Short Bio

Born in Genoa (Italy) in 1981, I studied Computer Engineering at the University of Genoa, and received the BSc and MS (specialization in Robotics and Automation) in 2003 and 2006, respectively. Then, I got a PhD in Humanoid Technologies from the University of Genoa and the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), in 2010, with a thesis about autonomous sensorimotor learning in humanoid robots (pdf). I was Research Fellow at the RBCS Department of the IIT in 2010, Associate Researcher at Takanishi Lab (in Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan) from 2010 to 2012, and Associate Researcher at VisLab (the Computer Vision Laboratory of the Instituto de Sistemas e Robotica, Instituto Superior Tecnico, Lisbon, Portugal) from 2013 to 2016. Currently, I am Senior Lecturer in Robotics at the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) of the Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). My main research interests include: sensorimotor learning and control in humans and robots; robotic reaching, grasping, manipulation and tool use; force and tactile sensing; humanoid robots; cognitive developmental robotics.