LIRA-Lab, University of Genova
Italian lab founded 1990 by Prof. Giulio Sandini; birthplace of the iCub humanoid robot, adopted by 30+ labs worldwide as a cognitive robotics platform.
LIRA-Lab (Laboratory for Integrated Advanced Robotics) is a research laboratory within the University of Genova, Italy, founded in 1990 by Professor Giulio Sandini, a bioengineering professor who became a foundational figure in cognitive and developmental robotics. The lab is internationally recognised as the origin of the iCub humanoid robot platform.
The iCub was developed through the EU-funded RobotCub project (2004-2010, IST-004370), a consortium of eleven European institutions coordinated by Sandini. Designed as a child-sized open humanoid platform (approximately 104 cm tall), the iCub was created to investigate embodied cognition and the sensory-motor-cognitive development of autonomous systems. Since its initial release in 2006, the iCub has been adopted by more than 30 research laboratories worldwide, making it one of the most widely distributed humanoid platforms in academic robotics.
In 2006, Sandini co-founded the Department of Robotics, Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Genova, establishing a close institutional link between LIRA-Lab and IIT that shaped iCub's continued evolution. The iCub research has been published extensively, including in Advanced Robotics and proceedings of IEEE ICRA and IROS conferences.
Research themes at LIRA-Lab encompass embodied cognition, developmental robotics, visual perception modelled on human biology, tactile sensing, and human-robot interaction. The lab's work on the iCub has informed research in neuroscience, rehabilitation robotics, and social robotics worldwide.
The lab is situated in Genova, a city with a strong tradition in engineering and maritime industries, and benefits from proximity to IIT's headquarters, enabling ongoing collaboration with IIT's Humanoids and Human-Centred Mechatronics research lines.
Primary type & automation activities this supplier delivers:
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Contact LIRA-Lab, University of Genova
WEBSITE
https://www.liralab.it/PHONE
+39 010 209 1HEADQUARTERS
Italy
Company Facts
Founded
1990
Primary Role
Research Institute
Company Size
employees 10-50
Primary Region
Europe
Annual Sales
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Funding Stage
-
Funding Total
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