SHORT BIO

My name is Micol Spitale, and I’m currently a PostDoc at the Affective Intelligence & Robotics Laboratory (AFAR Lab), Department of Computer Science & Technology of the University of Cambridge. My research focuses on developing a Socio-emotionally Adaptive Robotic (ARoEQ) platform that can foster wellbeing through coaching and psychologically-proven interventions.

I’ve just finalized my Ph.D. (end of October 2021) in Information Technology (Computer Science and Engineering Area) affiliated with IBM Italy and co-funded by EIT Digital (started in November 2018). I’m working at the I3Lab, a laboratory in the Department of Electronics, Information, and Bioengineering at Politecnico di Milano, which aims to develop interactive and innovative technologies for children with intellectual disabilities in March 2018 (after my graduation in Space Engineering at Politecnico di Milano). I have worked as a researcher assistant for six months on different research projects, such as social robots to convey emotions and multisensory rooms for children with neurodevelopment disorders. Then, I won a Ph.D. fellowship, and I started my research on «Conversational Technologies for Children with Cognitive Disabilities». During my second year of Ph.D., I spent six months at the University of Southern California (USC) in the Interaction Lab, where I explored the use of robots for supporting children with cognitive disabilities. Finally, my doctoral thesis is focusing on applying conversational Socially Assistive Robots (SARs) for assessing and training linguistic skills of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
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