Alessandra Sciutti was born in Genoa (Italy) in 1982. She received her master’s degree in Bioengineering (highest honors) from the University of Genoa in 2006. The same year she graduated at the Institute of advanced studies in information and communication technologies – ISICT (http://www.isict.it/). Alessandra received her Ph.D. in Humanoid Technologies from the University of Genova (Italy) in 2010 with a thesis entitled: “Study of human predictive abilities and their links with action and perception".
From 2010 to 2014 she has been working as a Post Doc at the RBCS Department of the Italian Institute of Technology, focusing on motor control, sensory- and sensorimotor integration and human robot interaction, in collaboration with a multidisciplinary group (roboticists, psychologists, neuroscientists).
From July 2011 to July 2012 she spent a year at the Robotics Lab of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (http://www.ric.org/research/centers/smpp/labs/robotics/) as a visiting researcher under the supervision of Prof. Sandro Mussa-Ivaldi working on the project “Simultaneity and proprioceptive space”, and she is currently appointed as visiting researcher at Northwestern University to continue the collaboration on the project.
From November 2014 to January 2015 she visited the Emergent Robotics Lab. of the Osaka University for three months in the framework of the CODEFROR European Project (https://www.codefror.eu/), to investigate cognitive development and human-robot interaction.
From July 2014 she is Researcher , scientific responsible of the Cognitive Robotics and Interaction Lab at the RBCS Department of the Italian Institute of Technology.
The scientific aim of her research is to investigate the sensory and motor mechanisms underlying mutual understanding in human-human interaction, with the technological goal of designing robots that can naturally cooperate with people in carrying out everyday tasks. In more detail, the research is aimed at defining which features of human and robot motion allow for natural mutual understanding, with particular reference to low-level kinematics properties (as biological motion) and higher-level, cognitive aspects (as intention reading and attribution).
Cognitive Robotics & Interaction Lab.
Robotics Brain and Cognitive Sciences Dept.
(Alessandra Sciutti, Francesco Rea)
Human interaction is sometimes so fast and fluid that the two partners seem to have a sixth sense, that allows them to read each other’s mind. Actually humans have the ability of reading imperceptible signals hidden in others’ movements that reveal their goals and emotional status without their knowing it. The technological goal of our laboratory is to transfer this sixth sense to robots, to obtain a robotic helper that can read our needs and anticipate our requests just by observing us move. The robot should also be able to move so as to produce those imperceptible signals which facilitate intuitive understanding in human collaborations. In the process, the robot is used as an ideal, controllable probe for the investigation of the mechanisms supporting human interaction.
With our team we have already developed a preliminary sixth sense on the humanoid robotic platform iCub. The robot can read human gaze to detect which object the partner will need next, with no need of verbal instructions or user training (Palinko et al. 2015, 2016). Moreover, by processing the regularities of human motion, it can visually detect potential partners of interaction in the scene even when they are mostly hidden from view (Noceti et al. 2015, Vignolo et al. 2016). Then it could exploit both visual and auditory information to orient its attention toward the human partner (Mosadeghzad et al. 2015). We have also studied how to make the robot move to leverage on the sixth sense of its human partners, by designing robot actions which allow the partner to “see the invisible”, as the robot’s effort (Sciutti et al. 2014) and goals (Sciutti et al. 2015).
Research Lines:
Organized workshops
The body of embodiment
Understanding Embodiment in human-agent interaction – an interdisciplinary approach
Workshop at the 5th International Conference on Human-Agent Interaction (HAI 2017)
October 17th, 2017 - Bielefeld (Germany)
Organized by A. Sciutti, F.Eyssel (Bielefeld University) and K. Lohan (Heriot-Watt University)
http://www.macs.hw.ac.uk/~kl360/HAI2017W/index.html
Symposium on COgnitive Development for Friendly RObots and Rehabilitation
Symposium held in Bielefeld, Germany on 16th October 2017.
Organized by A. Sciutti.
http://www.codefror.eu/events
Humans through the eyes of a robot: how human social cognition could shape computer vision
Tutorial at the 19th International Conference on Image Analysis and Processing
September 12th, 2017, Catania (Italy)
Organized by N. Noceti (University of Genoa) and A. Sciutti
http://www.iciap2017.com/program/#tutorials
Vision for interaction: from humans to robots
One Day BMVA Symposium
October 19th, 2016 London (UK)
Organized by N. Noceti (University of Genoa) and A. Sciutti
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bmva-technical-meeting-vision-for-interaction-from-humans-to-robots-registration-21518425189
Vision and the Development of Social Cognition
Workshop at the IEEE International conference on Development and Learning and Epigenetic Robotics 2016
September 19th, 2016 - Cergy Pontoise, Paris (France)
Organized by A. Sciutti and N.Noceti (Univeristy of Genoa)
https://www.codefror.eu/icdl_workshop
Cognition in Humans and Robots
Panel at the EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) 2016
July 26th, 2016 – Manchester (UK)
Organized by A. Sciutti.
A panel on the implications of a better understanding of the development of cognition for human-freindly robotics and rehabilitation, involving Prof. G. Sandini (IIT), Dr. M. Gori (IIT), Dr. F. Eyssel (Bielefeld University) and Y. Nagai (Osaka University) as panelists and Dr. M. Mara (Ars Electronica Futurelab) as chair.
http://www.esof.eu/the-programme/event-information/cognition-in-humans-and-robots.html
International Workshop on Cognitive Development for Friendly Robots and Rehabilitation
2-3 December 2015, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia – Genoa (Italy)
Organized by A. Sciutti, Giulio Sandini, Maria Carmela Fierro, Tomoyuki Yamamoto
A two-days workshop on human cognitive development with oral presentations by invited speakers spanning from cognitive robotics , human cognition, human robot interaction, robotic and sensory rehabilitation, prosthesis, surgical robotics, computational neuroscience. [22 speakers, 18 poster, 70 registered participants each day]
https://www.codefror.eu/events
Cognitive Development and Architectures for Cognitive Robotics.
