profile

Alessia Rullo has a Ph.D. in Information and Communication Technologies at the Informatics Engineering Department of Uni-
versity of Florence, Italy (http://tsi.det.unifi.it ), with a dissertation entitled: Aesthetics of Use: a methodological perspective
on Ambient Computing.
She is currently a Post-doctoral researcher at University of Siena. Alessia research interests include user and design research
with a special focus on the design of ambient technologies in critical and fragile settings. She has a considerable experience
in the area of Aesthetics of Interaction for which she proposed a set of methodological tools to manage and investigate the
socio-technical impact of ambient technologies in health care settings.
She has been collaborating within the Department of Communication Science, University of Siena since the beginning of
2004 working as design analyst and interaction designer (http://www.discom.unisi.it/ida/).
She obtained her master degree in 2003 with a theoretical and design experimentation on the use of modular robotics. She
has been working in several European and Italian projects concerning the design of ambient computing systems, investigation
of wearable technologies and new materials for patients monitoring, the use of robotics application as therapeutic aids, and
development of web 2.0 concept and services.
She is author and co-author of several scientific papers in the field of HCI, Interaction Design, Ambient Computing, Pervasive
Health and Human Robot Interaction.
Alessia is currently lecturer in Activity Analysis and Requirements Definition in the Master program in Interaction Design
at University of Siena. She is also lecturer in Design of Communication Tehcnologies in the Master Program in Publishing,
Journalism and Communication at Sassari University.

research areas
Human Computer Interaction, Interaction Design, Design and User Research, Aesthetics of Interaction, Tangible Media, Per-
vasive Computing, WearableTechnologies for Health Care, Smart Material, Human Robot Interaction, Web 2.0

education
2007: Ph.D. in Telematics and Information Society at Informatics Engineering Department of University of Florence, Italy
(http://tsi.det.unifi.it).
Title of Dissertation: Aesthetics of Use: a methodological perspective on Ambient Computing.
The research work provides a methodological perspective on the notion of the Aesthetics of Interaction in ambient computing
systems. Aesthetics of Interaction is challenged by the design proposal for the soft qualities of interaction, which is used as
a tool to complement the existing design methodologies. Such perspective is based on the work conducted in the Neonatal
Intensive Care Unit at Siena Hospital - Italy as part of the EU PalCom project over a period of four years. The early outcomes
provide a heuristic account, which questions the design process by fostering the novel complexity of ambient technologies in
delicate and fragile settings.

2003: Laurea Degree (Magna cum Laude) in Communication Science at University of Siena.
Title of Dissertation: The Living Tree: designing a robotic kit for supporting emotive knowledge in children.
This research work has been conducted in collaboration with Maersk McKinney Moller Institute for Production Technology,
Southern Denmark University - Denmark.

2003: Urban Design Course at ARSNOVA, Academy of Multimedia Arts, Siena, Italy; supervisors: Massimo Randone; Lorenzo
Consalez; Denis Santachiara
http://www.experimentelsa.org/

2002: Winner of the Erasmus Program Scholarship for the Facultade de Ciencias, Univeritade de Lisboa (March-June,
2002).
PROJECTS

FROM DECEMBER 2008: PLAY+ SPECIAL

www.playpiu.it
Development of a system of soft modular furniture for kindergarten. The project builds on a close collabo-
ration between industrial designers and HCI experts to produce a collections of playful furniture for both
motor impaired and not impaired children. This work is in collaboration with De-Tales, London (http://www.
de-tales.com/IT_company.htm)
Main Tasks: HCI expert, concept design.

FROM SEPTEMBER 2008: ITSME CONCEPT EVALUATION

www.itsme.org
Itsme is an Italian project that involves several academic and research institutions, funded by a group of
investors and venture capitalists. The main objective of the project is to create an alliance between techno-
logy, research and design for a radical innovation in the workstation domain guided by a “new metaphor”.
Itsme aims to provide a diversity of high-tech solutions, systems, and tools designed specifically to power a
workstation into a more effective and user friendly affair.
Main Tasks: Conceptual evaluation of the system; personas development; scenarios development; question-
naire and focus group; data analysis.

FROM JANUARY 2008: WEARABLE AND AMBIENT TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE NEONATAL INTEN-
SIVE CARE UNIT
http://www.discom.unisi.it/ida/projects/ongoing/wearable-and-ambient-technologies-neonatal-intensive-ca-
re-unit
Research project in collaboration with the Ospedale “Le Scotte” of Siena and the INDACO Dept, Milan
Polytechnic Institute. The project develops and tests on the field a prototype system for unobtrusive recor-
ding and monitoring of multiple biological parameters of premature newborns hospitalized in the Neonatal
Intensive Care Unit.
The project aims at exploring the use of non invasive and non intrusive technologies for the monitoring of
premature and very low weight newborns, evaluating the reliability of the prototyped solutions and under-
standing the impact of their use on the work of the Neonatal Team.
Main Tasks: Participatory Design activities, Requirements definition; Experimental plan definition; Collec-
tion of Data; Qualitative analysis.

