Fabiana Vernero
Papers
7
Total Citations
29
H-Index
2
About
Fabiana Vernero is a leading researcher in Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), with a focus on the psychological and emotional dimensions of how people perceive and engage with social robots. Her work centers on empathy, mental state attribution, and adaptive emotional alignment in robotic systems. In her highly cited 2023 study, she demonstrated that the humanoid robot NAO, when designed to trigger situational empathy in humans, can significantly stimulate the attribution of mental states toward the robot itself—a finding that has garnered 14 citations and reshaped understanding of robot social cognition. Vernero has also explored how robot personality and memory influence user modeling, and how emotionally aligned communication can enhance persuasion and user empathy. Her 2025 experiments on adaptive emotional alignment represent cutting-edge contributions to empathic HRI. Beyond human interaction, she is pioneering Animal-Robot Interaction (ARI), developing AI prototypes that enable robots to recognize and adapt to dogs’ emotional and postural states. With a growing citation record and a portfolio of experimental studies using platforms like NAO and Pepper, Vernero is shaping the future of socially intelligent robotics.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1Can empathy affect the attribution of mental states to robots?14 citations · 2023
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- 5End-User Development for the Wolly Robot2 citations · 2019
- 6Can empathy affect the attribution of mental states to robots?2 citations · 2023
- 7Robots adapting to dogs: a new frontier?1 citations · 2025