Professor Giacinto Barresi

• Position:Professor of Robotics
• Department:College of Arts, Technology and Environment School of Engineering
• Telephone:+441179656261
• Email:Giacinto.Barresi@uwe.ac.uk
• Social media:

About me

As a Professor of Robotics at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, UWE, I employ my expertise in Cognitive Ergonomics and Neuroergonomics to investigate the neurocognitive processes of people involved in Human-Robot Systems. My goal is to improve abilities, experience, well-being, and health of individuals interacting with smart mechatronic devices in real-world. I pay special attention to human-robot interaction in terms of co-adaptation and collaboration in clinical and industrial settings (especially brain-robot interfaces and telepresence) requiring human-centric (e.g., value-sensitive) design and assessment.

Furthermore, I am a member (co-representative for the internationalisation) of the Executive Committee of UK-RAS, the network for robotics and autonomous systems in the UK (supported by the EPSRC), the co-chair of the Technical Committee on Human Factors in Robotics at the International Ergonomics Association (IEA), and the Industry Liaison for HMI and UX at the IEEE Consumer Technology Society (CTSoc).

I have been a Visiting Fellow at the Knowledge Media Institute of the Open University in Milton Keynes (United Kingdom).  Previously, the Kyushu University in Fukuoka (Japan) and the Indian Institute of Technology in Gandhinagar (India) honoured me through their invitations to teach human factors in robotics as, respectively, Guest Lecturer and Scholar-In-Residence.

I currently serve as Associate Editor of Sage Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems and Frontiers in Neuroergonomics - Cognitive Neuroergonomics, and as a member of the Editorial Board of the Wiley International Journal of Medical Robotics and Computer-Assisted Surgery.

Before moving to Bristol, my background as a Human Factors Scientist and Specialist have been shaped (between 2006 and 2024), through extra-academic activities on user-centred design, a MSc (extension of my BSc) in Experimental Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience (University of Padua, Italy), a PhD in Robotics, Cognition and Interaction Technologies (University of Genoa, Italy), roles as postdoc and researcher at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT - Advanced Robotics Department, Rehab Technologies Lab). During my thirteen years at IIT I have mainly worked on human-centred robotic-digital technologies for biomedical (surgical, assistive, prosthetic, rehabilitative) domains (e.g. biofeedback exergames). For instance, I contributed to µRALP (European project on robot-assisted laser surgery), to bionic limbs embodiment studies in collaboration with Centro Protesi INAIL, and, as Co-Coordinator, to TEEP-SLA (project funded by Fondazione Roma on assistive technologies). In particular, I have been the Principal Investigator of ENACT, a rehabilitation technology project supported by the Italian Multiple Sclerosis Association and its Foundation (AISM and FISM) in synergy with the RAISE ecosystem for innovation.

Area of expertise

Human-Robot Systems, Human-Robot Interaction, Human Factors, Virtual Reality, Digital Health

Publications

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