Santa Chiara FabLab is the digital fabrication laboratory of the University of Siena, a hub for applied research, experimentation, and innovation that integrates digital technologies, design, and social sciences. The FabLab acts as a bridge between academia, industry, and private and public institutions, fostering open innovation and the ethical use of technology to address concrete societal needs (FabLab Virtual Tour).
Its activities range from rapid prototyping (3D printing, electronics, manufacturing) to research on cultural heritage, assistive technologies, human–computer interaction, and inclusive design. The laboratory develops and tests solutions that combine physical and digital components, with a strong focus on accessibility, usability, and personalization. A core element of its work is a human-centered and participatory design approach, actively involving end users and stakeholders throughout the ideation, development, and evaluation processes.
Since 2016, the year of its inauguration,, Santa Chiara FabLab has carried out several research projects on virtual assistants and conversational systems, applied in different contexts, from health care and wellbeing to digital services link home banking and public administration . These projects are not technology driven but human-centred to support autonomy and access to services toward social inclusion.
A notable example is ECHO, a virtual assistant developed in collaboration with QuestIT and CNR lab LaCam to make digital services accessible to deaf people. ECHO is an intelligent avatar that leverages artificial intelligence to understand and generate in real time the Italian Sign Language (LIS), acting as an inclusive interface between deaf citizens and digital services. The project aims to strengthen digital accessibility, enabling deaf users to access digital services provided by public and private administrations using their mother tongue.
The experience gained through projects such as ECHO and other research activities on virtual assistants (https://scfablab.unisi.it/), allows Santa Chiara FabLab to contribute with a solid methodological and interdisciplinary background to EMPAIRED, a research project developing a virtual reality environment to train assembly line workers and other repetitive manufacturing workers to perform their work while maintaining correct ergonomic posture to protect their health. The virtual reality environment integrates a digital assistant that provides support to the operator during the activity. As project coordinator, the University of Siena, represented by Santa Chiara FabLab, leads the integration of technological research with social dimensions. Furthermore it is responsible for defining the research methodology to experimentally evaluate the virtual environment developed by DeepReality, with the integration of a virtual assistant developed by Moebeus using Algho, a proprietary platform developed by QuestIt. The overarching goal is to ensure a rigorous process to improve the awareness of assembly line operators to carry out their work in safe and healthy conditions.
EMPAIRED – Empathic AI and XR for Ergonomic Education is an ambitious, interdisciplinary project responding to the MASTER Project’s Panel 10 challenge on XR for remote and inclusive robotics education. Coordinated by the University of Siena, in collaboration with Deep Reality SRL and Moebeus Società Benefit SRL.
Stay tuned as we share updates, insights, and behind-the-scenes moments from this exciting project!