John-John Cabibihan
His research concerns artificial hands and robots that interact physically and socially with people: humanlike artificial skin and tactile sensing, patient-specific upper-limb prostheses for children, and social robots for children with autism spectrum disorder.
He received the Ph.D. in Bioengineering (Biorobotics) from the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, in 2007, and was an Assistant Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the National University of Singapore from 2008 to 2013. He helped establish the International Conference on Social Robotics in 2009 and serves as an Associate Editor of IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters and the International Journal of Social Robotics.
Research areas
Nine research areas, 2006 to 2026. Each area page summarises the principal studies, their methods and results, with figures drawn from the published data.
Humanizing artificial touch
Artificial skin and prosthetic hands whose softness, warmth and surface structure approximate human touch.
02Social robots for autism therapy
Social robots as therapeutic tools for children with ASD, including impact safety and the detection of challenging behaviours.
03Robotic gestures and social interaction
Human recognition of robotic gestures, pointing and handshakes in human-robot interaction.
04Patient-specific prosthetic hands
Parametric, 3D-printed upper-limb prostheses for children with limb loss from conflict-related injuries.
05Tactile sensing for surgery and grasping
Tactile feedback for surgical graspers and capsule endoscopy, and slip detection in robotic grasping.
06Robotic construction and architected materials
Robotic concrete printing and the mechanical behaviour of architected structures, including Voronoi honeycombs.
07Smart materials, sensing and energy
Glucose and breath sensors, and shape memory alloy actuators for solar tracking.
08Ride comfort and mobility ↗
Ride comfort of standing passengers, from smartphone measurements in 2013 to the Lusail tram.
09Rehabilitation robotics and virtual reality
Virtual reality training for upper-limb amputees and robotic systems for aquatic therapy.
Publications by research area and year
169 works indexed by Crossref. Each point is one publication, scaled by citation count. Filled points are Qatar University publications; open points are from Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna and the National University of Singapore.
Publications and citations
Journal articles, conference papers and book chapters indexed by Crossref, with citation counts as of October 2026. Works without a DOI are listed in the full CV.
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2006
Appointments, funding and patents
As of October 2026. Qatar University appointments and grants are shown in burgundy; earlier positions in gray.
Academic and professional appointments
Research funding by year
Grant amounts are distributed evenly across each project's duration. Hover over a year to list active projects.
29 funded projects since 2008, 20 of them as lead, co-lead or sole principal investigator.
Largest grants
- 1.18MSocial Robots (2007 to 2012)
- 1.04MIntegrated Bio-Sensors and Automated Instrumentation for Early Stomach Cancer Detection Using Flexible Capsule Endoscope (2012 to 2016)
- 1.02MDevelopment of Smart Minimum Invasive Surgery Tools with Tactile Sensing Capabilities for Telerobot Surgery System (2012 to 2016)
- 0.82MNeuromorphic Tactile Sensing (2015 to 2018)
- 0.75MHYDROTHERABOTS (2025 to 2026)
Granted US patents Patent details
- 2026Telepresence control schemes for hazardous environments
US 12,669,817 B2 · Qatar Foundation - 2026Automated multi-layer two-dimensional printing
US 12,576,592 B2 · Qatar Foundation and Qatar University - 2025Device for detecting challenging behavior in people with autism
US 12,383,161 B2 - 2025Fast-ejection safety systems for hotwire cutters
US 12,233,500 B2 · Qatar Foundation and Qatar University - 2024Tactile sensor, a surgical instrument having the same, and a method of manufacturing the same
US 12,109,000 B2 · Qatar Foundation and Qatar University - 2022Multifunctional tooling apparatus with non-anthropomorphic construction
US 11,229,534 B2 - 2020Biometrics liveness detection through biocompatible capacitive sensor
US 10,810,405 B2 - 2020Smart robotic therapeutic learning toy
US 10,792,581 B2
Selected awards
- 2026Innovation Award, Qatar University
- 2025Golden Jubilee Honorary Professor, De La Salle University
- 2024ICSR Robot Design Competition jury special mention, Parametric Artificial Hand
- 2021Distinguished Scientist, Qatar University
- 2020Top 2% of researchers worldwide, Standardized Citation Metrics (2020 to present)
- 2014IEEE Senior Member
- 2012Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Welfare Foundation Research Award
- 1998WIPO Gold Medal for Outstanding Invention, Geneva
Editorial service
- 2018Associate Editor, IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters
- 2012Associate Editor, International Journal of Social Robotics (Springer)
- 2015Associate Editor, Frontiers in Bionics and Biomimetics
- 2009International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR): founding organizer; General Chair or Co-Chair in 2018 and 2022 to 2027
Education
- 2007PhD in Bioengineering, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa (100/100)
- 2002MS Manufacturing Engineering, De La Salle University (high distinction)
- 1998BS Manufacturing Engineering and Management, De La Salle University