Francesco Petriglia

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About

Francesco Petriglia is a leading researcher at the intersection of assistive robotics and cognitive rehabilitation, with a primary focus on human-robot interaction for neurodevelopmental disorders. His most influential work critically examines the use of social robots—particularly the Pepper robot—as therapeutic tools for autistic children. In his highly cited 2025 study, "Navigating Assistive Robotics for Autism," Petriglia provides a comprehensive assessment of a four-month therapeutic laboratory, evaluating the effectiveness, benefits, limitations, and ethical considerations of robot-assisted interventions. This work has already garnered 4 citations, signaling its growing impact on the field. Petriglia is also recognized for his innovative 2022 paper on "Ontologies and Open Data for Enriching Personalized Social Moments in Human Robot Interaction," which proposes a framework for using structured data to create adaptive, personalized social dialogues between humans and robots. This research, developed within the Sugar, Salt & Pepper laboratory, demonstrates how ontological models can enhance robot responsiveness in therapeutic contexts aimed at promoting autonomy and functional skills. Petriglia’s contributions are shaping the future of ethical, data-driven assistive robotics, offering practical pathways for integrating social robots into clinical and educational settings.