MARCH - JUNE 2008: THE LEARNING 2.0

http://is.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pages/Learning-2.0.html
The learning 2.0 initiative is a study on the Impact of Web 2.0 Innovations on Education and Training in Eu-
rope, promoted by the Information Society Unit at IPTS. The objective of this study is to assess the impact
of web 2.0 trends on the field of learning and education in Europe and to see where Europe stands in terms
of using web 2.0 innovations in the domain of learning. During the course ‘Design of Communication Techno-
logies’ held by Prof. Patrizia Marti and Alessia Rullo in the period March-June 2008 – Master program in
Publishing, Journalism and Communication, Sassari University (Sardinia, Italy) different 2.0 platforms have
been experimented to support the learning activities of the students. One of the outcomes of this activity has
been the construction of an Exploratorium of 2.0 phenomena. The students in different teamworks produced
a demo of a web application focusing on specific aspects of web 2.0 concepts and using 2.0 tools.
Main Tasks: project coordinator

NOVEMBER 2007 - MAY 2008: E-LEARNING PLATFORM CLIC

http://www.mps.it/
This project grounded on user studies and expert system evaluation in order to define new concepts for the
Clic learning environment inspired by web 2.0 services and tools. Clic is currently the e-learning platform
adopted by the employees of the MPS Bank Group – Siena.
Main Tasks: contextual inquire, activity analysis, expert evaluation, requirements gathering and elicitation,
concepts development.
PROJECTS

JANUARY 2004 - DECEMBER 2007: PALCOM

http://www.ist-palcom.org/
PalCom (Palpable Computing) EU – Integrated Project, Future Emerging Technologies, Disappearing Com-
puter Program, co-funded by the European Commission in the 6th Framework Programme under contract
IST-002057.
PalCom project focused on building an innovative research framework within the Ambient Computing rese-
arch: the Palpable Computing. Palpable computing (PalCom) marks a new perspective on pervasive com-
puting. “We chose the word ’palpable’ because it comes closest to capturing the fact that people need to
be able to grasp what technologies are doing and could do for them if they are to use them effectively and
creatively.[…] The PalCom architecture is centred on the vision of easily and flexibly enabling a user to
dynamically bringing together individual computational resources to create a loosely-coupled system model
that fulfils personal or business requirement”. The outcomes of this research has been applied in the field of
landscape architecture and health care, developing several application prototypes that explore and exploit
the palpability issues.
Main Tasks: User research, activity modelling, concept design, interaction design, participatory design, user
requirements, rapid prototyping, software requirements, evaluation.

FEBRUARY - SEPTEMBER 2004: PARO: ROBOT THERAPY

http://paro.jp/english/
PARO is a baby harp seal robot designed by Prof. Shibata at AIST (Advanced Institute of Science and Tech-
nology) Tsukuba, Japan. In the context of a joint research project in collaboration with AIST, Paro has been
experimented in Italy in various rehabilitation centres and Home Care institutions. This activity has been
coordinated and conducted by a team of researchers from the Department of Communication Science of the
University of Siena. In particular in the Functional Rehabilitation Unit at Le Scotte Hospital (Siena) PARO
has been used within therapeutic non pharmacological intervention of children affected by severe cognitive
impairments (Angelman syndrome, Down syndrome, Autism).
Main Tasks: Experimental plan definition; Behavioural analysis of video recordings; Qualitative analysis;
Collection of Data; Data analysis.

JANUARY 2003 - DECEMBER 2005: COFIN DOMOTICA

http://www.discom.unisi.it/ida/projects/closed/progetto-chiuso-1
Cofin Domotica is a national project aiming at exploring new concepts for smart appliances in the home
environment. Different concepts have been developed and an initial mock up has been tested with the target
users. The project provided a methodological perspective on the design of technological solutions for the
home, exploring different modalities of user participation. Furthermore it produced a set of design guidelines
that investigate the issues connected with the introduction of intelligent solutions in the home environment.
Among others: privacy, control vs. automation and adaptability.
Main Tasks: Concept Development, Interaction Design; Requirement definition; Scenarios development; Col-
lection of data; Qualitative data analysis.

