Mattia Barbieri is a Postdoc Researcher at the Unit for Visually Impaired People (UVIP) at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT). He is currently working on the National RAISE Project which aims to develop and market technological solutions based on robotic systems and artificial intelligence, which respond to the real production and social needs of the Ligurian territory.
In 2024 he obtained a Ph.D. in Bioengineering and Robotics in Cognitive, Interaction, and Rehabilitation Technologies at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) and the University of Genoa. The focus of his research was the design and development of a wearable immersive system able to simulate in augmented reality several low-vision conditions to enhance the training of visual rehabilitators. He created a peculiar form of AR called Altered Reality (TR). He investigated the capability of the TR to induce in healthy-sighted subjects oculomotor alterations qualitatively detected in low-vision individuals affected by maculopathy, hemianopsia and tubular vision. His research provides i) a fully wearable immersive system to train visual rehabilitators in understanding the effects of low vision conditions to discover new compensatory techniques for their patients, and ii) allows researchers to conduct studies on healthy-sighted subjects to investigate the alterations on oculomotor system generated by TR. He conducted study in collaboration with scientists of worldwide fame such as Giulio Sandini, Silvio Sabatini, Alessandra Sciutti and Monica Gori.
In 2019 he obtained a Master's Degree in Digitial Humanities: Communication and New Media where he had the opportunity to acquire strong knowledge in human-computer interaction, cognitive ergonomics, and interaction in augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR). His thesis concerns the design and development of an application that aims to organize public spaces in AR and VR.
In 2017 he obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Modern Languages, Cultures, and Literature. Humanistic fields were the core and the soul of his instruction. He ended his bachelor's by defending his thesis: "Non-verbal communication in Twin Peaks".