Daniela Bonino

Papers

Total Citations

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About

Daniela Bonino is a pioneering researcher at the intersection of cognitive neuroscience and human-robot interaction (HRI), with a primary focus on the neural and behavioral underpinnings of physical human-robot collaboration. Her most cited work, "Neural correlates of human-robot handshaking" (2010, 10 citations), represents a foundational contribution to understanding how the brain processes complex, socially meaningful motor tasks when interacting with robots. This study bridges engineering challenges in HRI with neuroscientific inquiry, revealing the cognitive demands of handshaking—a seemingly simple gesture that requires precise timing, force modulation, and social anticipation. Bonino’s research demonstrates that human-robot handshaking is not merely a mechanical act but a rich cognitive task, offering critical insights for designing more intuitive and socially adept robotic systems. She also developed an "FMRI Compatible Sensing Glove for Hand Gesture Monitoring" (2012, 2 citations), a notable technical achievement enabling real-time gesture tracking within the constrained environment of functional MRI scanners. This tool allows researchers to study neural activity during natural hand movements, advancing both neuroimaging methodology and HRI. Bonino’s work has profound implications for rehabilitation robotics, assistive technologies, and our fundamental understanding of human social cognition in an increasingly automated world.