Symposium at the EuroAsianPacific Joint Conference on Cognitive Science.
September, 2015, Turin, Italy
Organized by A. Sciutti, T. Yamamoto (Osaka University), D. Vernon (University of Skövde), J. Steil (Bielefeld University), Y. Nagai (Osaka University), M. Asada (Osaka University), G. Sandini (IIT).
Cognition: A Bridge between Robotics and Interaction.
Workshop at the 10th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction – HRI 2015
March 2nd, 2015, Portland, Oregon, USA
Organized by Alessandra Sciutti, Katrin Lohan (Heriot-Watt University) and Yukie Nagai (Osaka University).
http://www.macs.hw.ac.uk/~kl360/HRI2015W/index.html
International Workshop on Cognitive Neuroscience Robotics
Cognitive Science Workshop
Organized by Yukie Nagai (Osaka University), Alessandra Sciutti and Tomoyuki Yamamoto (Osaka University)
December 9th, 2014, CiNet, Osaka University, Japan
http://www.cnr.osaka-u.ac.jp/?p=1661&lang=en
IEEE International conference on Development and Learning and Epigenetic Robotics 2014
Local Chair
13-16 October, 2014, Genoa, Italy
http://www.icdl-epirob.org/
HRI: a bridge between Robotics and Neuroscience
Workshop at the 9th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction – HRI 2014
March 3rd, 2014, Bielefeld, Germany
Organized by Alessandra Sciutti, Katrin Lohan (Heriot-Watt University) and Yukie Nagai (Osaka University).
http://www.macs.hw.ac.uk/~kl360/HRI2014W/index.html
International Workshop on Cognition for Friendly Robots.
9-10 December 2013, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
Organized by Tomoyuki Yamamoto (Osaka University), Alessandra Sciutti and Giulio Sandini
Talk: “The role of robot motion for human-robot interaction”
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.543897419040203.1073741831.265553106874637&type=3
Towards social humanoid robots: what makes interaction human-like?
Workshop at the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems - IROS 2013, November the 3rd, Tokyo, Japan
Organized by Lorenzo Jamone (Instituto Superior Tecnico, Lisboa), Alessandra Sciutti, Francesco Nori, Alexandre Bernardino (Instituto Superior Tecnico, Lisboa), Giulio Sandini
Talk: “Action-perception laws for human-robot interaction.”
http://humanlikehumanoids.blogspot.it/
Invited talks & Lessons
Keynote at the HRI Workshop on Explainable Robotic Systems, Human-Robot Interaction Conference (Chicago, Illinois, USA) - March 5, 2018 - https://explainableroboticsystems.wordpress.com/
Keynote at the BMVA Technical Meeting: Cognitively inspired explainable perception-based AI - One Day BMVA symposium (London, UK) - Feburary 7, 2018 - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bmva-technical-meeting-cognitively-inspired-explainable-perception-based-ai-registration-38360436097
Presentation "Bambini e robot: come gli uni ci insegnano a comprendere gli altri" to the Association of Journalist, Genoa, Italy, January 31, 2018
Presentation "Bambini e robot: come gli uni ci insegnano a comprendere gli altri" to the Association of Journalist, Milan, Italy, January 30, 2018
Presentation "Un robot per studiare l'uomo" at the symposium “Psicologia, Tecnologia e Trasformazione” for the Association of Psychology, Turin, 26 January 2018
Lessons about "Human-Robot Interaction" for the undergraduate students of the course of Prof. Minoru Asada at the University of Osaka, Japan - January 22, 2018
Presentation "Intuitive robots: how to achieve mutual understanding in human-robot interaction" at the first International Sympsosium on Sytems Intelligence Division, Osaka, Japan - January 21, 2018
Presentation "Un robot per capirel'uomo" at the symposium "Lo Sviluppo del Bambino E L’Interazione tra i Sensi", Prato, Italy - January 9, 2018
Presentation "Robot intuitivi" at the Students' Nobel Night - Genoa, Italy - December 9, 2017.https://genova.talentgarden.org/events/students-nobel-night/
Lesson about "Robotica e Interazione Uomo-Robot" e-learning module for the students of the CAMPUS JEDI 2017, Accademia +, for secondary school students - November 6, 2017
Presentation "Metodi di comunicazione uomo-robot" at the 45° National Congress SIMFER “Ri-abilitazione e disabilità attraverso il ciclo della vita” (Genoa, Italy) - October 25, 2017 - https://www.simfer2017.it/it/
"Mutual understanding in human-robot interaction" at the third PACE Thematic Workshop (Genova, Italy) - October 9, 2017 - http://itn-pace.eu/pace-thematic-workshop-iii-in-genoa-save-the-date/
"Bambini e Robot: come gli uni ci insegnano a comprendere gli altri” at MeetMeTonight - Faccia a Faccia con la Ricerca (Milano, Italy) - September 29, 2017 - European Research Night - http://www.meetmetonight.it/events/bambini-e-robot-come-gli-uni-ci-insegnano-a-comprendere-gli-altri/
"Robotic Vision, Social Cognition" at the Robotics and Emotions workshop within the Festival Internationale della Robotica (Pisa, Italy) - September 8, 2017 - http://www.festivalinternazionaledellarobotica.it/it/session/robotics-and-emotions/
Lesson about "Using Robots to Study Humans" at the 3rd Summer School on Human Robot Interaction (Vila Nova Milfontes, Portugal) - September 5, 2017 - https://hrisummerschool.org/
“Intuitive robots - The power of imperceptible signals” – Warwick University, Warwick, UK, July 31, 2017
Lesson about "Human-Robot Social Interaction" e-learning module for the students of the EU ITN Project PACE - June 15, 2017
"Intuitive Robots - The role of implicit signals for human-robot interaction" - Groningen University, Groningen, The Netherlands, April 25, 2017
“Actions as a mean of empathic communication” at the Workshop "Empathic Human-Robot Interaction: A Joint Industry-Academia Outlook for the Future" at the
European Robotic Forum 2017 - Edinburgh - 24th March 2017.
