Gustavo Miguel Santos Assuncao

@isr.uc.pt

Assistant Researcher at Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of Coimbra

Gustavo Miguel Santos Assuncao


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https://researchid.co/gustavomiguelsa

RESEARCH, TEACHING, or OTHER INTERESTS

Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Engineering
19

Scopus Publications

244

Scholar Citations

5

Scholar h-index

3

Scholar i10-index

Scopus Publications

  • Collaborative robots and user trust: The role of saccadic gaze, anthropomorphic motion, and repetitive training
    Esmeralda Faria, Ana Pinto, Soraia Oliveira, Gustavo Assunção, Carla Carvalho, et al.
    Computers in Human Behavior Reports, 2026
  • The Automated Method of Collecting and Labeling Data for Speech Emotion Recognition based on Face Emotion Recognition
    Applied Mathematics and Information Sciences, 2025
  • EEG-triggered Awareness for a Collaborative Robot
    Gustavo Assunção, Bruno Ferreira, Paulo Menezes, Zohar Tal, Andrey Solovov, et al.
    Proceedings of the 2025 7th Experiment at International Conference Exp at 2025, 2025
  • Combating Sedentary Lifestyles Through Motion-Based Gameplay
    Diogo Simoes, Gustavo Assuncao, Paulo Menezes
    3rd IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Reality Icir 2024, 2024
    The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated and al-ready existing and serious trend towards increasingly sedentary lifestyles, leading to adverse health effects. This is till very present and growing today. To address this challenge, we propose imple-menting serious games as an engaging solution to promote more active behaviors and improve overall well-being. Unlike typical approaches with specialized equipment, this method only requires a laptop with a camera, making it accessible and affordable. The incorporation of gamification elements, such as real-time feedback, progress tracking, and scoring, transforms physical activity into an enjoyable and rewarding experience. Additionally, the use of immersive virtual environments further enhances motivation and engagement. This strategy presents an effective means to increase physical activity, facilitate rehabilitation, and cultivate a sense of accomplishment. By leveraging the power of serious games, we can empower individuals to take control of their health and adopt a more active lifestyle. The key benefits of this solution include improved health outcomes, accessibility, and the integration of motivational gaming features. By implementing this innovative approach, we can contribute to a more active and healthier society.
  • Haptic Feedback Assistance in Teleoperation Driving Tasks
    Nuno Moita, Bruno Pãtrao, Gustavo Assunção, Luís Almeida, Paulo Menezes
    3rd IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Reality Icir 2024, 2024
    This proposal introduces an enhanced interaction mechanism for teleoperating a mobile robot, focusing on the concept of physical embodiment to improve telepresence. By utilizing this principle, the operator can experience both a visual and physical presence at the remote location, enabling more natural interactions and simplifying the task of controlling the robot remotely. The operator receives immersive visual feedback aligned with their head movements, via a head-mounted display, and through a haptic belt that provides spatial cues about obstacles detected by the robot's sonars. This short paper describes the development of the system designed to map these obstacles.
  • Transforming Collaboration: A Vision for Human-Aware Robots to Enhance Worker Safety and Boost Production Efficiency
    Mohammad Zarei, Andrey Solovov, Vishal Gautam, Bruno Ferreira, Gustavo Assunção, et al.
    2024 IEEE 22nd Mediterranean Electrotechnical Conference MELECON 2024, 2024
    Human-robot interaction is becoming a necessary part of the industry to achieve higher efficiency, productivity, and comfort. However, to ensure human safety, the awareness of human workers has to be under supervision. In this research, we defined a new function to estimate awareness through eye contact between the worker and the robot. This mechanism exploits a proposed robust and real-time eye contact classifier based on SeNet-50, that outperforms previous proposals based on ResNet-18.
  • Exploring Continuous Awareness Modelling for Improving Worker Safety and Trust
    Andrey Solovov, Mohammad Zarei, Vishal Gautam, Bruno Ferreira, Gustavo Assunção, et al.
    IEEE International Workshop on Robot and Human Communication Ro Man, 2024
    The Industry 5.0 Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) goals have the potential for significantly reducing production costs, but require factory workers to trust that robots will not cause them physical harm when sharing the workspace in order to be achieved. To this end, we propose a model that adjusts the robot’s actions to an estimate of the workers’ awareness of its behavior. Its premise is that mutual awareness should be continuous, and if no recent visual contact has been established, then the robot should adapt its range of motion and speed in order to minimize the intersection between the robot’s space and the worker’s space. On the other hand, if the worker steadily establishes visual contact from times to times, the robot operates under a normal or a faster configuration. After a period of habituation, this awareness model can be further tweaked to continuously improve production times, while improving worker’s safety and trust. We present preliminary results of a pilot study with 32 participants, to asses if the existence of this awareness model impacts the outcomes of the combined task. The obtained tepidly optimistic results are the key to build upon in future designs.
