Max Robotics — Global Service Robot Directory + US Certification

About

Fabio Tesser is a leading researcher in child-robot interaction, focusing on how robots can build long-term, adaptive social bonds with young users. His work, central to the ALIZ-E project, explores the design of socially intelligent robots capable of coordinated, context-aware behavior. Tesser’s most influential paper, “Multimodal Child-Robot Interaction: Building Social Bonds” (206 citations), lays the groundwork for sustainable social engagement, while his follow-up on multi-activity switching (101 citations) demonstrates practical strategies to maintain children’s interest over time. He has also made key contributions to non-verbal communication, investigating how children interpret emotional body language displayed by humanoid robots—a case study that garnered 75 citations. Tesser’s technical expertise is evident in his development of an event-based conversational system for the Nao robot, integrating spoken language processing for real-time interaction. His work has significant implications for educational and therapeutic applications, where robots can support learning and behavior change. With a strong record of high-impact publications, Tesser continues to advance the field of social robotics, bridging engineering and developmental psychology to create more natural, lasting human-robot relationships.