human emotion. If robots can enter everyday life as pet-like companions, friends, or partners, they can help people live their days in a more positive way. That is the kind of world we imagine.

We believe that what matters is not only autonomy, but the ability to move people emotionally. We propose a different definition: a robot is a machine that can move human emotion.

JW:  Your team supports daydreaming and internal proposals. Can you step us through your design process?

SA: We place a very strong emphasis on ‘daydreaming’ as the starting point for ideas. For us, daydreaming is not random fantasy. It starts from a personal experience, from a moment when your emotions genuinely moved. That becomes the origin of an idea.

At Yukai Engineering we do not have a single ‘planning department.’ Everyone on the team is expected to propose ideas. And we have a rule: start from a personal desire, not from problem-solving. Not “what is the market problem,” but “I truly want this,” “I wish this existed,” “I want my family to use this,” and so on. We value that personal heat.

From there, we form small teams and prototype. Our internal product competition runs for about two months and each team demonstrates a prototype. We do a popularity vote, but we do not decide commercialisation on the spot.

After the competition, we take prototypes and demonstrate them externally, to department store buyers, toy companies, advertising agencies and others. Sometimes we even show development prototypes at exhibitions to observe reactions. Through this, we gather feedback: potential use cases, price range and which sales channels might fit.

We then improve the prototype based on that feedback and later announce the product at major shows such as CES. If media response is strong, we often run a Kickstarter campaign to collect pre-orders. Once we secure an initial volume, we start mass production and deliver the product to the world.

JW: Many of your robots use simple embedded systems rather than complex AI. What guides these choices?

SA: This connects to a well-known Nintendo philosophy: “lateral thinking with withered technology.” Of course, we are an engineering company and technology matters. But we do not believe that adding the newest technology is always the best choice for a product. Sometimes it is better to use proven, stable, cost-effective technology to create an interesting experience at an accessible price.

Nintendo demonstrated this again and again. For example, the original Game Boy used a monochrome screen without a backlight, but it was reflective and usable outdoors. It enabled long battery life and affordability. Competing devices used full-color screens with heavy power consumption and short battery life and they were not embraced by the market. Similar thinking could be seen later with the Wii.

So our philosophy is: new technology can create new experiences, but cutting-edge technology is not automatically the best choice. We choose what serves the experience, reliability and accessibility.

So our philosophy is: new technology can create new experiences, but cutting-edge technology is not automatically the best choice. We choose what serves the experience, reliability and accessibility.

JW:  How do these technical decisions shape how people interact with and feel about your robots?

SA: Because we start from a very specific experience we want to create, we try to keep each product as simple as possible and faithful to its concept.

We intentionally avoid adding too many features. By not overloading the product, people can fully enjoy the exact experience we wanted to express. Simplicity helps the emotional core come through clearly.

JW: You’ve said “true intelligence cannot arise without a body.” What do you mean?

SA: There is a famous phrase by Rodney Brooks, the founder of iRobot: “Elephants don’t play chess.” Chess-playing intelligence is a very recent type of intelligence in the long history of life, something that emerged only in the last part of human evolution. Before that, life evolved ‘animal intelligence’ for survival: recognising other creatures, sensing danger, building trust and forming relationships.

Humans and elephants can understand each other emotionally because we share that embodied intelligence shaped by evolution. Elephants may not play chess, but they are certainly intelligent.

If we only develop intelligence that can play chess, it does not mean we can create a robot that surpasses an elephant in the deeper sense. Embodied intelligence matters.

If we only develop intelligence that can play chess, it does not mean we can create a robot that surpasses an elephant in the deeper sense. Embodied intelligence matters.

Even children recognise animals like elephants or giraffes before they learn letters. The ability to distinguish animals is essential for survival. Feeling fear toward a large animal or finding a small animal cute is also deeply connected to having a body.

We believe embodied intelligence is a fascinating field and we try to create products that speak to that layer of human intelligence. Another advantage is that this kind of experience does not require language. If you experience it, people anywhere in the world can understand it.

JW: How might embodied robots change people’s everyday relationship with technology?

SA: In modern life, many people are surrounded by screens and exposed to digital information all day. We end up processing huge amounts of information mainly through vision and hearing.

