The ROBO-GAP study was conceived and conducted by a team of researcher from the University of Siena and the Eindhoven University of Technology. Below you can find a short profile of all the members of the team.

Giulia Perugia, PhD received a M.Sc. in Cognitive Science from the University of Siena, and a double degree Ph.D. in Assistive Technologies from Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e, Netherlands) and the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC, Spain). She worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Uppsala Social Robotics lab (Sweden) from 2018 to 2021. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor at the Human-Technology Interaction group of TU/e. She is interested in studying how people’s perceptions and affective states in the interaction with robots can be measured through the interaction itself, how such states and perceptions develop over time, and whether and how the design of and interaction with social robots could reproduce biases and stereotypes existing in society at large. Recently, she has started investigating more profusely the process of gendering robots, how this interacts with robot’s norm violations, and how it could be used to foster a more inclusive HRI.

Stefano Guidi, PhD, is Assistant Professor of psychology at the University of Siena, Department of Social, Political and Cognitive Sciences. He is currently Professor of General Psychology and of Methodlogy of Research in Cognitive and Social Psychology. At the University of Siena is member of the Work Environment Laboratory. Prof. Guidi’s research interests range from visual perception (contour integration, visual completion and experimental visual aesthetics) to social cognition (age, gender and sexual orientation stereotypes in response to human and artificial agents), moral judgements and work-related stress. A specific focus of his research is on research integrity in relationship with psychosocial working conditions. He is also interested in quantitative research methods in psychological science. He has collaborated on national and European research projects.

Oronzo Parlangeli, PhD, is Associate Professor of psychology at the University of Siena, Department of Social, Political and Cognitive Sciences. He is currently Professor of Cognitive Psychology and Cognition, Technology and Sustainability. At the University of Siena he is also the scientific director of the Work Environment Laboratory and the president of the Ethics Committee for Research in Human and Social Sciences. From 2007 to 2010 he was National President of the Italian Society of Ergonomics. Prof. Parlangeli’s main research interests concern the study of cognitive processes, such as perceptual and learning processes, and of the relationships between them and cognitive ergonomics with particular reference to contexts such as health, training, safety, social media, and social robotics. A specific focus of his research is on research integrity. He has directed and collaborated on national and European research projects.

Margherita Bicchi, BS, graduated in Communication Sciences at the University of Siena, where she is now studying for her master’s degree in Communication Strategies and Techniques. Her university courses are mainly concerned with the study of Design Thinking, User Experience and Digital Communication. She is interested in the psychological, social and ethical issues of Human-Robot Interaction.