Keynote at the Workshop on “The Role of Intentions in Human-Robot Interaction” at the 12th ACM / IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI 2017) – Vienna, Austria - 6th March 2017. Title: “Robots reading and communicating intentions – the role of implicit signals"
Keynote: "La robotica e la frontiera dell’interazione" at MATLAB EXPO Italia - Milan, Italy - 22 June 2016 - http://www.matlabexpo.com/it/
Presentation on the theme of Artificial Intelligence at the film review “C’e’ tanta scienza in fondo” organized by IIT – commentary to the film “Her” – 30 November 2015
“Capire l’uomo progettando i robot” - Talk at TEDx Porto Antico - 17 October 2015 - https://youtu.be/e0eMayWU_lc (Understanding humans by building robots)
"Motor Resonance in Human-Human and Human-Robot Interaction" at the RIC-IIT Workshop on Robotic and Interactive Technologies for Neuroscience and Neurorehabilitation - Arenzano, Italy - 31 Aug, 2015
Lesson about "Cognitive human robot interaction: the basics" at the iCub Summer School Veni Vidi Vici 15 (Sestri Levante, Italy) - July 30, 2015
“Using humanoids to study humans and their ability to interact” – International Symposium on Cognitive Neuroscience Robotics – University of Washington, Seattle, U.S.A. - March 6, 2015
“Implicit communication for friendly human-robot interaction” – Osaka University, Osaka, Japan, January 27, 2015 - in the framework of the CODEFROR European Project.
Lesson about “Robotics and motion” at the “Psychology of action” course of the University of Turin, Department of Psychology – December 3, 2013
“Investigating the laws of human-human interaction with robots” - 5th Symposium on Cognitive Neuroscience Robotics - Knowledge Theater in the Grand Front Osaka, Osaka, Japan - August 22, 2013
"Using robots to investigate haptic perception" - International Workshop on Proprioception, Proprioceptive Dysfunction and Robotic Rehabilitation - Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy - 15-16 July 2013
"From development to sensory rehabilitation and human-robot interaction" - International Symposium on Cognitive Neuroscience Robotics - University of Washington, Seattle, U.S.A. - January 31 – February 1 , 2013
"Un robot bambino per studiare l’apprendimento" - Simposio: Disabilità intellettiva e tecnologia - VIII CONGRESSO NAZIONALE S.I.R.M - Teatro Von Pauer, Genova, Italy - October 26, 2012
"Anticipation and the mirror neuron systems" - Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany - 20-21 October 2010 - in the framework of the ITALK EU project.
International Journals
Sciutti, A., Mara, M., Tagliasco, V., & Sandini, G. (2018). Humanizing Human-Robot Interaction: On the Importance of Mutual Understanding. IEEE Technology and Society Magazine, 37(1), 22-29. http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8307144/
Sciutti A. & Sandini G. (in press), ‘Interacting with Robots to Investigate the Bases of Social Interaction’, IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering, 10.1109/TNSRE.2017.2753879 http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8068256/
Sciutti A. & Noceti N. 2017 ‘Special Issue on: A sense of interaction in humans and robots: From visual perception to social cognition’, IEEE Transactions on Cognitive and Developmental Systems, 10.1109/TCDS.2017.2678779
Noceti N., Sciutti A., Odone F. & Sandini G. 2017, ‘Exploring biological motion regularities of human actions: a new perspective on video analysis’, ACM Transactions on Applied Perception, 14, 3. http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=3086591
Vignolo A., Noceti N., Rea F., Sciutti A., Odone F. & Sandini G. 2017, ‘Detecting biological motion for human-robot interaction: a link between perception and action’, Frontiers in Robotics and AI, 4. http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frobt.2017.00014/full Focus of a Research Highlight by Nature: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-017-00807-3?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=HIGHLIGHT
Sciutti, A., Lohan, K. S., Gredebäck, G., Koch, B., & Rohlfing, K. J. 2016, 'Language Meddles with Infants’ Processing of Observed Actions’, Frontiers in Robotics and AI, 3, 46. http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frobt.2016.00046/full
Lyon C., Nehaniv C. L., Saunders J., Belpaeme T., Bisio A., Fischer K., Forster F., Lehmann H., Metta G., Mohan V., Morse A., Nolfi S., Nori F., Rohlfing K., Sciutti A., Tani J., Tuci E., Wrede B., Zeschel A. & Cangelosi A. 2016 ‘Embodied Language Learning and Cognitive Bootstrapping: Methods and Design Principles’, International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems. http://www.intechopen.com/journals/international_journal_of_advanced_robotic_systems/embodied-language-learning-and-cognitive-bootstrapping-methods-and-design-principles
Sciutti A., Ansuini C., Becchio C. & Sandini G. 2015, ‘Investigating the ability to read others’ intentions using humanoid robots’, Frontiers in Psychology – Cognitive Science, vol. 6,no. 1362. http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01362
Sciutti, A., Burr, D., Saracco, A., Sandini, G., & Gori, M. 2014, ‘Development of context-dependency in human space perception’, Experimental Brain Research, vol. 232, no. 12, pp. 3965-3976
http://www.springerlink.com/openurl.asp?genre=article&id=doi:10.1007/s00221-014-4021-y [PDF]
