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Partners

The weDRAW consortium is composed of an interdisciplinary team of expert pedagogists, neuroscientists and technicians and is represented by five european countries. The pedagogical team is working with teachers at school to see how children use alternative sensory information respect to vision to represent geometrical and arithmetic aspects. The neuroscientific team is evaluating whether there is a natural cortical association between spatial and temporal representations and sensory modalities during the development to mediate the learning of specific geometrical and arithmetic concepts. The technological team is working to develop the new multisensory platform and the three serious games to foster the understanding of mathematical concepts in primary school children.

Who are we?

MONICA GORI

Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia

Researcher Tenure Track

Monica is Researcher Tenure Track at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia in Genova, leading the Unit for Visually Impaired People. She is an  expert of sensory and cogntitive development, multisensory integration, sensory-motor perception, visual disability and spatial perception. She is author or co-author of 41 international papers, 2 book chapters andmany conference abstracts. She is the scientific coordinator of the two european projects ABBI (EU FP7-ICT) and weDRAW (EU-H2020-ICT).

GUALTIERO VOLPE

Università degli Studi di Genova

Professor of Multimodal System

Gualtiero is an Associate Professor at DIBRIS, University of Genoa, where he teaches Multimodal Systems. He received his PhD in electronic and computer engineering in 2003 from the University of Genoa, Italy. His research interests include intelligent and affective human-machine interaction, social signal processing, sound and music computing, modelling and real-time analysis and synthesis of expressive content, and multimodal interactive systems. He is author or co-author of more than 100 scientific publications. He is the scientific responsible for DIBRIS of three EU-ICT projects investigating and applying multimodal technologies in the area of education (FP7 MIROR, H2020 TELMI). Together with Monica Gori, he is the scientific coordinator of the european project weDRAW (EU-H2020-ICT).

GABRIEL BAUD-BOVY

Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia

Professor of Psychophysics and Artificial Intelligence and Researcher

Gabriel is assistant Professor at San Raffaele University in Milan and Researcher at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia in Genova. His research brings together robotic technology, modelling, and pyschophysical methods to investigate questions in cognitive science and experimental psychology, with a focus on haptics, motor control, and perception.

ANTONIO CAMURRI

Università degli Studi di Genova

Professor of Human Computer Interaction and Multimodal Systems for Human Computer Interaction

Antonio received the Ph.D. degree in computer engineering from the University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy. He is currently a Full Professor with DIBRIS, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy. He is the Founder and Scientific Director of InfoMus Lab and of Casa Paganini (www.infomus.org). He is a Coordinator and Principal Investigator in EU projects (FP5, FP6, FP7, H2020, Culture 2007, Cost Actions). His research interests include multimodal intelligent interfaces and interactive systems; sound and music computing; computational models of expressive gesture, emotion, and social signals; and multimodal systems for theater, music, dance, museums, and health.

FIONA NEWELL

Trinity College Dublin

Professor of Psychology

Fiona is Professor of Psychology at the School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin. The main goal of her research is to provide a better understanding of how information is shared across the senses and to elucidate the brain processes involved in the perception of objects, faces and places across the main human sensory systems. Her main research interests are in human sensory and perceptual processes. She has published over 80 papers and chapters in many of the leading journals and text books in Psychology and Neuroscience.  Her research programme in multisensory perception is funded by several national and international organisations.

NADIA BIANCHI BERTHOUZE

University College London

Professor of Affective Computing and Interaction

Nadia Bianchi-Berthouze is a Full Professor in Affective Computing and Interaction at the Interaction Centre of the University College London (UCL). She received her PhD in Computer Science for Biomedicine from the University of the Studies of Milan, Italy. Her research focuses on designing technology that can sense the affective state of its users and use that information to tailor the interaction process. She has pioneered the field of Affective Computing and for more than a decade she has investigated body movement and more recently touch behavior as means to recognize and measure the quality of the user experience in full-body computer games, physical rehabilitation and textile design. She also studied how full-body technology and body sensory feedback can be used to modulate people’s perception of themselves and of their capabilities to improve self-efficacy and copying capabilities. She has published more than 170 papers. She was awarded the 2003 Technical Prize from the Japanese Society of Kansei Engineering.

