Giulia Perugia

Dr. Giulia Perugia is an Assistant Professor at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), affiliated with the Human Technology Interaction group within the School of Industrial Engineering and Innovation Sciences. She holds a BA in Literature and Linguistics from the University of Roma Tre, an MSc in Cognitive Science (Summa cum Laude) from the University of Siena, and a double PhD in Assistive Technologies from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia and TU/e. Prior to joining TU/e in 2021, she conducted postdoctoral research at Uppsala Social Robotics Lab (2018–2021). Her research focuses on Social Robotics, Social Psychology, and Ethical HRI, investigating societal biases in robot design and their impact on human interactions. She has contributed to projects like the ESDiT initiative exploring ethics in disruptive technologies. Notable achievements include the 2022 Honorable Mention for User Studies at HRI and the 2017 RSJ/KROS Distinguished Interdisciplinary Research Award. She teaches courses on Human-Robot Interaction, Qualitative Methods, and User Experience Design.

Research interests include studying perceptions of social robots over time, biases in humanoid robot design, and applications for people with dementia. She has developed engagement models like ENGAGE-DEM to improve quality of life through technology. Her work bridges cognitive science, robotics, and ethics, with over 30 peer-reviewed publications and media engagements discussing gendering robots and societal implications.