Serena Ivaldi

Serena Ivaldi is a robotics researcher whose work combines machine learning, control and human-robot interaction. During her 2007–2011 PhD at IIT, she studied neural-network control and whole-body dynamics for the iCub, then worked with iCub platforms in Paris before moving to Darmstadt and joining Inria in 2014. In 2020, she co-led ExoTurn, which used exoskeletons to assist intensive-care staff, and received the Suzanne Zivi Award for research. She served as editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Social Robotics from 2021 to 2024 and coauthored the 2023 SEIKO force-control pipeline for the Talos humanoid. As of October 2026, she heads HUCEBOT at Inria and Loria and has co-founded Bleu Robotics, which builds AI software for industrial humanoids.

Now at: Université de Lorraine, HUCEBOT and Bleu Robotics
Works: 443
Badges: Founder

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026. Citations and h-index are hidden because this OpenAlex record may be incomplete or mix in other authors.

Timeline

2007–2011

Neural control for the iCub

From 2007 to 2011, she completes her PhD in IIT's iCub Team, then part of the Robotics, Brain and Cognitive Science laboratory, working with Giorgio Metta and Francesco Nori. She studies model-predictive optimal control of the iCub's arm with neural networks and estimates the robot's whole-body dynamics to recover interaction forces and joint torques.
2011–2014

Postdoctoral work in Paris

From 2011 to 2014, she works as a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Intelligent Systems and Robotics in Paris and oversees two iCub platforms.
May 2014–November 2014

From Darmstadt to Inria

In May 2014, she joins TU Darmstadt's Intelligent Autonomous Systems Lab as a postdoc on CoDyCo. In November 2014, she becomes a permanent researcher at Inria. In 2014, she joins LARSEN as a founding member.
2020

ExoTurn in the ICU

In 2020, she co-leads ExoTurn with Nicla Settembre at CHRU Nancy. The team uses exoskeletons to help caregivers turn COVID-19 patients in intensive care and reduce physical strain.
2020

A Suzanne Zivi Award

She receives the 2020 Suzanne Zivi Award for research excellence.
2021–2024

Editor of a social robotics journal

From 2021 to 2024, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Social Robotics.
2023

SEIKO on the Talos humanoid

In 2023, she coauthors SEIKO, a whole-body force-control pipeline for position-controlled robots; the team validates it in multi-contact experiments on the full-scale humanoid Talos.
As of October 2026

Head of HUCEBOT

As of October 2026, she is a senior research scientist and research director at Inria's Center of the University of Lorraine and Loria, and heads HUCEBOT; her research combines machine learning with control for robots that collaborate with humans. Since 2025, she serves as an Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Robotics, and in 2026 she co-founds Bleu Robotics, whose AI software teaches humanoid robots industrial tasks from a few demonstrations.