Giulio Sandini

Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia

Professor of Bioengineering and Senior Researcher

Giulio is  Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Genoa and Senior Researcher at the Italian Institute of Technology and. After graduating in Electronic Engineering (Bioengineering) at the University of Genova in 1976 he became assistant Professor at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa until 1984 working on visual processing at the level of single neurons and in human adults and children. He has been Visiting Research Associate at the Department of Neurology of the Harvard Medical School in Boston where he developed diagnostic techniques based on brain electrical activity mapping. He founded the LIRA-Lab (Laboratory for Integrated Advanced Robotics). He was appointed Director of Research at the Italian Institute of Technology for the Department of Robotics, Brain and Cognitive Sciences.  His research activities are in the fields of Biological and Artificial Vision, Computational and Cognitive Neuroscience and Robotics with the objective of understanding the neural mechanisms of human sensory-motor coordination and cognitive development from a biological and an artificial perspective. A distinctive aspect of his research has been the multidisciplinarity of the approach expressed through national and international collaborations with neuroscientists, developmental psychologists.

SARA PRICE

University College London

Professor of Digital Learning

Sara is based at the UCL Knowledge Lab. She has a background in Psychology, with extensive experience in Human Computer Interaction (HCI), particularly in ubiquitous computing contexts. Her research focuses on the role of digital technologies for learning, teaching and training in school and health related education. Her work involves the design, development and evaluation of emerging digital technologies (e.g. mobile, tangible, sensor), exploring ways in which they can enhance teaching and learning through mediating new forms of interaction and new ways of thinking; and the development of methodological approaches in HCI. Her research engages with children (from pre-school to secondary school), school teachers, museum practitioners and medical educators. 

ELENA COCCHI

Istituto Chiossone Onlus

Head of the Istituto Chiossone Onlus

Elena obtained her degree in Medicine and Surgery in 1997 and her degree in Clinical Psychology in 2002. Between 2003 to 2007 she was Research fellow at the Child Neuropsychiatry Unit of Istituto G.Gaslini, Genoa. Since May 2009 she is Director of the Childhood Unit at the Istituto D.Chiossone, Genoa

LUIGI CUTURI

Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia

Post-Doc Researcher

Luigi Cuturi received his master's degree in Experimental Psychology from the University of Padua (Italy) in 2009. Afterwards, he started a Ph.D. in Munich (Germany) at the German Vertigo Center supervised by Dr. Paul MacNeilage. He focused his research on the investigation of visual and vestibular sensory contribution to self-motion perception. During this time, he also spent 3 months as visiting researcher in Prof. Barry Seemungal lab at the British Imperial College in London (England). In 2015, Luigi received his Ph.D. degree in Neuroscience from the Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences (GSN) of the Ludwig Maxmilian University (LMU-Munich). Since January 2016 Luigi works as post-doc researcher in Dr. Monica Gori lab group (U-VIP, Unit for Visually Impaired People). His research interests mainly regard multisensory perception, perception of verticality, spatial navigation, orientation and mobility.

GIULIA CAPPAGLI

Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia

Post-Doc Researcher

Giulia received her Master of Science in Psychology from the University of Florence in Italy under the supervision of Prof. David Burr with a thesis regarding the influence of the regression to the mean phenomenon on time perception in musicians. She obtained a Ph.D. in Bioengineers and Robotics from the University of Genoa affiliated with the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia under the supervision of Monica Gori and Prof. Giulio Sandini. During her Phd, she actively worked at the European project ABBI (Audio Bracelet for Blind Interactions). She was awarded a diploma with top marks in Music and Music Therapy. Her research interests cover a range of topics related to assessment and rehabilitation of spatial perception in visually impaired individuals, time perception in specific population such as musicians and autistic individuals, music therapy for developmental diseases.

