Danilo De Rossi

About

Danilo De Rossi is a pioneering researcher whose work spans two transformative domains: soft tactile sensing technologies and socially intelligent human-robot interaction. His early contributions to flexible sensor systems, including ferroelectric polymer tactile sensors and skin-like tactile sensor arrays (34–88 citations), laid crucial groundwork for prosthetics and robotics by enabling machines to perceive contact and pressure in ways that mimic human skin. De Rossi's influence extends powerfully into social robotics, particularly in the development of android systems for therapeutic applications. His work on FACE, an emotionally expressive android designed for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) therapy, has garnered significant attention, with related studies accumulating dozens of citations and demonstrating that realistic humanoid robots can foster genuine social engagement in autistic youth. His involvement in ambitious collaborative initiatives such as the EASEL project further reflects his commitment to educational human-robot symbiosis. More recently, his contributions to platforms like Abel — a humanoid integrating emotion and time perception — and multimodal HRI evaluation frameworks illustrate a career defined by bridging biology, engineering, and psychology. De Rossi's body of work represents a sustained and impactful effort to make machines more sensitive, socially aware, and genuinely beneficial to vulnerable human populations.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Ferroelectric polymer tactile sensors with anthropomorphic features

   88 citations · 2005
2. 2
   Human-Robot Interaction in Autism: FACE, an Android-based Social Therapy

   68 citations · 2007
3. 3
   Exploring emotional and imitational android-based interactions in autistic spectrum disorders

   41 citations · 2008
4. 4
   Design and Evaluation of a Unique Social Perception System for Human–Robot Interaction

   35 citations · 2016
5. 5
   Skin-like tactile sensor arrays for contact stress field extraction

   34 citations · 1993
6. 6
   The EASEL Project: Towards Educational Human-Robot Symbiotic Interaction

   26 citations · 2016
7. 7
   Abel: Integrating Humanoid Body, Emotions, and Time Perception to Investigate Social Interaction and Human Cognition

   22 citations · 2021
8. 8
   Development and Testing of a Multimodal Acquisition Platform for Human-Robot Interaction Affective Studies

   20 citations · 2014
9. 9
   Realistic Humanlike Robots for Treatment of ASD, Social Training, and Research; Shown to Appeal to Youths with ASD, Cause Physiological Arousal, and Increase Human- to-Human Social Engagement

   18 citations · 2012
10. 10
    Towards a Synthetic Tutor Assistant: The EASEL Project and its Architecture

    17 citations · 2016

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links