Federico Pecora

About

Federico Pecora is a prominent robotics and artificial intelligence researcher whose work sits at the intersection of assistive technology, human-robot interaction, and multi-robot coordination. Over two decades, he has made foundational contributions to the development of intelligent systems designed to support elderly and vulnerable populations in domestic environments. Pecora's early career centered on the landmark RoboCare project, which pioneered the integration of robots, sensors, and intelligent software for home-based elder care — work that laid conceptual groundwork still referenced today. This trajectory continued with the highly cited GiraffPlus system (130 citations), which combined social interaction capabilities with long-term physiological and activity monitoring, directly addressing the growing global challenge of aging populations. His research has also tackled the psychological dimensions of assistive technology, recognizing that effective human-robot collaboration demands more than engineering prowess. A distinguishing thread in Pecora's scholarship is cultural competence in robotics — arguing compellingly that personal assistive robots must understand and adapt to culturally diverse behaviors (62 citations). On the systems side, his work on loosely-coupled multi-robot coordination (39 citations) advances practical deployment of robot fleets in real-world settings. With hundreds of cumulative citations, Pecora's research has meaningfully shaped how the field approaches socially aware, context-sensitive autonomous systems.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   GiraffPlus: Combining social interaction and long term monitoring for promoting independent living

   130 citations · 2013
2. 2
   Development of a Socially Believable Multi-Robot Solution from Town to Home

   106 citations · 2014
3. 3
   GiraffPlus: A System for Monitoring Activities and Physiological Parameters and Promoting Social Interaction for Elderly

   85 citations · 2014
4. 4
   Psychological Implications of Domestic Assistive Technology for the Elderly

   80 citations · 2007
5. 5
   Paving the way for culturally competent robots: A position paper

   62 citations · 2017
6. 6
   RoboCare: an Integrated Robotic System for the Domestic Care of the Elderly

   41 citations · 2003
7. 7
   A Loosely-Coupled Approach for Multi-Robot Coordination, Motion Planning and Control

   39 citations · 2018
8. 8
   Supporting interaction in the robocare intelligent assistive environment

   37 citations · 2007
9. 9
   Culturally aware Planning and Execution of Robot Actions

   36 citations · 2018
10. 10
    AI Reasoning Methods for Robotics

    34 citations · 2016

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links