  • Recovering Visual Human's Attention in Human-Robot Interaction for a Promoter Service Robot
    Jesus Eduardo Hermosilla-Diaz, Andrey Solovov, Mohammad Zarei, Jeeangh Jennessi Reyes-Montiel, Vishal Gautam, et al.
    3rd IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Reality Icir 2024, 2024
    The use of service robots is an alternative for prod-ucts and services promotion. In commercial areas an effective human-robot interaction is essential. However, communicating information effectively and thus maximizing the likelihood of a product or service's acceptance by the potential consumer remains challenging. In this work, we propose an architecture that integrates multiple modules, including visual gaze esti-mation, head tracking, human detection, position estimation, and attention recovery behaviors, to recover human attention during potential scenarios such as promotional tasks. Attention is presented as a decay function on different parameters, such as visual gaze and head position. When the robot detects a shutdown at the attention level, it executes a behavior to recover it. The proposal details our architecture's design and the modules' theoretical implications, highlighting the potential for improved service-robot interaction.
  • Leveraging Emotion-Mediated Exploration to Adapt Agent Behavior
    Gustavo Assunção, Miguel Castelo-Branco, Paulo Menezes
    6th Experiment at International Conference Exp at 2023 Proceedings, 2023
    True autonomy of artificial agents is a self-evident goal of AI research, yet to be achieved. While various aspects impact autonomy, adaptability is key both structurally and cognitively. This latter characteristic is largely affected by emotion in living beings, on which it links environmental appraisal with behavioral versatility. Taking advantage of this bio-inspiration, similar correlations can be achieved in artificial intelligence by replicating the conditions under which they are promoted in real life, and later exploited for furthering agent adaptability in terms of learning and behavior. Such agents would certainly boast greater autonomy and all the benefits it entails. As a demonstration, this work presents a task-agnostic agent which learned to associate exploration with the emotion of surprise, based on previous analytic experiences, and employs this knowledge for adaptive broadening of its familiarity with user facial features in real-time. This functionality reiterates the usability of emotion as a learning/behavioral metaparameter and also the importance of considering biological traits when designing artificial agents.
  • Adapting Behavior and Persistence via Reinforcement and Self-Emotion Mediated Exploration in a Social Robot
    Gustavo Assunção, Alessandra Sorrentino, Jorge Dias, Miguel Castelo-Branco, Paulo Menezes, et al.
    IEEE International Workshop on Robot and Human Communication Ro Man, 2023
    Adaptability and behavioral diversity are core components of social interactions between humans. Naturally, these are traits research should strive to achieve in social robotics so agents may be better accepted and engage with their user peers. In this paper, we propose a novel activity modulation to increase behavioral diversity, based on a surprise-exploration correlation model, in a social robot undergoing behavioral optimization to user state and preference. This framework was tested with 21 participants to assess preferences as well as the impact that action variability and persistence would have on user perception of the robot. Results indicate a positive effect of persistence and variability over robot likability as well as user engagement, contributing insight for future research in social robotics.
  • An Overview of Emotion in Artificial Intelligence
    Gustavo Assuncao, Bruno Patrao, Miguel Castelo-Branco, Paulo Menezes
    IEEE Transactions on Artificial Intelligence, 2022
  • Crowd Interest Mapping to Assess Engagement
    Gustavo Assunção, Bruno Patrão, Paulo Menezes
    International Journal of Online and Biomedical Engineering, 2022
  • A Reinforcement Learning Framework to Foster Affective Empathy in Social Robots
    Alessandra Sorrentino, Gustavo Assunção, Filippo Cavallo, Laura Fiorini, Paulo Menezes
    Lecture Notes in Computer Science Including Subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics, 2022
  • Bio-inspired modality fusion for active speaker detection
    Gustavo Assunção, Nuno Gonçalves, Paulo Menezes
    Applied Sciences Switzerland, 2021
  • Intermediary fuzzification in speech emotion recognition
    Gustavo Assuncao, Paulo Menezes
    IEEE International Conference on Fuzzy Systems, 2020
  • MIST: A multi-sensory immersive stimulation therapy sandbox room
    Visigrapp 2020 Proceedings of the 15th International Joint Conference on Computer Vision Imaging and Computer Graphics Theory and Applications, 2020
  • Speaker awareness for speech emotion recognition
    Gustavo Assunção, Paulo Menezes, Fernando Perdigão
    International Journal of Online and Biomedical Engineering, 2020
  • Premature overspecialization in emotion recognition systems
    Proceedings of the AES International Conference, 2019
  • Importance of speaker specific speech features for emotion recognition
    Gustavo Assuncao, Paulo Menezes, Fernando Perdigao
    Proceedings of the 2019 5th Experiment at International Conference Exp at 2019, 2019