Toma, S., Sciutti, A., Papaxanthis, C. & Pozzo, T. 2014, ‘Visuo-motor adaptation to a visual rotation is gravity dependent’, Journal of Neurophysiology, doi: 10.1152/jn.00369.2014 http://jn.physiology.org/content/early/2014/12/05/jn.00369.2014.abstract [PDF]
Bisio, A., Sciutti, A., Nori, F., Metta, G., Fadiga, L., Sandini, G., & Pozzo, T. 2014, ‘Motor Contagion during Human-Human and Human-Robot Interaction’, PloS one, vol. 9, no. 8, e106172. [Full Text]
Sciutti A., Patanè L., Nori F. & Sandini G., 2014, ‘Understanding object weight from human and humanoid lifting actions’, IEEE Transactions on Autonomous Mental Development, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 80-92 doi: 10.1109/TAMD.2014.2312399
[PDF]
Lohan, K. S., Griffiths, S. S., Sciutti, A., Partmann, T. C., & Rohlfing, K. J., 2014. ‘Co-development of manner and path concepts in language, action, and eye-gaze behavior’, Top Cogn Sci, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 492-512. [Full Text]
Broz F., Nehaniv C., Belpaeme T., Bisio A., Dautenhahn K., Fadiga L., Ferrauto T., Fischer K., Foester F., Gigliotta O., Griffiths S.S., Lehmann H., Lohan K.S., Lyon C., Marocco D., Massera G., Metta G., Mohan V., Morse A., Nolfi S., Nori F., Peniak M., Pitsch K., Rohlfing K.J., Sagerer G., Sato Y., Saunders J., Schillingmann L., Sciutti A., Tikhanoff V., Wrede B., Zeschel A. & Cangelosi A. 2014, ‘The ITALK Project: A Developmental Robotics Approach to the Study of Individual, Social, and Linguistic Learning.’, topiCS – Topics in Cognitive Science [Full Text]
Sciutti A., Bisio A., Nori F., Metta G., Fadiga L. & Sandini G. 2013 ‘Robots can be perceived as goal-oriented agents’, Interaction Studies, in Broz, Frank, Hagen Lehmann, Bilge Mutlu and Yukiko I. Nakano (eds.), Gaze in human-robot communication. Special Issue of Interaction Studies 14:3 . xv, 179 pp. (pp. 329–350) [PDF]
Gori M., Sciutti A., Jacono M., Sandini G., Morrone C. & Burr D. 2013, ‘Long integration time for accelerating and decelerating visual, tactile and visuo-tactile stimuli’, Multisensory Research, vol. 26, no. 1-2, pp. 53-68. [PDF]
Sciutti A.*, Demougeot L.*, Berret B., Toma S., Sandini G., Papaxanthis C. & Pozzo T. 2012, ‘Visual gravity influences arm movement planning’, Journal of Neurophysiology, vol. 107,no. 12, pp. 3433–3445. [PDF]
Sciutti A.*, Bisio A.*, Nori F., Metta G., Fadiga L., Pozzo T. & Sandini G. 2012, ‘Measuring human-robot interaction through motor resonance’, International Journal of Social Robotics, vol. 4,no. 3, pp. 223–234. [Full text]
Konczak J., Sciutti A., Avanzino L., Squeri V., Gori M., Masia L., Abbruzzese G. & Sandini G. 2012, ‘Parkinsons disease accelerates age-related decline in haptic perception by altering somatosensory integration’, Brain, vol. 135, no. 11, pp. 3371-3379. [PDF]
Gori M., Squeri V., Sciutti A., Masia L., Sandini G. & Konczak J. 2012, ‘Motor commands in children interfere with their haptic perception of objects’, Experimental Brain Research, vol. 223, no. 1, pp. 149-157 [PDF]
Squeri V., Sciutti A., Gori M., Masia L., Sandini G. & Konczack J. 2012, ‘Two hands, one perception: how bimanual haptic information is combined by the brain’, J Neurophysiol, vol. 107, pp. 544–550. [PDF]
Gori M., Sciutti A., Burr D. & Sandini G. 2011, ‘Direct and indirect haptic calibration of visual size judgments’, PLoS ONE, vol. 6,no. 10, e25599. [Full text]
Sciutti A., Squeri V., Gori M., Masia L., Sandini G. & Konczak J. 2010, ‘Predicted sensory feedback derived from motor commands does not improve haptic sensitivity’, Experimental Brain Research, vol. 200,no. 3, pp. 259–267. [Full Text]
Book chapter
Sandini G., Sciutti A., Rea F. (2017) Movement-Based Communication for Humanoid-Human Interaction. In: Goswami A., Vadakkepat P. (eds) Humanoid Robotics: A Reference. Springer, Dordrecht
D’Ausilio A., Lohan K., Badino L. & Sciutti A. 2016, ‘Studying Human-Human interaction to build the future of Human-Robot interaction’, in A. Gaggioli, A. Ferscha, G. Riva, S. Dunne & I. Viaud-Delmon (eds.),Human Computer Confluence. Transforming Human Experience Through Symbiotic Technologies, De Gruyter Open pp.213-226, Berlin. [Full Text]
Conferences
2018
Sciutti A. 2018, 'Bi-directional intuitive communication in HRI', Neuroscience 4 HRI workshop in conjunction with HRI 2018, 5 March 2018, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
2017
Sciutti A., Lupi E. & Sandini G. 2017, ‘Looking, moving, touching: the role of exploration in multimodal perception’, 40th European Conference on Visual Perception (ECVP 2017), Berlin, Germany, August 27 - 31, 2017 - [Oral presentation]
Vannucci F., Sciutti A., Jacono M., Sandini G. & Rea F. 2017, ‘Adaptation to a humanoid robot in a collaborative joint task’, 26th IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication, Lisbon, Portugal, August 28 - September 1, 2017
Tanevska A., Rea F., Sandini G. & Sciutti A. 2017, ‘Towards an Affective Cognitive Architecture for Human-Robot Interaction for the iCub Robot’, 1st Workshop on “Behavior, Emotion and Representation: Building Blocks of Interaction", Bielefeld, Germany, October 17, 2017
Aroyo A. M., Rea F. & Sciutti A. 2017, ‘Bringing Human Robot Interaction towards Trust and Social Engineering’, 3rd Interdisciplinary Cyber Research (ICR2017) workshop, Tallin, Estonia, July 8th, 2017 [Oral presentation]
