Ricardo Rodrigues Nunes

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About

Ricardo Rodrigues Nunes is a leading figure in assistive and social robotics, with a focus on creating robots that can safely and naturally interact with humans. His research spans key areas including humanoid design, tactile sensing, and physical human-robot interaction (pHRI). Nunes’s most influential work, "Vizzy: A Humanoid on Wheels for Assistive Robotics" (2015, 36 citations), introduced a novel platform designed for real-world assistance, blending mobility with a humanoid form. He has made major contributions to tactile sensing, as demonstrated in his 2021 paper on a soft, magnetic-based tactile sensor integrated with hybrid flexible-rigid electronics (16 citations). This work addresses the critical challenge of miniaturizing sensors for robotic hands, enabling precise object manipulation. Further showcasing his impact, Nunes explored the nuanced task of human-aware handshakes in his 2018 study (15 citations), where he used tactile sensors to achieve compliant, natural grasps for social robots. By tackling these complex, interdisciplinary problems, Nunes has advanced the frontier of robots that can work alongside people, with his work collectively cited over 67 times, underscoring its influence on both assistive technology and human-robot collaboration.