HugLab is a a laboratory of interaction design at the Insitute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council of Italy, ISTC-CNR.
HugLab was established as a branch of the research group Laboratory of Embodied Natural and Artificial Intelligence, LENAI
PH.D. design and innovation
Beste Ozcan
She is an experience and interaction designer, post-doctoral research fellow at the Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council of Italy, ISTC-CNR. Dr Beste Özcan is the creator of the world’s first Transitional Wearable Companions (TWC) concept, an award-winning smart wearable social companion designed for children with neurodevelopmental disorders. She is involved in various interdisciplinary research projects concerning the development of novel interactive, smart devices designed to support early intervention in neurodevelopmental disorders by improving human motivation during social and emotional engagement. She is co-founder of startup company Huglab s.r.l.
M.A. Psychology
Valerio Sperati
Researcher at Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technology; M.A. in Experimental Psychology. Co-founder of Huglab s.r.l.
PH.D. COMPUTER SCIENCE
Gianluca Baldassarre
Director of Research at Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council of Italy, ISTC-CNR; PhD in Computer Science; Co-founder of CNR spin-off company AI2Life srl (https://ai2life.com/)
Biomedical engineer
Giampiero Bartolomei
Biomedical Engineer and Research Fellow at the Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies (ISTC-CNR), with multidisciplinary expertise spanning wearable device development, advanced physiological signal analysis, and the integration of artificial intelligence algorithms. Strong background in clinical engineering, with a focus on innovation, rapid prototyping, and applied research.
PH.d. COMPUTER SCIENCE
Giovanni Granato
Giovanni Granato is a researcher at the Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies (ISTC) of the National Research Council (CNR). He holds an international PhD (IT-UK) in “Computational Neuropsychology” and is currently coordinating a research line aimed at (a) investigating the neuropsychological traits underlying individual higher-order cognition and (b) developing automated neuropsychological pipelines for scientific and clinical purposes. Giovanni is an autistic researcher—affiliated with HugLab, LENAI (Laboratory of Embodied Natural and Artificial Intelligence), and ORPA (Officina di Ricerca Partecipativa sull’Autismo)—who coordinates autism research and provides consultancy on participatory research methodologies for autism.