JANUARY 2003 - DECEMBER 2004: I-BLOCKS

http://www.discom.unisi.it/ida/projects/ongoing/i-blocks
Tangible media for education in collaboration with Southern Denmark University (Maersk Mc-Kinney Mol-
ler Institute - AdapTronicsGroup)
This research project explores the development of a modular robotic kit for edutainment activities. The
kit was developed using the I-BLOCKS technology, an innovative concept of building blocks which allows
users to build physical structures reacting to environmental stimuli. I-BLOCKS is an example of enabling
technology for tangible interfaces since it emphasizes physicality of interaction through the use of spatial
and kinaesthetic knowledge. The modular and combinatory qualities of the I-BLOCKS have been explored in
different scenarios of use developing applications able to sustain learning and therapeutic activities through
construction, representation and meaning negotiation.
Main Tasks: Concept Development, Interaction Design; Requirement definition; scenarios development; ex-
perimental plan definition; collection of data; qualitative data analysis.
PUBBLICATIONS
Rullo, A. 2008. The soft qualities of interaction. Proceedings of the forthcoming CHI2009 Conference. April 4-9, Boston, USA,
in press.

Rullo, A. 2008. The soft qualities of interaction. ACM Trans. Comput.-Hum. Interact. 15, 3, Article
16 (November 2008).

Ciani,O., Piccini, L., Parini, S., Rullo, A., Bagnoli, F., Marti, P. and Andreoni, G., Pervasive technology in Neonatal Intensive
Care Unit: a prototype for newborns unobtrusive monitoring, Proceedings of IEEE EMBC’08, 30th Annual International Con-
ference of the IEEE, Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, August 20-24, 2008 - Vancouver, Canada.

Rullo, A., Opening the Design Space: the Soft Set of Requirements, Proceedings of DIS2008 - February 25-28, 2008, Cape
Town, South Africa

Grönvall E., Piccini L., Pollini A., Rullo A., Andreoni G., Assemblies of heterogeneous technologies at the Neonatal Intensive
Care Unit , Proceedings of the European Conference on Ambient Intelligence (AmI 2007), Darmstadt, Germany, 7-10 No-
vember 2007

Marti P., Grönvall E., Pollini A., Rullo A., Supporting inspection strategies through palpable assemblies Ethnographies of Dia-
gnostic Work, Lancaster, UK, April, 17-18 2007

Marti P., Grönvall E., Pollini A., Rullo A., Supporting inspection strategies through palpable assemblies Designing for Palpa-
bility, Workshop at Pervasive 2007, May, 13-17 2008, Toronto, Canada

Marti, P., Rullo, A., Progettare in ambienti ‘fragili’: il valore della partecipazione, in ‘La parola e la cura’, Ch’ange Ed., Au-
tunno 2006

Pollini A., Grönvall E., Marti P., Rullo A., Constructing assemblies in the health care domain: two case studies, Proceedings
of Guide Mobili Virtuali 06, Virtuality 2006, 18 Ottobre 2006, Torino.

Rullo A., Marti P., Grönvall E., Pollini A., End-user composition and re-use of technologies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit,
Proceedins of Pervasive Healthcare 2006, Innsbruck, Austria, 29 Nov. – 1 Dec. 2006.

Grönvall, E., Pollini A., Rullo A., Svensson, D., Distributed game logics in dynamic assemblies, MUIA06 (workshop) at Mobi-
leChi 2006, Espoo, Finland, 12 September 2006.

Gronvall, E., Marti, P., Pollini, A., Rullo, A., Active surfaces: a novel concept for end user composition, Proceedings of NordiCHI
2006, Oslo, Norway, 14-18 Oct. 2006.

Marti, P., Rullo, A., Oliva, S., La casa e le sue metamorfosi, Atti del VIII Congresso Nazionale, SIE (Società Italiana di Ergo-
nomia Cognitiva), Milano, Febbraio, 2006.

Marti, P., Pollini, A., Rullo, A., Shibata, T., Engaging with artificial pet, Proceedings of The annual conference of the European
association of cognitive ergonomics, Creta, Greece, 28 Sept.- 1 Oct., 2005

Marti, P. Giusti, L., Pollini, A. Rullo, A. Experiencing the flow: design issues in human-robot interaction In: Bailly, G., Crowley
J.L., and Privat G., Proceedings of SoC-EUSAI 2005, Joint conference on Smart Objects & Ambient Intelligence. Grenoble,
France 12-14 Oct. 2005, pages 69-74.

Gronvall, E., Marti, P., Pollini, A., Rullo, A., Bertelesen, O., Palpable time for heterogeneous care communities, Proccedings
of ‘Critical Computing between Sense and Sensibility’, The Fourth Decennial Aarhus Conference, Aarhus, Denmark, 20-24
August 2005.

Marti, P., Palma, V., Pollini, A., Rullo, A., Shibata, T., My gym robot, Proceedings of AISB 05 International Symposium on
Robot Companions: hard problems and open challenges in human robot interaction, Hatfield, UK, April 2005.

Marti, P., Rullo, A., Hautop Lund, H., Nielsen, J., Playing with emotions, Proceedings of The annual conference of the Europe-
an association of cognitive ergonomics, ECCE 12, York, UK, Sept., 2004.
TEACHING
Lecturer
Activity Analysis and Requirements Definition at the Master Program in Interaction Design, Siena University, 2007-2008,
2008-2009 - Italy.

