RobotiCSS Lab

Established in 2018, the RobotiCSS Lab is a research laboratory focusing on the philosophical, theoretical and empirical aspects of the bidirectional interaction between robotics and cognitive science. It is affiliated with the Department of Human Sciences for Education at the University of Milano-Bicocca and forms part of the CAPTED Departmental Research Centre. From 2026 to 2031, the lab's activities will mainly be funded under the FIS programme as part of the RiLS (Robots in Life Sciences) project.

The main questions addressed in the laboratory are philosophical, specifically relating to the philosophy of science and the mind. However, the laboratory takes an 'in vivo' approach, formulating and addressing the philosophical questions from within experimental studies promoted and carried out in the lab with the support of the scientific and technical staff.

There are currently two active research lines. One focuses on understanding what robotics can offer in terms of discovering and testing cognitive theories about animal minds. The other focuses on how people perceive and understand robots in everyday situations, as well as the structure and conceptual basis of the scientific study of this understanding.

But the RobotiCSS Lab is a dynamic place where new areas of research may emerge quickly!

The lab's equipment includes NAO and Pepper robots, numerous non-humanoid robots, electronic prototyping facilities, Tobii Pro Eye Tracker glasses, and wearable EEG devices. The lab also has materials for ecological observation and qualitative analysis of human–robot interaction.