RECENT SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS

  • Gaze and Movement Design in Collaborative Robots: Sociodemographic Predictors of Human Acceptance and Trust
    E Faria, A Pinto, S Oliveira, G Assunção, P Menezes
    International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 1-26 , 2026
    2026
  • Collaborative Robots and User Trust: The Role of Saccadic Gaze, Anthropomorphic Motion, and Repetitive Training
    E Faria, A Pinto, S Oliveira, G Assunção, C Carvalho, P Menezes
    Computers in Human Behavior Reports, 100938 , 2026
    2026
  • Self-Emotion-Mediated Exploration in Artificial Intelligence Mirrors: Findings from Cognitive Psychology
    G Assuncao, M Castelo-Branco, P Menezes
    AI 6 (9), 220 , 2025
    2025
    Citations: 6
  • EEG-triggered Awareness for a Collaborative Robot
    G Assunção, B Ferreira, P Menezes, Z Tal, A Solovov, A Cruz, A Pinto
    2025 7th Experiment@ International Conference (exp. at'25), 241-243 , 2025
    2025
  • The Automated Method of Collecting and Labeling Data for Speech Emotion Recognition based on Face Emotion Recognition
    A Shoiynbek, D Kuanyshbay, P Menezes, G Assunçao, B Meraliyev, ...
    Appl. Math 19 (5), 1067-1077 , 2025
    2025
    Citations: 1
  • Recovering Visual Human's Attention in Human-Robot Interaction for a Promoter Service Robot
    JE Hermosilla-Diaz, A Solovov, M Zarei, JJ Reyes-Montiel, V Gautam, ...
    2024 IEEE 3rd International Conference on Intelligent Reality (ICIR), 1-6 , 2024
    2024
  • Combating Sedentary Lifestyles Through Motion-Based Gameplay
    D Simoes, G Assuncao, P Menezes
    2024 IEEE 3rd International Conference on Intelligent Reality (ICIR), 1-7 , 2024
    2024
  • Haptic Feedback Assistance in Teleoperation Driving Tasks
    N Moita, B Pãtrao, G Assunção, L Almeida, P Menezes
    2024 IEEE 3rd International Conference on Intelligent Reality (ICIR), 1-2 , 2024
    2024
  • Approaching Metaheuristic Deep Learning Combos for Automated Data Mining
    G Assunção, P Menezes
    arXiv preprint arXiv:2410.12435 , 2024
    2024
  • Exploring continuous awareness modelling for improving worker safety and trust
    A Solovov, M Zarei, V Gautam, B Ferreira, G Assunção, ...
    2024 33rd IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive … , 2024
    2024
    Citations: 2
  • Transforming Collaboration: A Vision for Human-Aware Robots to Enhance Worker Safety and Boost Production Efficiency
    M Zarei, A Solovov, V Gautam, B Ferreira, G Assunção, ...
    2024 IEEE 22nd Mediterranean Electrotechnical Conference (MELECON), 723-728 , 2024
    2024
    Citations: 2
  • Adapting Behavior and Persistence via Reinforcement and Self-Emotion Mediated Exploration in a Social Robot
    G Assunção, A Sorrentino, J Dias, M Castelo-Branco, P Menezes, ...
    2023 32nd IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive … , 2023
    2023
    Citations: 1
  • Leveraging emotion-mediated exploration to adapt agent behavior
    G Assunção, M Castelo-Branco, P Menezes
    2023 6th Experiment@ International Conference (exp. at'23), 7-8 , 2023
    2023
    Citations: 1
  • Emotional Competence and Adaptability in Artificial Intelligence
    GMS Assunção
    PQDT-Global , 2023
    2023
    Citations: 1
  • A Reinforcement Learning Framework to Foster Affective Empathy in Social Robots
    A Sorrentino, G Assunção, F Cavallo, L Fiorini, P Menezes
    International Conference on Social Robotics, 522-533 , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 4
  • An overview of emotion in artificial intelligence
    G Assunção, B Patrão, M Castelo-Branco, P Menezes
    IEEE Transactions on Artificial Intelligence 3 (6), 867-886 , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 159
  • Crowd Interest Mapping to Assess Engagement.
    G Assunção, B Patrão, P Menezes
    International Journal of Online & Biomedical Engineering 18 (2) , 2022
    2022
  • ANNs Dream of Augmented Sheep: An Artificial Dreaming Algorithm.
    G Assunçao, M Castelo-Branco, P Menezes
    IMPROVE, 135-141 , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 1
  • Modeling affective empathy by teaching emotion expressions to a social robot
    A Sorrentino, G Assunção, F Cavallo, L Fiorini, P Menezes
    Workshop: Social Robots for Personalized, Continuous and Adaptive Assistance … , 2021
    2021
  • Bio-Inspired Modality Fusion for Active Speaker Detection
    G Assunção, N Gonçalves, P Menezes
    Applied Sciences 11 (8), 3397 , 2021
    2021
    Citations: 5

MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS

  • An overview of emotion in artificial intelligence
    G Assunção, B Patrão, M Castelo-Branco, P Menezes
    IEEE Transactions on Artificial Intelligence 3 (6), 867-886 , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 159
  • Speaker awareness for speech emotion recognition.
    G Assunção, P Menezes, F Perdigão
    International Journal of Online & Biomedical Engineering 16 (4) , 2020
    2020
    Citations: 42
  • Intermediary fuzzification in speech emotion recognition
    G Assunção, P Menezes
    2020 IEEE international conference on fuzzy systems (FUZZ-IEEE), 1-6 , 2020
    2020
    Citations: 12
  • Self-Emotion-Mediated Exploration in Artificial Intelligence Mirrors: Findings from Cognitive Psychology
    G Assuncao, M Castelo-Branco, P Menezes
    AI 6 (9), 220 , 2025
    2025
    Citations: 6
  • Bio-Inspired Modality Fusion for Active Speaker Detection
    G Assunção, N Gonçalves, P Menezes
    Applied Sciences 11 (8), 3397 , 2021
    2021
    Citations: 5
  • A Reinforcement Learning Framework to Foster Affective Empathy in Social Robots
    A Sorrentino, G Assunção, F Cavallo, L Fiorini, P Menezes
    International Conference on Social Robotics, 522-533 , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 4
  • Importance of speaker specific speech features for emotion recognition
    G Assunção, P Menezes, F Perdigão
    2019 5th Experiment International Conference (exp. at'19), 266-267 , 2019
    2019
    Citations: 3
  • Exploring continuous awareness modelling for improving worker safety and trust
    A Solovov, M Zarei, V Gautam, B Ferreira, G Assunção, ...
    2024 33rd IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive … , 2024
    2024
    Citations: 2
  • Transforming Collaboration: A Vision for Human-Aware Robots to Enhance Worker Safety and Boost Production Efficiency
    M Zarei, A Solovov, V Gautam, B Ferreira, G Assunção, ...
    2024 IEEE 22nd Mediterranean Electrotechnical Conference (MELECON), 723-728 , 2024
    2024
    Citations: 2
  • MIST: A Multi-sensory Immersive Stimulation Therapy Sandbox Room.
    B Ferreira, G Assunçao, P Menezes
    VISIGRAPP (1: GRAPP), 160-168 , 2020
    2020
    Citations: 2
  • The Automated Method of Collecting and Labeling Data for Speech Emotion Recognition based on Face Emotion Recognition
    A Shoiynbek, D Kuanyshbay, P Menezes, G Assunçao, B Meraliyev, ...
    Appl. Math 19 (5), 1067-1077 , 2025
    2025
    Citations: 1
  • Adapting Behavior and Persistence via Reinforcement and Self-Emotion Mediated Exploration in a Social Robot
    G Assunção, A Sorrentino, J Dias, M Castelo-Branco, P Menezes, ...
    2023 32nd IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive … , 2023
    2023
    Citations: 1
  • Leveraging emotion-mediated exploration to adapt agent behavior
    G Assunção, M Castelo-Branco, P Menezes
    2023 6th Experiment@ International Conference (exp. at'23), 7-8 , 2023
    2023
    Citations: 1
  • Emotional Competence and Adaptability in Artificial Intelligence
    GMS Assunção
    PQDT-Global , 2023
    2023
    Citations: 1
  • ANNs Dream of Augmented Sheep: An Artificial Dreaming Algorithm.
    G Assunçao, M Castelo-Branco, P Menezes
    IMPROVE, 135-141 , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 1
  • Premature overspecialization in emotion recognition systems
    G Assunção, F Perdigão, P Menezes
    Audio Engineering Society Conference: 2019 AES International Conference on … , 2019
    2019
    Citations: 1
  • Human Emotion Recognition Through Speech Analysis on Convolutional Neural Networks
    GMS Assunção
    PQDT-Global , 2019
    2019
    Citations: 1
  • Gaze and Movement Design in Collaborative Robots: Sociodemographic Predictors of Human Acceptance and Trust
    E Faria, A Pinto, S Oliveira, G Assunção, P Menezes
    International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 1-26 , 2026
    2026
  • Collaborative Robots and User Trust: The Role of Saccadic Gaze, Anthropomorphic Motion, and Repetitive Training
    E Faria, A Pinto, S Oliveira, G Assunção, C Carvalho, P Menezes
    Computers in Human Behavior Reports, 100938 , 2026
    2026
  • EEG-triggered Awareness for a Collaborative Robot
    G Assunção, B Ferreira, P Menezes, Z Tal, A Solovov, A Cruz, A Pinto
    2025 7th Experiment@ International Conference (exp. at'25), 241-243 , 2025
    2025