Unit's Research Director Prof. Giulio Sandini

In the spirit of IIT scientific plan the central theme of the research activity of RBCS develops around “the human being” along three main research streams: humanoid robotics with a focus on cognition, human behavioral studies and rehabilitation with a focus on action and perception, human-machine communication and interaction with a strong emphasis on the technological and scientific advancement of bidirectional direct interface to the nervous systems. A factor, common to all three streams is the focus on learning and development and, in general, on the dynamics of knowledge acquisition and update in the framework of goal directed actions. These streams of research are carried out with two objectives:

To advance knowledge and technologies in the area of artificial systems by performing targeted investigation of human motor and perceptual abilities and by implementing autonomous humanoid robots able to learn from experience and interacting naturally with humans;

To investigate how the merging of robot technologies with systems neuroscience research can contribute to the improvement of the quality of life, particularly of the weak components of our society.

To attack the objectives stated above, RBCS is a multidisciplinary community of scientists sharing research interests and contributing jointly to the emerging field of human centered research and technologies.