Papers
27
Total Citations
502
H-Index
10
About
Giuseppe Palestra is a pioneering researcher at the intersection of social robotics, artificial intelligence, and assistive technology, with a particular focus on applying these tools to vulnerable populations. His most celebrated contribution involves harnessing humanoid robots — most notably the NAO robot — to support therapeutic and cognitive interventions for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). His 2019 work on NAO as a memory trainer for elderly individuals has garnered 115 citations, reflecting its significant influence on the field of robot-assisted therapy. Palestra's research pioneered automatic emotion recognition systems within robot-child interactions for ASD treatment, developing multimodal, multilevel systems capable of detecting nonverbal cues and simulating empathic behavior. These contributions, collectively accumulating hundreds of citations, have helped establish a rigorous scientific foundation for socially assistive robotics in clinical settings. Beyond healthcare, his work extends to culturally inclusive applications, exploring how social robots can support unaccompanied migrant children in learning language and cultural gestures. His interdisciplinary breadth — spanning biometrics, conversational recommender systems, and ICT in autism care — marks him as a versatile and humanistically motivated scientist whose research genuinely advances technology in service of human dignity.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
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- 3Simulating empathic behavior in a social assistive robot57 citations · 2016
- 4ICT and autism care50 citations · 2018
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- 8Artificial intelligence for robot-assisted treatment of autism19 citations · 2017
- 9
- 10Soft Biometrics for Social Adaptive Robots10 citations · 2019