Corinne Holmes

Trinity College Dublin

Post-Doc Researcher

Corinne received her Ph.D. in cognitive neuroscience from Temple University. Working with Dr. Nora Newcombe, Corinne’s research focused on spatial cognition - specifically, the development of navigation ability, spatial reasoning, and the acquisition and retrieval of spatial information.

Sarah Cooney

Trinity College Dublin

Post-Doc Researcher

Sarah is a post-doctoral fellow working with Prof. Fiona Newell in the Multisensory Cognition lab in Trinity College Dublin. During her time as a graduate student in Bangor University Wales and University College Dublin, Sarah employed a number of methods, including classic psychophysics and neuroimaging, to investigate how we visually represent and perceptually integrate information from the human body. Sarah’s Ph.D. research considered how the visual system processes information from socially salient directional cues, namely - head orientation, body orientation, and hand pointing direction.  Her research interests include face and body representation, joint attention, perceptual development and multisensory integration.

Temitayo A. Olugbade

University College London

Post-Doc Researcher

Temitayo A. Olugbade is a researcher at University College London with interests in AI and cognitive processes and emotional states, particularly within the development of technology to assist, support, or augment human capabilities/experiences. Her PhD (in Affective Computing, at University College London) was funded by the Presidental Special Scholarship Scheme for Innovation and Development. In 2011, she was awarded a National Information Technology Development Fund for her MSc in Intelligent Systems (University of Sussex). She has been an IEEE Certified Biometrics Professional since 2010.

Dimitrios Karadimas

Vision Business Consultant

Managing Director

Dimitris is VBC’s founder and he is the Managing Director. He has more than 25 years of industrial experience and extensive participation in EU funded RTD projects. He holds a M.Sc. in Computer Integrated Manufacturing from Cranfield University, UK and a B.Sc. in Computer Engineering from Roger Williams University, USA.

LEONIDAS SOMAKOS

Vision Business Consultant

Project Manager

Leonidas is working as a project manager in VBC. He has more than 16 years of experience as a project manager and coordinator of national and EU funded projects. He is a Spatial Planning engineer and holds an MSc in Local Sustainable Development. He is a doctoral candidate in Environmental Operational Research.

Efhtalia Rozalinta
Chasapidi Mavroeidi

Vision Business Consultant

Assistant Project Manager

Thaleia is an assistant project manager in VBC. She has 4 years of working experience as an assistant project manager and coordinator of national and EU funded projects. She has studied at the department of Geology and Geo-environment of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, with focus on environmental topics and then she continued with a Master in Management of Natural and Human-induced disasters. Complementary to her studies, she holds a diploma on Journalism from a private college.

Athanassios-Panagiotis
Boveros

Vision Business Consultant

Assistant Project Manager

Thanassis works as an assistant project manager in VBC. He has studied in Harokopio University of Athens, Department of Geography, with focus on geoinformatics and geological studies. He’s a candidate for a Master in Applied Geography and Spatial Management at the same University.

Georgios Karadimas

Vision Business Consultant

Junior Software Engineer

George is working as a junior software developer in various VBC EU projects, while studying at National Technical University of Athens in the School of Naval Architecture Mechanical Engineering. Technology areas include Process Monitoring in Robotic Additive Manufacturing, as well as AR/VR Applications in Cultural Heritage.

Mireille Prunier

Ignition Factory

CEO of Ignition Factory

Mireille has a 25 years experience as a Consultant, Administrator, Manager or Director. She is the CEO of Ignition Factory since 2012. She received a Bachelor of Management, Business Administration and Management General from University of Panthéon Assas, Paris II in 1992. Ignition Factory mission statement is to ignite passion for learning and our teams endeavour to do so through gamification, cognitive psychology and interactive multimedia.

