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About

Tommaso Ruberto is a researcher at the intersection of robotics, animal behavior, and computational biology, with a particular focus on zebrafish as a model organism for studying social and emotional responses. His work has pioneered the integration of biomimetic robotic systems into controlled behavioral experiments, enabling unprecedented precision in how animal stimuli are designed, delivered, and analyzed. Ruberto's most influential contribution, "Closed-loop control of zebrafish behaviour in three dimensions using a robotic stimulus" (2018, 63 citations), exemplifies his signature approach: leveraging real-time computer vision and feedback control to create two-way interactions between animals and robotic replicas. His earlier work establishing zebrafish responses to three-dimensional robotic conspecifics (2016, 47 citations) laid the groundwork for this methodology, while his investigations into 3D-printed replicas helped clarify what visual and behavioral features fish actually respond to. Beyond robotics, Ruberto has applied information-theoretic tools — specifically transfer entropy — to decode causal dynamics in predator-prey interactions, bridging quantitative theory with live animal experiments. Collectively accumulating over 160 citations, his research has helped establish robotic platforms as rigorous, reproducible alternatives to live animal stimuli, advancing both behavioral neuroscience and the broader field of bio-inspired robotics.