Cesco Willemse
Papers
13
Total Citations
265
H-Index
8
About
Cesco Willemse is a cognitive neuroscientist and human-robot interaction researcher whose work sits at the fascinating intersection of social cognition, robotics, and attitudinal psychology. His research primarily investigates how humans perceive, engage with, and form attitudes toward robots and artificial agents, with a particular focus on the role of gaze behavior in shaping these experiences. Willemse's most influential work — exploring how resting-state brain activity predicts attitudinal biases toward robots (72 citations) — reveals a neurological basis for the deeply personal ways individuals relate to robotic agents. His substantial body of research on robotic gaze demonstrates that when humanoid robots respond to and follow human gaze cues, people find them more likeable, more engaging, and more socially credible. Studies using innovative mobile eye-tracking in naturalistic settings (41–47 citations) underscore how joint attention mechanisms, long studied in human-human interaction, translate meaningfully into human-robot contexts. Beyond perception, Willemse has explored practical applications in rehabilitation and assistive technology, comparing socially assistive robots to virtual agents in therapeutic settings. His meticulous examination of subtle eye movement parameters further highlights his commitment to translating fundamental cognitive science into actionable robot design principles — work that grows increasingly vital as robots become embedded in everyday human life.
Research Focus
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