Davide Bacciu
Davide Bacciu is Associate Professor at the Computer Science Department, University of Pisa. He received his Ph.D. from IMT Lucca in 2008, for which he was awarded the 2009 E.R. Caianiello Award. His research interests cover machine learning for structured data, Bayesian learning, deep learning and its intersection with generative approaches, reservoir computing, distributed and embedded learning systems, with over 160 published works on the topic. He is the coordinator of the EIC EMERGE and H2020 TEACHING projects, as well as of Italian national and industrial projects.
He serves in several editorial and scientific boards, including acting as vice-chair of the IEEE technical committee on Neural Networks and as vice president of the Italian Association for AI.
Cosimo Della Santina
Cosimo Della Santina is Assistant Professor at Cognitive Robotics (CoR), TU Delft. He received his PhD in robotics (cum laude, 2019) from University of Pisa. He was then a visiting PhD student and a postdoc (2017 to 2019) at the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). From 2020, he is affiliated to the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) as external research scientist. For the first eight months of the same year he also held a post doc position at the department of Mathematics and Informatics, Technical University of Munich (TUM). He is now a guest lecturer at the same university.
His main research interests include (i) Modelling for Control and Model Based Control of Soft Robots, (ii) Combining Machine Learning and Model Based Strategies with application to soft robotics, (iii) Soft Robotic Hands/prostheses.
Ophelia Deroy
Ophelia Deroy holds the Chair in Philosophy of Mind and Neuroscience at the LMU and is a member of the Munich Center for Neuroscience (MCN) in Munich. She is the former deputy director of the Institute of Philosophy at the University of London. She continues to direct the Center for Research in Experimental Aesthetics, Technology and Engineering there. She specialises in the philosophy of mind and cognitive neurosciences and has widely published on issues related to sensory and social interactions, both in philosophical and scientific journals. Her current research looks at specific cognitive benefits stemming from interactions.
She is an active promoter and a leading advocate of more robust connections between philosophical and scientific approaches to the mind and AI. Her work is frequently featured in the media, such as BBC4, the New York Times, New Scientist, Nature World View, NPR Radio, or Arte. In addition, she collaborates with museums and institutions to harvest the benefits of social interactions in their physical or virtual settings.
Sabine Hauert
Sabine Hauert is Associate Professor (Reader) of Swarm Engineering at the University of Bristol in the UK. Her research focusses on making swarms for people, and across scales, from nanorobots for cancer treatment, to larger robots for environmental monitoring, or logistics. Before joining the University of Bristol, Sabine engineered swarms of nanoparticles for cancer treatment at MIT, and deployed swarms of flying robots at EPFL.
Sabine is also President and Co-founder of Robohub.org, and executive trustee of AIhub.org, two non-profits dedicated to connecting the robotics and AI communities to the public.
As an expert in science communication with 10 years of experience, Sabine is often invited to discuss the future of robotics and AI, including in the journal Nature, at the European Parliament, and at the Royal Society. Her work has been featured in mainstream media including BBC, CNN, The Guardian, The Economist, TEDx, WIRED, and New Scientist.
