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Dr David Silvera-Tawil

Dr David Silvera-Tawil

Dr David Silvera-Tawil is an Early Career Researcher with a strong record in the fields of tactile sensing and human-robot interaction (HRI). His PhD, completed at the Australian Centre for Field Robotics (ACFR) at the University of Sydney (USyd), focussed on artificial sensitive skin, touch sensing and touch interpretation for HRI. He developed the flexible and stretchable artificial skin required for these experiments using a novel approach based on electrical impedance tomography (EIT). Through this development, Silvera-Tawil has made significant contributions in the areas of tomography and tactile sensing for robotics. His specialties are the analysis of human behaviour during HRI, the development of array-like tactile sensors and machine learning techniques for the interpretation of human touch.

Dr David Silvera-Tawil was born in Mexico City where he obtained a BE (1st Class) in Electronics and Telecommunications at the Universidad Iberoamericana. He received a MEngStud (Hons) in Mechatronics and a PhD in artificial skin and human robot interaction from the Australian Centre for Field Robotics (ACFR) at The University of Sydney. Dr Silvera-Tawil is currently a postdoctoral fellow for the Creative Robotics Lab (CRL) at The University of New South Wales, Australia.

At CRL his ongoing research focus is to expand current understanding of HRI within a social context. The new knowledge will improve the design and application of service, medical and industrial technological devices to assist during human-human and human-robot interaction, specifically for high-needs populations, including the aging and those with intellectual disabilities.

Email: d.silverat@unsw.edu.au