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About

Nicole Lazzeri is a researcher at the intersection of humanoid robotics, affective computing, and human-robot interaction, whose work has meaningfully advanced how robots perceive, express, and communicate emotions. She is best known for her contributions to the development of FACE (Facial Automation for Conveying Emotions), a humanoid robot designed to synthesize and convey emotional expressions — work that has garnered significant attention, including 56 citations for her foundational 2010 paper "The FACE of Autism." Her HEFES system for hybrid facial expression synthesis (68 citations) represents a landmark technical contribution, enabling more believable and nuanced emotional output in android robots and avatars. A particularly impactful thread of Lazzeri's research focuses on therapeutic applications for children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders, exploring how socially expressive robots can support emotional recognition and interpersonal development. Her multi-parametric evaluation frameworks and multimodal acquisition platforms reflect a rigorous, evidence-based approach to measuring human-robot interaction outcomes. Her 2018 work on designing robot cognition further demonstrates her expanding interest in architecting socially intelligent systems. With over 300 cumulative citations across her most prominent works, Lazzeri's research stands as a compelling contribution to the future of socially capable, therapeutically meaningful robotics.