Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Researcher at the intersection of computational neuroscience, machine intelligence, and robotics, on a mission to explore the blurring boundaries between biological and artificial life. I draw inspiration from the brain to endow physical robots with agency, autonomy and advanced cognitive capabilities. In turn, designing artificial cognitive systems enables development and testing of brain theory, hence closing a virtuous cycle between science and engineering. Currently, my research focuses on investigating how brains natively capture, embody, and exploit the inherent multi-scale, compositional structure of the world around them in order to achieve goals and dynamic stability with their environment. In particular, I am designing a brain-inspired hierarchical, multi-scale world model for fast compositional skill learning, efficient long-range spatial navigation, and reliable long-horizon planning. Interdisciplinarity lies at the heart of my approach. I'm deeply committed to open science and fostering healthy environments where knowledge thrives through intellectual freedom and collaboration. In addition to my research, I employ drone photogrammetry to map historical sites across Europe, helping to preserve our cultural heritage.
Official website: https://bcom.one I hold an honorary position at BCOM, where I lead and contribute to multiple collaborative high-risk, high-reward research projects at the intersection of computational neuroscience, artificial intelligence, artificial life, ecology, arts, and the social sciences.
Computational neuroscience, NeuroAI.
I'm studying how information is encoded and propagated in oscillatory neural networks. Closely-related topics include traveling waves, criticality, and chaotic dynamics. I mostly apply tools and concepts from spiking neural networks, deep learning, information theory, nonlinear dynamics, and coupled oscillators. Moreover, I follow the synthetic approach by embedding my models in AI and robotic systems for real-world validation. Also involved in several UE projects: Virtual Brain Cloud; HR-Recycler. In addition, I do UAV-based photogrammetry and 3D modeling for UE projects related to cultural heritage.
Within the Synthetic Perceptive, Emotive, and Cognitive Systems (SPECS) research group, I collaborate in several research lines, involving applying brain models to real robots. - Cerebellar learning for robust anticipatory control. - Hippocampal models for efficient spatial navigation. - Adaptive grasping for robots.