Giulia Perugia
Uppsala University, Eindhoven University of Technology, Cidete (Spain)
Papers
30
Total Citations
706
H-Index
15
About
Giulia Perugia is a pioneering researcher at the intersection of human-robot interaction (HRI), social robotics, and assistive technology, whose work has garnered over 500 citations and reshaped how scholars understand human perception of robots. Her research spans two deeply interconnected domains: the social psychology of HRI and the design of robot-assisted interventions for vulnerable populations. Perugia's most influential contributions examine how humans form impressions of robots, revealing how first impressions persist across repeated interactions, how robot personality shapes uncanny feelings, and how children read trustworthiness from robotic facial expressions. Her landmark work on gender and age attribution in humanoid robots — including a comprehensive scoping review of gendering practices in HRI — has positioned her as a leading critical voice on bias and representation in robotics design. Equally significant is her sustained commitment to dementia care, where she developed sophisticated behavioral frameworks — including the ELICSE coding system and the ENGAGE-DEM model — to rigorously measure engagement in people with dementia. She has further demonstrated how multimodal, context-sensitive robots can meaningfully improve quality of life for this population. Her research on child-robot interaction, exploring creativity and regulatory focus, adds further breadth to a body of work that is both scientifically rigorous and profoundly human-centered.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1The Persistence of First Impressions99 citations · 2020
- 2The Influence of robot personality on the development of uncanny feelings74 citations · 2021
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- 6ENGAGE-DEM: A Model of Engagement of People With Dementia40 citations · 2020
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