Research

A gesture's meaning lives in how it moves — its force, its timing, its grain. We study where that dynamic signature shows up, and build the tools precise enough to measure it.

What We Study

Social interaction
Social communication

Human Interaction

In our daily social interactions, the way we perform actions is crucial for communication and promoting relationships. This dynamicity of action has been termed by Daniel Stern "Vitality Forms" (VFs) and allows people to express their own state and understand that of others.

Human-robot interaction
iCub & beyond

Human-Robot Interaction

The study of VFs also finds application in the robotic field, where it is used to improve the kinematics of humanoid agents (such as iCub) by making them increasingly human-like, and to study human-robot interactions.

Autism research
Clinical application

Autism

Children with autism spectrum condition show significant difficulties in both understanding (Rochat et al., 2024; Di Cesare et al., 2017) and expressing (Di Cesare et al., 2024) vitality forms (VFs) compared to neurotypical children. We are currently studying these aspects of communication in depth to develop personalized clinical interventions that improve social interaction among children, caregivers, and parents.

AI and robotics
Machine learning

AI & Robotics

Artificial intelligence is leveraged to equip the iCub robot with the ability to express a wide range of goal-directed actions, fostering more natural and meaningful interactions with humans. Within this framework, our experiments exploit AI-driven approaches to investigate the intrinsic properties of vitality forms (VFs), which are difficult to capture using conventional data analysis techniques. Looking ahead, we aim to further refine our experimental methodology by integrating advanced AI in robotics to achieve adaptive and precise control of iCub's movements during human–robot interactions.

How We Study It

fMRI scanner illustration
Neuroimaging

Real-Time fMRI

Our team is implementing real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging on a GE 3 Tesla scanner — measuring brain activity while people act, so we can noninvasively probe its causal role in behavior.

Kinematics illustration
Motion capture

Kinematics

Motion capture (Optitrack V120 Trio, Vicon, MR_cam) tracks markers on anatomical landmarks to record the kinematic signature of vitality forms in real human–human and human–robot interaction.

Physiological measurement equipment
Physiological signals

Physiological Measurements

ECG and EMG track the heart's and muscles' electrical activity; eye-tracking follows visual attention — together, a physiological read on social interaction.

Perceptual timing

Psychophysics

Estimation and reaction times reveal how VFs are perceived — for instance, how a vocal request's vitality form shifts the perceived duration of a goal-directed action.