About

Francesco Vigni is an Italian-Dominican engineer researching how robots integrate into social environments. He earned his Ph.D. in Information and Communication Technology for Health (ICTH) in 2025 from the University of Naples Federico II, with a thesis titled "The Unscripted Encounter: Social Cues for Spontaneous Human-Robot Interactions." His doctoral research was funded by the European Horizon 2020 research and innovation program PERSEO. During his Ph.D., he was affiliated with the ICAROS research center.
He has industry experience in robot perception, motion planning, and autonomous systems. His work includes software development for stereo vision and 3D perception, improving grasping strategies for robotic manipulation, and motion planning solutions for social robots. Additionally, he has worked on embedded vision systems utilizing deep learning techniques for real-time object detection.
In 2018, he completed his M.Sc. in Computer and Automation Engineering with honors at the University of Siena, Italy. In 2015, he earned his B.Sc. in Management Engineering from the same university.
His research focuses on leveraging social cues for natural and spontaneous human-robot interactions. He designs and tests human-inspired robotic behaviours to enhance engagement and social acceptability, aiming to bridge human communication and robotic systems.