Tanevska A., Rea F., Sandini G. & Sciutti A. 2017, ‘Can Emotions Enhance the Robot’s Cognitive Abilities: a Study in Autonomous HRI with an Emotional Robot’, AISB Convention 2017: Symposium on Computational Modelling of Emotion, Bath, UK, April 19-21, 2017 [Oral presentation]
Vignolo A., Sciutti A., Rea F., Noceti N., Odone F. & Sandini G. 2017, ‘Computational Vision For Social Intelligence’, AAAI Spring Symposium – Science of Intelligence: Computational principles of natural and artificial intelligence, AAAI SPRING SYMPOSIUM SERIES, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, March 27 - 29 2017 [Oral presentation]
Aroyo A. M., Rea F. & Sciutti A. 2017, ‘Will you rely on a robot to find a treasure?’, LBR at the 12th ACM / IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI 2017), Vienna, Austria, March 6 - 9, 2017 [Poster presentation] - http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=3038394
2016
Vignolo A., Rea. F.,Noceti N., Sciutti A., Odone F. & Sandini G. 2016, ‘Biological movement detector enhances the attentive skills of humanoid robot iCub’ in IEEE/RAS International Conference of Humanoids Robotics, Cancun, Mexico November 15-17 2016
Palinko O., Sciutti A., Wakita Y., Matsumoto Y. & Sandini G. 2016, ‘If Looks Could Kill: Humanoid Robots Play a Gaze-based Social Game with Humans’ in IEEE/RAS International Conference of Humanoids Robotics, Cancun, Mexico November 15-17 2016 [Full text]
Palinko O., Rea F., Sandini G. & Sciutti A. 2016, ‘Robot Reading Human Gaze: Why Eye Tracking Is Better Than Head Tracking for Human-Robot Collaboration’, IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, Deajeon, Korea, October 9-14, 2016 [Full text]
Vignolo A., Noceti N., Rea. F., Sciutti A., Odone F. & Sandini G. 2016, ‘Human activity detection on the robot iCub’, Ninth International Workshop on Human-Friendly Robotics, Genoa, Italy, September 29-10, 2016 [Full text]
Rea F., Muratore P. & Sciutti A. 2016, ‘13-year-olds approach human-robot interaction like adults’, Sixth Joint IEEE International Conference of Development and Learning and on Epigenetic Robotics, Cergy-Pontoise, France, September 19-22, 2016. [Full text]
Vignolo A., Noceti N., Sciutti A., Rea. F., Odone F. & Sandini G. 2016, ‘The complexity of biological motion A temporal multi-resolution motion descriptor for human detection in videos’, Sixth Joint IEEE International Conference of Development and Learning and on Epigenetic Robotics, Cergy-Pontoise France, September 19-22, 2016. [Full Text]
Vignolo A., Noceti N., Odone F., Rea. F., Sciutti A., & Sandini G. 2016, ‘A computational model of biological motion detection based on motor invariants’, European Conference on Visual Perception, Barcelona, Spain, August 28th – September 1st, 2016
Palinko O., Rea F., Sandini G. & Sciutti A. 2016, ‘Eye Tracking for Human Robot Interaction’, Doctoral Symposium at ETRA, Symposium on Eye Tracking Research & Applications, Charleston, SC, USA, March 14-17, 2016.
2015
Palinko O., Rea F., Sandini G.and & Sciutti A., ‘Gaze Tracking for Human Robot Interaction’, International Workshop on Cognitive Development for Friendly Robots and Rehabilitation, Genoa, Italy, December 2-13, 2015
Vignolo A. Noceti N., Rea F., Sciutti A., Odone F. & Sandini G. 2015, ‘Towards a friendly humanoid robot: Computational models of biological motion perception’, International Workshop on Cognitive Development for Friendly Robots and Rehabilitation, Genoa, Italy, December 2-13, 2015
Palinko O., Sciutti A., Rea F. & Sandini G., ‘Eye Gaze Tracking for a Humanoid Robot’ in IEEE/RAS International Conference of Humanoids Robotics, Seoul, Korea, November 3-5 2015. [Full Text]
Palinko O., Rea F., Sandini G. & Sciutti A. 2015, ‘Gaze Tracking for Human Robot Interaction’, Extended Abstract at the International Workshop on Vision and Eye Tracking in Natural Environments and Solutions & Algorithms for Gaze Analysis, Bielefeld, Germany, September 29-30, 2015.
Sciutti A., Schillingmann L., Palinko O., Nagai Y. & Sandini G. 2015, ‘A Gaze-contingent Dictating Robot to Study Turn-taking’, Proceedings of the Tenth Annual ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction Extended Abstracts, pp.137-138, Portland, Oregon, USA, March 2-5, 2015.
Sciutti A., Lohan K. & Nagai Y. 2015, ‘Cognition: A Bridge between Robotics and Interaction’, Workshop, Proceedings of the Tenth Annual ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction Extended Abstracts, pp.261-262, Portland,Oregon, USA, March 2-5, 2015.
Noceti N., Sciutti A. & Sandini G. 2015, ‘Cognition helps vision: recognizing biological motion using invariant dynamic cues’, 18th International Conference on Image Analysis and Processing, Genova, Italy, September 7-11, 2015
Noceti N., Sciutti A., Vignolo A., Rea F., Odone F. & Sandini G. 2015, ‘Modeling the development of visual perception with computational vision’, European Conference on Visual Perception (ECVP), Liverpool, UK, August 23-27, 2015
Palinko O., Sciutti A., Schillingmann L., Rea F., Nagai Y. & Sandini G. 2015, ‘Gaze Contingency in Turn-Taking for Human Robot Interaction: Advantages and Drawbacks’, 24th IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication, Kobe, Japan, August 31 - September 4, 2015 [Full Text]
Noceti N., Sciutti A., Rea F., Odone F. & Sandini G. 2015, ‘Estimating human actions affinities across views’, International Conference on Computer Vision Theory and Applications (VISAPP), Berlin, Germany, March 11-14, 2015.
