Max Robotics — Global Service Robot Directory + US Certification

About

Alberto Sanna is a multidisciplinary researcher whose work bridges social robotics, surgical automation, and human-computer interaction, with a particular focus on how intelligent systems can improve human health and well-being. He is perhaps best known for his pioneering contributions to child-robot interaction, exploring how humanoid robots can sustain meaningful, multi-session engagements with young users to support learning, behavior change, and healthy habits — work that has garnered over 100 citations. His research into motivational robotics has investigated how robots can persuade children to adopt healthier behaviors, such as improved nutrition, complementing parallel work on technology-based nutritional education in schools. Sanna has also made significant contributions to surgical robotics, advancing the development of cognitively capable systems able to perform simple autonomous surgical tasks, and demonstrating the frontier potential of 5G-enabled telesurgery on cadaveric models. His requirements engineering frameworks for intelligent surgical robots have helped formalize the design of next-generation autonomous medical systems. Across these domains, Sanna's cumulative citation record reflects sustained scholarly impact, with his most influential works collectively cited hundreds of times. His research stands at a compelling intersection of robotics, healthcare, and child development, making him a valuable reference point for students exploring socially assistive and medical robotics.