But humans are animals with bodies. To be happy, entertainment alone is not enough. Having friends and family nearby and communicating with other people is essential.

One strong point of robots, compared with smartphones, is that they can become a shared interface in the space we live in. Smartphones became ‘one per person,’ and as a result even at home, family members can be in the same room while each looks at a different screen.

Our belief is that we should communicate most with the people closest to us. Robots can play a role as an information interface that supports and encourages communication among people who are physically together, rather than pulling them into separate screens.

Our belief is that we should communicate most with the people closest to us. Robots can play a role as an information interface that supports and encourages communication among people who are physically together, rather than pulling them into separate screens.

JW: In Australia, new technologies are often met with skepticism. What challenges and opportunities do you see?

SA: First, I personally think Australia’s decision to restrict social media for teenagers is a wise one. Australia is surrounded by abundant nature and I sometimes wonder why young people should spend so much time on social media when there is so much real life around them.

We are not overly optimistic about robotics. We don’t think robots will replace humans and we also don’t think they should replace pets. Our view of consumer robotics is quite conservative.

At the same time, AI is rapidly evolving, and it is true that AI can help machines understand humans more deeply. But would you really want a robot with full AI capabilities next to you 24 hours a day? A robot that listens to every phone call, understands all your work emails and comments when you plan to go out with friends: “Isn’t your work not finished yet?”

That would feel like your mother sitting next to you all the time. Is that what people truly want?

We believe distance is important. Even with people we love, healthy distance matters. And for robots entering daily life, it is also important that they do not look too human. Some say monkeys did not become common pets partly because they look too close to humans. And almost nobody keeps a life-size mannequin at home and loves it. It feels uncanny.

So we do not think a future of life-size humanoids in every home is realistic. Consumer trust is conservative everywhere, not only in Australia, and earning trust takes time.

JW: What role do robots play in global conversations around Big Tech, attention, social presence and loneliness?

SA: Our approach is quite different from Big Tech companies.

We believe robots should maintain a certain distance and should not interfere with human communication. They should be calmer and quieter. Not as still as a cactus, perhaps, but closer to that direction than to something that constantly demands attention.

Robots can support what humans do not notice, help with things humans cannot easily do and provide emotional support that makes everyday life more positive.

Also, we think the consumer future is not ‘one super-smart butler robot that does everything.’ A more realistic future is many robots in the home, each suited to its environment: for example, a Roomba-type robot on the floor and a different kind of robot on the sofa. A home with multiple specialised companions feels more natural.

JW: Your vision for human–robot relationships in the future?

SA: I imagine a world where many different forms of robots coexist in the home environment.

In a way, it is close to the world of My Neighbor Totoro: soot sprites in hidden corners, Totoro helping when you are lost, small presences living with you.

And of course, I imagine Mirumi riding on someone’s bag, quietly accompanying them.

JW: Are there any questions you would like to be asked but never have?

SA: For us, one of the most important things is our culture of enjoying the process of making things. That is our greatest asset.

The name Yukai means something like joyful or playful in Japanese. We want to deliver happiness to users, to create moments when people feel happy. And we also want ourselves to feel happiness in the process of making.

We have two key rules in creation.

First: always start from daydreaming, never from generic problem-solution thinking. If you start from broad problems, like “the aging society”, you often end up with obvious, similar solutions. What matters is finding a unique starting point, so we begin by making ourselves the target user and starting from an idea we truly, strongly want.

Second: ideas must be tested through prototyping. Many ideas sound silly at first. For example, when AMAGAMI HAM HAM was first proposed, people said: “The name is funny, but the idea is ridiculous.” Almost nobody took it seriously. But someone insisted: “Let’s at least prototype it.” When we actually made a prototype and presented it, we found a department store that said, “This is interesting,” and that became a major step toward commercialisation.

It is easy to dismiss ideas because they sound silly. But you cannot know the true value until you make it.

Founded by Shunsuke Aoki, Yukai Engineering is a Japanese robotics startup renowned for creating innovative products that blend technology with everyday life. Their award-winning creations include Necomimi, a brainwave-controlled headband with moving cat ears, and BOCCO, a communication robot designed to keep families connected. The company's mission is to make the world a more "yukai" (fun) place to live by integrating robotics into daily experiences. Yukai Engineering continues to push the boundaries of interactive technology and design.