Sandini G., Noceti N., Vignolo A., Sciutti A., Rea F., Verri A. & Odone F. 2015, ‘Computational Model of Biological Motion Detection: a path toward view-invariant action understanding’, Journal of Vision. 2015; 15(12):497-497. doi: 10.1167/15.12.497 - Abstract for the Vision Science Society Meeting, St. Pete Beach, FL, U.S.A., May 15-20, 2015. http://arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2433605&resultClick=1
Sandini G., Noceti N., Sciutti A., Rea F., Verri A. & Odone F. 2015, ‘Modeling visual features to recognize biological motion: a developmental approach’, MODVIS 2015, St. Pete Beach, FL, U.S.A, May 13-15, 2015. http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/modvis/2015/session01/3/
2014
Sciutti A., Noceti N., Rea F., Odone F., Verri A. & Sandini G. 2014,'The informative content of optical flow features of biological motion', 37th European Conference on Visual Perception (ECVP 2014), Belgrade, Serbia, August, 24-28, 2014
Palinko O., Sciutti A., Patané L., Rea F., Nori F. & Sanidni G. 2014, ‘Communicative Lifting Actions in Human-Humanoid Interaction’, IEEE/RAS International Conference of Humanoids Robotics (HUMANOIDS 2014), Madrid, Spain, November 18-20, 2014. [PDF]
Palinko O., Sciutti A., Rea F., Sandini G. 2014, 'Towards Better Eye Tracking in Human Robot Interaction Using an Affordable Active Vision System’, 2nd International Conference of Human-Agent Interaction, Tsukuba, Japan, October, 29-31, 2014. [PDF]
Palinko O., Sciutti A., Rea F., Sandini G. 2014, 'Weight-Aware Robot Motion Planning for Lift-to-Pass Action’, 2nd International Conference of Human-Agent Interaction, Tsukuba, Japan, October, 29-31, 2014 [PDF]
Noceti N., Sciutti A., Rea F., Odone F., Verri A. & Sandini G. 2014,'Biological motion understanding for human-robot interaction', Vision for Language and Manipulation BMVA symposium, London, UK, July, 11th, 2014
Sciutti A. 2014, 'Using humanoid robots to measure social interaction', IV Congressodel Gruppo Nazionale di Bioingegneria (GNB 2014), Pavia, Italy, June 25-27, 2014.
Sciutti A., Patanè L., Nori F. & Sandini G. 2014, ‘Development of perception of weight from human or robot lifting observation’, 9th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, p. 290-291, Bielefeld, Germany, March 3-6, 2014.
Palinko O. & Sciutti A. 2014, ‘Exploring the Estimation of Cognitive Load in Human Robot Interaction’, Workshop HRI: a bridge between Robotics and Neuroscience at 9th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, Bielefeld, Germany, March 03-06, 2014.
2013
Sciutti A., Patanè L., Nori F. & Sandini G. 2013, ‘Do humans need learning to read humanoid lifting actions?’, Third Joint IEEE International Conference of Development and Learning and on Epigenetic Robotics 2013, Osaka, Japan, August 18-22, 2013.
Sciutti A., Patanè L., Nori F., Sandini G. 2013 ‘Understanding object properties form the observation of the action partner’ Human-Robot Collaboration workshop at RSS 2013, Berlin, Germany, June 28th, 2013.
Sciutti A., Del Prete A., Natale L., Burr D.C., Sandini G. & Gori M. 2013, ‘Perception during interaction is not based on statistical context’, Proceedings of the 8th ACM/IEEE international conference on Human-robot interaction, p. 225-226 HRI Conference 2013, Tokyo, Japan, March 3-6, 2013.
Sciutti A., Patanè L., Nori F. & Sandini G. 2013, ‘Reading object properties from human and humanoid action observation’, 6th International Workshop on Human-Friendly Robotics, Rome, Italy, September 25-26, 2013.
Sciutti A., Rohlfing K.J., Lohan K.S., Koch B. & Gredebäck G. 2013, ‘Language as meddler in infants proactive gaze behavior’, Budapest CEU Conference on Cognitive Development 2013, Budapest, Hungary, January 10-12, 2013.
Patanè L., Sciutti A., Berret B., Squeri V., Masia L., Sandini G. & Nori F. 2013 ‘The role of modularity in the learning and generalization of reaching’, 43rd annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, SfN 2013, San Diego, California, November 9-13, 2013.
2012
Sciutti A., Del Prete A., Natale L., Burr D.C., Sandini G. & Gori M. 2012, ‘Central tendency in space perception varies in development and is altered in human-robot interactive tasks’, Workshop “Can developmental robotics yield human-like cognitive abilities?” at Humanoids 2012, Osaka, Japan, November 29 - December 1, 2012.
Sciutti A., Bisio A., Nori F., Metta G., Fadiga L. & Sandini G. 2012, ‘Anticipatory gaze in human-robot interactions’, "Gaze in HRI From Modeling to Communication" workshop at the 7th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, March 5 - 8, 2012.
Sciutti A., Bisio A., Nori F., Metta G., Pozzo T., Sandini G. & Fadiga L. 2012, Human and robotic actions evoke motor resonance, Mirror neurons: new frontiers 20 years after their discovery, Erice, Italy, August 31 - September 6, 2012.
Sciutti A., Bisio A., Nori F., Metta G., Sandini G. & Fadiga L. 2012, ‘Human and robotic goal oriented actions evoke motor resonance’, 5th International Conference on Cognitive Systems, TU Vienna, Austria, February 22-23, 2012.
Patanè L., Sciutti A., Berret B., Squeri V., Masia L., Sandini G. & Nori F. 2012, ‘Modeling kinematic forward model adaptation by modular decomposition’, IEEE International Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics (Biorob2012), Rome, Italy, June 24-27, 2012.
Patanè L., Nori F., Berret B., Sciutti A., Squeri V. & Masia L. and S. G. 2012, ‘Modular learning of different kinematic perturbations: a model-based approach’, 22nd Annual Conference of the Society for the Neural Control of Movement, Venice, Italy, April 23 - 29, 2012.
Squeri V., Sciutti A., Gori M., Masia L., Sandini G. & Konckac J. 2012, ‘Two hands, one perception: bimanual integration of haptic information’, 22nd Annual Conference of the Society for the Neural Control of Movement, Venice, Italy, April 23 - 29, 2012.
