Universitat Pompeu Fabra  

The Universitat Pompeu Fabra is the youngest public university in Catalonia (founded in 1990) and has gained an outstanding reputation due to its up-to-date and innovative studies and research. In its nine faculties and university schools the UPF holds 22 undergraduate programs in the fields ranging from biomedical sciences, social sciences and humanities to media, technology and communication technologies.

The project will be implemented at the Information and Communication Technologies Department (DTIC), more precisely at the SPECS Laboratory – Synthetic Perceptive Emotive Cognitive Systems. SPECS mission is: Understanding mind, brain and behaviour through constructing synthetic perceptive, emotive and cognitive systems. 

SPECS performs interdisciplinary research in the domains of technology, cognitive science and humanities, and has a long standing tradition in the domains of computational neuroscience, cognitive science and interactive systems. SPECS works on the neuronal, psychological and computational principles of perception, emotion, cognition and behaviour. The basic knowledge gained in these studies is transferred to a new class of real-world artifacts ranging from robots, interactive installations and computer games to intelligent buildings and mixed reality interactive media.

In addition, UPF-SPECS lab have pioneered novel VR based augmented feedback systems that are applied to the rehabilitation of a number of pathologies including stroke, chronic pain, TBI and Alzheimer’s disease. Since 1998 the team of Laboratory SPECS has constructed over 20 prototype interactive multi-media and mixed reality systems that have been demonstrated to the public, highlighting the most complex artifact “Ada: Intelligent space” (www.ada-exhibition.ch) installed at the Expo.02 in Switzerland, which was attended by more than 500.000 visitors. This installation has been further developed into the XIM (eXperience Induction Machine), an immersive room equipped with a number of sensors and effectors constructed to conduct experiments in mixed-reality to understand human behavior, build mixed-reality applications based on neurobiological understanding  and test neurobiological models. Most recent performance “Multimodal Brain Orchestra: Art through science” (http://specs.upf.edu/installation/2025) was staged at FET09 Conference in Prague (news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8016869.stm).

The group currently consists of more than 30 members (Director, 6 Post-Docs and 10 Doctorate students, Senior Project Manager, Project Assistant, more than 10 master students and other collaborators). SPECS is currently coordinating three European projects: the Coordination Action Convergent Science Network: CSN (FP7 ICT 248986), the collaborative project Experimental Functional Android Assistant EFAA (FP7 ICT 270490) and also the AAL project Rehabilitation Gaming System: RGS (PI08/90940), as well as participating in one Coordination Action FET Flagship Initiative: Robot Companions for Citizens Ca-Robocom (FP7-ICT-2011-FET-284951) and in four FP7-ICT collaborative research projects: CEEDS as Scientific Coordinator (258749), BrainAble (247447), eSMCs (270212) and Goal-Leaders (270108). SPECS also participates in one national R&D project, FAA “Arquitectura Cognitiva Biomimética para un Funcional Ayudante de Androide Socialmente en Activo” (TIN2010-16745).

Principal Investigator:
Prof. Paul Verschure

SPECS Laboratory website