Andrea Prati

Andrea Prati is a computer-vision researcher whose work spans video surveillance, machine learning and generative models. He earned degrees in computer engineering and information engineering in 1998 and 2002, worked on camera-based traffic-incident systems at UC San Diego, and coauthored a 2003 method for separating moving objects, shadows and ghosts. His faculty career took him from Reggio Emilia through Venice to Parma, and he received the 2014 IAPR Fellowship for video-surveillance algorithms. As of October 2026, he is a full professor and vice rector at Parma, coordinates an AI research lab and is responsible for the PhytoPRISM project.

Now at: University of Parma
Works: 226
Citations: 6,959
h-index: 37

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 18 October 2026.

Timeline

1998–2002

Engineering studies and ATON

He earns a degree in computer engineering in 1998 and a PhD in information engineering in 2002. During his final doctoral year at UC San Diego, he joins ATON, a camera-and-sensor project for detecting, monitoring and recovering from traffic incidents.
2003

Moving objects, ghosts and shadows

He coauthors “Detecting moving objects, ghosts, and shadows in video streams” with Rita Cucchiara, Costantino Grana and Massimo Piccardi in 2003. Their method uses object-level knowledge and color information to improve background subtraction and shadow detection.
2005–2011

The FREE SURF project

He serves as an assistant professor at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia from 2005 to 2011. From 2007 to 2008, he contributes to FREE SURF, a project on privacy-respecting video surveillance using fixed, mobile and hybrid cameras.
2011–2015

Associate professor in Venice

He serves as an associate professor at IUAV University of Venice from November 2011 to November 2015.
2014

An IAPR Fellowship

He receives the IAPR Fellowship in 2014 for contributions to low- and high-level algorithms for video surveillance.
2015–2019

Full professor at Parma

He moves to the University of Parma as an associate professor in 2015 and becomes a full professor there in 2019.
2022

LEGO.AI and few-shot learning

He contributes to LEGO.AI in 2022, a PRIN project to build artificial intelligence systems that learn from few examples and adapt to new contexts. Its aims include zero- and few-shot learning and domain adaptation.
As of October 2026

Vice rector and PhytoPRISM

As of October 2026, he is a full professor at Parma and vice rector for information systems, innovation and the PNRR. He coordinates the university's IMP Lab, where research includes generative models for images. He is responsible for PhytoPRISM, a European Commission-funded project with a four-year term and a €6 million budget that starts in 2026.