Farshchiansadegh A., Sciutti A. & Mussa-Ivaldi F.A. 2012, ‘A spatial warp caused by adapting to a temporal visuomotor delay’, Annual Conference of the Society of Neuroscience.
2011
Sciutti A., Nori F., Jacono M., Metta G., Sandini G. & Fadiga L. 2011, ‘Human and robotic goal oriented actions evoke motor resonance – a gaze behavior study’, Society of Neuroscience Abstracts, Washington D.C., U.S., November 11-16, 2011.
Sciutti A., Nori F., Jacono M., Metta G., Sandini G. & Fadiga L. 2011, ‘Proactive Gaze Behavior: Which Observed Action Features Do Influence The Way We Move Our Eyes?’, Journal of Vision (abstract), vol. 11, pp.509, VSS Conference 2011.
Gori M., Sciutti A., Burr D. & Sandini G. 2011, ‘Direct and indirect haptic calibration of visual size judgments in adults and children’, VSS- Naples 2011.
Patanè L., Nori F., Berret B., Sciutti A. & Sandini G. 2011, ‘The role of modularity in learning novel kinematic internal models’, 21st Annual conference neural control of movement, San Juan, Puerto Rico, April 26-May 1, 2011.
2010
Sciutti A., Demougeot L., Berret B. & Pozzo T. 2010, ‘The role of gravity in the combination of visuo proprioceptive inputs for motion planning’, in Pion (ed.),Perception ECVP Abstract Supplement, vol. 39, pp.182, Lausanne, Switzerland, August 22-26, 2010.
Sciutti A., Squeri V., Avanzino L., Gori M., Masia L., Abbruzzese G., Sandini G. & Konczak J. 2010, ‘Active and passive haptic sensitivity in Parkinson's disease’, Society for Neuroscience Abstracts, San Diego, CA, USA, November 13-17, 2010.
Squeri V., Sciutti A., Gori M., Masia L. Sandini G. & Konczack J. 2010, ‘Two hands, one perception: how bimanual haptic information is combined by the brain’, Society for Neuroscience Abstracts, San Diego, CA, USA, November 13-17, 2010.
Gori M., Giuliana L., Sciutti A., Sandini G. & Burr D. 2010, ‘Calibration of the visual by the haptic system during development’, Journal of Vision (Abstract), vol. 10, Vision Science Society International Annual Meeting pp.470, , Naples, FLA (USA), May, 2010.
2009
Sciutti A., Nori F., Metta G., Pozzo T. & Sandini G. 2009, ‘Internal models in two-dimensional target motion prediction and interception’, Journal of Vision (Abstract), vol. 9, pp.1141-1141, Naples, Florida, USA, May 8 - 13, 2009.
Sciutti A., Nori F., Metta G., Pozzo T. & Sandini G. 2009, ‘Learning to intercept targets driven by force fields: effects of modulus and orientation variability’, in Pion (ed.),Perception ECVP Abstract Supplement, vol. 38, pp.34, Regensburg, Germany, August 24 - 28, 2009.
Sciutti A., Squeri V., Gori M., Masia L., Sandini G. & Konczak J. 2009, ‘The role of predicted sensory feedback derived from motor commands for haptic sensitivity’, Neuroriabilitazione robotica dell'arto superiore CORNER 2009, Genoa, Italy, December 14-15, 2009.
Squeri V., Sciutti A., Gori M., Masia L., Sandini G. & Konczak J. 2009, ‘Haptic perception of object contours: are two hands better than one?’, Neuroriabilitazione robotica dell'arto superiore CORNER 2009, Genoa, Italy, December 14-15, 2009.
Demougeot L., Mollet N., Sciutti A., Chellali R. & Pozzo T. 2009, ‘Virtual Reality-Based Scenarios for Visuo-motor Conflicts Studies: Preliminary Results’, 2d International Conferences on Advances in Computer-Human Interactions, pp.306 - 309, Cancun, Mexico, February 1-7, 2009.
Gori M., Sciutti A., Sandini G. & Burr D.C. 2009, ‘Multimodal combination of visual information about object size with observation of an actor: cue integration by the mirror neuron system?’, 10th International Multisensory Research Forum, New York City, (USA), June 29 - July 2, 2009.
Gori M., Sciutti A., Sandini G. & Burr D.C. 2009, ‘Multimodal combination of visual information about object size with observation of an actor: cue integration by the mirror neuron system?’, in Pion (ed.),Perception ECVP Abstract Supplement, vol. 38, pp.141, Regensburg, Germany, August 24 - 28, 2009.
Konczak J., Squeri V., Sciutti A., Gori M. & Masia L. 2009, ‘Predicted sensory feedback derived from motor commands does not improve haptic sensitivity’, Society for Neuroscience Abstracts, vol. 39, Chicago, USA.
Masia L., Squeri V., Avanzino L., Sciutti A., Gori M., Abbruzzese G., Sandini G. & Konczak J. 2009, ‘Use of a robotic manipulandum to assess of haptic sensitivity in Parkinson's disease’, Neuroriabilitazione robotica dell'arto superiore CORNER 2009, Genoa, Italy, December 14-15, 2009.
2007 - 2008
Sciutti A., Nori F., Metta G., Pozzo T. & Sandini G. 2008, ‘A study on the perceptual and motor bases of prediction’, in Patron editore (ed.),First National Conference on Bioengineering, pp.273 - 274, Pisa, Italy, July 3-5, 2008.
Sciutti A., Nori F., Metta G., Pozzo T. & Sandini G. 2008, ‘Motor and perception-based prediction’, in Pion (ed.),Perception ECVP Abstract Supplement, vol. 37, Utrecht, The Netherlands, August 24 - 28, 2008.
Gori M., Sciutti A., Jacono M., Sandini G. & Burr D.C. 2008, ‘Visual, tactile and visuo-tactile perception of acceleration and deceleration’, 9th International Multisensory Research Forum, Hamburg, Germany, July 15 - 19, 2008.
