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About

Roberta Igliozzi is a pioneering researcher at the intersection of robotics, human-machine interaction, and autism spectrum disorders (ASD), whose work has significantly advanced the use of social robotics as a therapeutic tool. She is best known for her contributions to the development and application of FACE (Facial Automation for Conveying Emotions), an android robot capable of expressing and interpreting emotions through nonverbal communication. Her landmark 2007 paper, "Human-Robot Interaction in Autism: FACE, an Android-based Social Therapy," garnered 68 citations and laid the foundation for using humanoid robots to engage children and adults with ASD in emotionally meaningful interactions. Igliozzi's research explores how robotic platforms can help individuals with autism overcome deficits in social and emotional processing — a challenge at the core of the disorder. Her 2010 study, "The FACE of autism" (56 citations), further demonstrated FACE's capacity to convey empathy, while subsequent work evaluated multi-parametric therapeutic outcomes and modular robotic platforms for clinical use. Across her body of work, Igliozzi has helped establish human-robot interaction as a credible and innovative frontier in autism rehabilitation, making her research essential reading for anyone exploring assistive technologies in neurodevelopmental care.