 

Stephane Laffargue

Ignition Factory

Game Designer

Stephane received a Master's degree in Game Design from ISART DIGITAL Paris, an international institute of higher education specializing in Video Games, 3D Animation and VFX. He received a BTEC Higher National Diploma in Physics and Electronics in 1996 and a OCRSA Diploma in Sound Engineering From IMW Studio in London in 2000. As a Game Designer Stephane devises what a game consists of and how it plays. He plans and defines all the elements of a game: its setting; structure; rules; story flow; characters; the objects, props, vehicles, and devices available to the characters; interface design; and modes of play. Once the game is devised, Stephane communicates this to the rest of the development team who create the art assets and computer code that allow the game to be played.

Felix Lescaudey de Maneville

Ignition Factory

Game Developer

Felix received a Master’s degree in Information Technology From EPITECH, an IT higher education institution in France. He works as a game developer at Ignition-Factory. He also followed a game design cursus in Keimyung University in South Korea. On the sid, Félix is working on an game: Ab Irato.”  www.abirato.net 

Amandine Levastois

Ignition Factory

Learning Designer

Amandine is working at Ignition Factory (Paris, France) as a learning designer. She has experience as school teacher in France. Her main aim is to use her creativity and her knowledge of pedagogy to design devices multimedia in Ignition Factory’s projects. She would like to optimise the appeal, effectiveness and efficiency of instruction learning experiences and to use methodologies design lesson or a unit of learning of course, to create e-learning or job aids.

Kamil Cetin

Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia

Post-doc Researcher

Kamil Cetin received his M.Sc. Degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Dokuz Eylul University in Turkey in 2007. During his M.Sc. studies, he also worked as an Electronic Engineer in healthcare industry in Izmir for four years. Then, he worked EU funded FP7 projects (ASPIRE and ISISEMD) and pursued his career as a Research Assistant in the Electronic Systems Department at Aalborg University in Denmark for three years. In 2016, he received his Ph.D. Degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Izmir Institute of Technology in Turkey. During his Ph.D. studies, he worked within a national project supported by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey. Since May 2017, he works as a Post-Doctoral Researcher in the Robotics Brain Cognitive and Science Department at the Italian Institute of Technology. His research interests include robot manipulators, telerobotic systems, nonlinear control methods, and cable-driven robots.

Nicolò Balzarotti

Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia

Phd Student

Nicolò received his master's degree in Psychology, curriculum in Neuroscience, from the University Vita-Salute San Raffaele in Milan, Italy, under the supervision of Prof. Gabriel Baud-Bovy and Dr. Sergio Solinas (2017). He is enrolled in the Bioengineering and Robotics Ph.D at DIBRIS, University of Genova, and he's working in the Dynamic Touch and Interaction (DTI) group at the Robotics, Brain and Cognitive Science Department (RBCS) of Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT). He's studying the haptic perception and the haptic rendering by using force feedback devices.

Erica Volta

Università degli Studi di Genova

Phd Student

Erica Volta received her Master of Science in Cognitive Science and Decision-Making Processes from the University of Milan in Italy in 2016. Her thesis regarded  the development of an adaptive prototype for multisensory e-learning, focused on the usability for people with learning deficits, such as dyslexia, and foreign learners. She is currently a PhD student of Computer Science at Computer Science and Technology, Bioengineering, Robotics and Systems Engineering Department (DIBRIS) of University of Genoa. Her research interests cover a range of topics related to computational cognitive science, particularly applied to multisensory and multimodal integration, multimodal rehabilitation system for children, multimodal technology for interactive environment, technology integration with performing arts (mainly music), music therapy for developmental disease and sensory integration deficits.

Carla Gilio

Istituto Chiossone Onlus

DOCTOR IN PSYCHOLOGY

Carla is doctor in Psychology, Music Therapist and Counselor in helping relationships.

She has been working since 1997 at Chiossone in the Rehabilitation unit in developmental agew with visual impairment children and youth.

Her main interest is the communication,  intrapersonal and interpersonal, through different channels: verbal, sound and body with the purpose to facilitate people, at any age, to become aware about themselves and much more powerful, efficacy and master of one’s life.

Are you willing to collaborate with us? Contact us and we will send more information about the weDRAW project.