Lecturer
Design of Communication Technologies at the Master Program in Communication and Journalism, Sassari University,
2007-2008, 2008-2009 – Italy.

Teaching Assistant
Siena Design Project 2008, international students’ design competition
in collaboration with Interaction Design Centre, Limerick University - Ireland, Royal Institute of Technology - Stockholm,
Sweden, Domus Academy, Milano - Italy, Aarhus University, Aarhus - Denmark, Interaction Design Area, Università degli Studi
di Siena - Italy.
Siena, July 21-24, 2008

Teaching Assistant
Course in Design of Communication Technologies at the Master Program in Publishing, Communication and Journalism,
Sassari University, 2006-2007 - Italy.

Seminar
Build communities through the concept of palpable time
October, 13th 2005, Rectorship, University of Siena

Inspirational workshop
Kitchen as living environment
University of Siena, Communication Science Dept., July, 15th 2005

Seminar
Lego Mindstorm: Build robot and interactive environments: support for creative construction.
May, 4th 2005. Within the course in Educational technologies, held by prof. P. Marti Communication Science Dept., University
of Siena.

Seminar
The configurability concept in designing interactive artefacts
PhD students’ Seminar at Interaction Design Area, Communication Science Dept, University of Siena. January 23rd 2005.

Seminar
Techniques for prototypes evaluation
Interaction Design Post Graduated Course - Interaction Concepts for Interhaptic Indoor/Outdoor
Robotics. Domus Academy, Milan, Italy
June, 18th 2003.

Seminar
The use of Rhetoric in the Scientific Discourse
within the Semiotic Course held by prof. T. Lancioni, Communication Science Dept, University of Siena, Janaury 21st 2001.

MEMBERSHIP TO SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES

AISB - Artificial Intelligence and Simulation of Behaviour
EACE – European Association of Cognitive Ergonomics
SPECIALIZED SKILLS

User and Design Research Tecniques:

User centred design
Participatory design
Benchmarking
Desk research and Literature-Reviews
Scenario-based design
Concept Generation
Brainstoriming Techniques
Mood Board Production
Future Laboratories Workshops
Lo-fi prototyping
Questionnaires
Interviews
Applied Ethnography
Cultural Probes
Diaries
Card Sorting
Wizard of Oz
Usability Testing
Task Analysis
Cognitive Walkthrough
Heuristic Evaluation
Organisation of expert workshops
Running of Focus groups
Experimental plan definition
Qualitative and quantitative analysis

Project Management:
Expertise in ideation, plan and organization of projects and teamwork (workflow, budget, execution)
Expertise in writing project proposals, and coordinating the contribution of different partners

Language:
Fluent English (First Certificate, Cambridge University - UK - June 2004).
Basic Knowledge of Portuguese.

Computer skills:
Windows operating systems
Office suite (Word, Excell, Powerpoint)
Mac OSX

Graphic Design:
Adobe Suite CS3 (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign- good knowledge; Flash, Fireworks, Dreamweaver- basic knowledge).

Video Editing:
Adobe Premiere
I-Movie
COMMUNICATION AND GRAPHIC DESIGN

2005-2008: TEATRO2 graphic design and communication: brochures, flyers, posters

http://www.teatro2.org/

2006-2007: EGEA MUSIC graphic design and communication: CD label, cover and booklet
http://www.egeamusic.com/

2003: Matrix S.p.A. – web agency Telecom Italia Group. Internship at the Graphic Design Department.
Tutor: Giorgio Bellotto.
http://virgilio.alice.it

EXHIBITIONS

Festival of Creativity, Florence, Italy, Interactive Hall Area within the ROBOTIC pavilion
October 23-26 2008
Role: organizer and coordinator of the area
- preparation of communication materials

Festival of Creativity, Florence, Italy, IDA (Interaction Design Area - Communication Science Dept. -University fo Siena)
within the ROBOTIC pavilion
October 25-28 2007
Role: organizer and coordinator of the area
- preparation of communication materials

Interactive Objects1.0 - RomaDesign+ Rome, Italy

October 5- 13 2007
Role: exhibitor ACTIVE SURFACES, PARO

CHI Italy 07, Padua, Italy

Role: exhibitor PALPABLE TECHNOLOGIES
- preparation of communication materials
organizer of the workshop:PALPABLE COMPUTING
CURRENT ADDRESS:
Via Amos Cassioli, 25
53041 Asciano (SI) - Italy
Mobile: +39 349 2851091
e-mail: alessia.rullo@gmail.com

PERSONAL INFORMATION:
Date of birth: 11. 2. 1978
Place of birth: Vasto (CH)-Italy
Nationality: Italian
Status: Married
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