Jacono M., Gori M., Sciutti A., Sandini G. & Burr D.C. 2008, ‘Perception of acceleration and deceleration in visual, tactile and visuo-tactile stimuli’, in Pion (ed.),Perception ECVP Abstract Supplement, vol. 37, pp.49, Utrecht, The Netherlands, August 24 - 28, 2008.
Sciutti A., Nori F., Metta G. & Sandini G. 2007, ‘Internal models in interception’, ESF Conference Three dimensional sensory and motor space: perceptual consequences of motor action, Sant Feliu de Guixols, Spain, October, 2007.
SCHOLARSHIPS AND AWARDS
Special Mention I3P for market potential - ITWIIN The Italian Association of Women Inventors and Innovators (20-21 November 2017)
Innovators Under 35 Italia - MIT Technology Review Italia (10th May 2016)
In the Advanced Technology field with the project "Robots With A Sixth Sense For Interaction"
European Conference on Visual Perception (ECVP) Student Travel Support Award (August 2008)
Institute of advanced studies in information and communication technologies (ISICT) Scholarship
(September 2004 - November 2006)
Concurrently with her master courses (2004-2006) she earned a scholarship (ranked 1st in the competition for 12 positions) to attend courses of the Institute of advanced studies in information and communication technologies – ISICT – providing education and training on economics, law, communication and neuroscience, from which she graduated on November 2006.
EUROPEAN AND INTERNATIONAL FUNDING
ROBOCOM++
Rethinking Robotics for the Robot Companion of the future
FLAG-ERA Joint Transnational Call (JTC) 2016
http://robocomplusplus.eu
CODEFROR
COgnitive Development for Friendly RObots and Rehabilitation
FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IRSES
MARIE CURIE ACTIONS: International Research Staff Exchange Scheme
http://codefror.eu
BSF (United States - Israel, Binational Science Foundation)
Simultaneity and space representation: implications for intact and
impaired sensory-motor processing
ITALK
Integration and transfer of action and language knowledge in robots
http://www.italkproject.org/
RobotCub
An Open framework for research in embodied cognition
http://www.robotcub.org/
L’Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) è una fondazione di diritto privato - cfr. determinazione Corte dei Conti 23/2015 “IIT è una fondazione da inquadrare fra gli organismi di diritto pubblico con la scelta di un modello di organizzazione di diritto privato per rispondere all’esigenza di assicurare procedure più snelle nella selezione non solo nell’ambito nazionale dei collaboratori, scienziati e ricercatori ”.
IIT è sotto la vigilanza del Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca e del Ministero dell'Economia e delle Finanze ed è stato istituito con la Legge 326/2003. La Fondazione ha l'obiettivo di promuovere l'eccellenza nella ricerca di base e in quella applicata e di favorire lo sviluppo del sistema economico nazionale. La costruzione dei laboratori iniziata nel 2006 si è conclusa nel 2009.
Lo staff complessivo di IIT conta circa 1440 persone. L’area scientifica è rappresentata da circa l’85% del personale. Il 45% dei ricercatori proviene dall’estero: di questi, il 29% è costituito da stranieri provenienti da oltre 50 Paesi e il 16% da italiani rientrati. Oggi il personale scientifico è composto da circa 60 principal investigators, circa 110 ricercatori e tecnologi di staff, circa 350 post doc, circa 500 studenti di dottorato e borsisti, circa 130 tecnici. Oltre 330 posti su 1400 creati su fondi esterni. Età media 34 anni. 41% donne / 59 % uomini.
Nel 2015 IIT ha ricevuto finanziamenti pubblici per circa 96 milioni di euro (80% del budget), conseguendo fondi esterni per 22 milioni di euro (20% budget) provenienti da 18 progetti europei, 17 finanziamenti da istituzioni nazionali e internazionali, circa 60 progetti industriali
La produzione di IIT ad oggi vanta circa 6990 pubblicazioni, oltre 130 finanziamenti Europei e 11 ERC, più di 350 domande di brevetto attive, oltre 12 start up costituite e altrettante in fase di lancio. Dal 2009 l’attività scientifica è stata ulteriormente rafforzata con la creazione di dieci centri di ricerca nel territorio nazionale (a Torino, Milano, Trento, Parma, Roma, Pisa, Napoli, Lecce, Ferrara) e internazionale (MIT ed Harvard negli USA) che, unitamente al Laboratorio Centrale di Genova, sviluppano i programmi di ricerca del piano scientifico 2015-2017.
Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) is a public research institute that adopts the organizational model of a private law foundation. IIT is overseen by Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca and Ministero dell'Economia e delle Finanze (the Italian Ministries of Education, Economy and Finance). The Institute was set up according to Italian law 326/2003 with the objective of promoting excellence in basic and applied research andfostering Italy’s economic development. Construction of the Laboratories started in 2006 and finished in 2009.
IIT has an overall staff of about 1,440 people. The scientific staff covers about 85% of the total. Out of 45% of researchers coming from abroad 29% are foreigners coming from more than 50 countries and 16% are returned Italians. The scientific staff currently consists of approximately 60 Principal Investigators, 110 researchers and technologists, 350 post-docs and 500 PhD students and grant holders and 130 technicians. External funding has allowed the creation of more than 330 positions . The average age is 34 and the gender balance proportion is 41% female against 59% male.
In 2015 IIT received 96 million euros in public funding (accounting for 80% of its budget) and obtained 22 million euros in external funding (accounting for 20% of its budget). External funding comes from 18 European Projects, other 17 national and international competitive projects and approximately 60 industrial projects.
So far IIT accounts for: about 6990 publications, more than 130 European grants and 11 ERC grants, more than 350 patents or patent applications, 12 up start-ups and as many which are about to be launched. The Institute’s scientific activity has been further strengthened since 2009 with the establishment of 11 research nodes throughout Italy (Torino, Milano, Trento, Parma, Roma, Pisa, Napoli, Lecce, Ferrara) and abroad (MIT and Harvard University, USA), which, along with the Genoa-based Central Lab, implement the research programs included in the 2015-2017 Strategic Plan.
