Ilaria Gaudiello

About

Ilaria Gaudiello is a leading researcher at the intersection of human-robot interaction, educational robotics, and cognitive psychology. Her work fundamentally explores how humans perceive, trust, and learn alongside robots—bridging technical functionality with social and educational acceptance. Her most influential study, with 196 citations, experimentally demonstrated that trust serves as a critical indicator of both functional and social acceptance of humanoid robots like iCub, revealing how users conform to a robot’s answers under perceptual uncertainty. Gaudiello has also made seminal contributions to educational robotics, co-authoring the widely cited work *Learning Robotics, with Robotics, by Robotics*, which established a tripartite framework for understanding robotics as a learning tool, subject, and pedagogical method. Her research on control heuristics and children’s interaction with robotics kits has provided foundational parameters for evaluating learning strategies in STEM education. By integrating insights from psychology, educational sciences, and artificial intelligence, Gaudiello has shaped how researchers and educators design robotic systems that are not only functional but also trusted and educationally effective. Her work continues to influence the development of socially acceptable robots and evidence-based robotics curricula.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Trust as indicator of robot functional and social acceptance. An experimental study on user conformation to iCub answers

   196 citations · 2016
2. 2
   The ontological and functional status of robots: How firm our representations are?

   32 citations · 2015
3. 3
   Learning Robotics, with Robotics, by Robotics

   32 citations · 2016
4. 4
   La robotique éducationnelle : état des lieux et perspectives

   21 citations · 2012
5. 5
   Using control heuristics as a means to explore the educational potential of robotics kits

   16 citations · 2013
6. 6
   Learning Robotics, with Robotics, by Robotics: Educational Robotics

   8 citations · 2016
7. 7
   Representations to go: learning robotics, learning by robotics

   5 citations · 2010
8. 8
   Control heuristics for educational robots: a pilot study

   4 citations · 2012
9. 9
   Trust as indicator of robot functional and social acceptance. An experimental study on user conformation to the iCub's answers

   4 citations · 2015
10. 10
    La robotique éducative en science : pourquoi et comment

    2 citations · 2019

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links