Simone Spagnol, Ph.D.
Department of Information Engineering
Via Gradenigo 6/B
I-35131 Padova, Italy
Phone: +39 049 8276976
E-mail: spagnols@dei.unipd.it
Website: http://www.dei.unipd.it/∼spagnols
Date/place of birth: 12.02.1985; Verona, Italy
Residence: Bassano del Grappa, Italy
Citizenship: Italian
KEMAR (Knowles Electronics Manikin for Acoustic Research) and me
Summary
My scientific activity founds its roots in the computer science sub-area internationally known as Sound
and Music Computing (SMC). See for instance the ACM Computing Classification System – CCS1998, item
H.5.5 [Information Interfaces and Presentation (e.g. HCI)]: Sound and Music Computing.
I authored 30 scientific publications, including 5 international peer-reviewed journal articles, 1 edited
work (conference proceedings), 1 book chapter, 16 international peer-reviewed conference contributions,
4 national peer-reviewed conference contributions, and 3 non-refereed conference contributions. Three of
these publications were awarded at international conferences. Four of these publications are the result
of international collaborations. Reported here are the main bibliometric performance indicators of my
scientific output (data from Google Scholar, January 27, 2015):
Citations: 155 [2010-2014]; h-index: 8 [2010-2014]; i10-index: 7 [2010-2014].
I was a member of the Scientific Committee of 2 national conferences and a member of the Local Organizing Committee of 1 international conference. I was one of the two editors of the Proceedings of
the 20th Colloquium on Music Informatics. I personally promoted my research at 9 international conferences/workshops, 2 national conferences, and 2 research seminars in national and international Universities. I constantly perform peer-review activity.
I took part as key researcher to 5 research projects at the University of Padova for a total budget of
approximately EUR 425,000. I was CEO (03/2013-12/2014) of Bloop s.r.l., spin-off company of the University of Padova.
My teaching activity includes teaching collaborations for two courses of the Department of Information
Engineering, University of Padova, and co-supervision of 2 Master’s and 5 Bachelor’s students.
Languages
♦ Italian (native), English (excellent), French (good), German (basic)
Simone Spagnol: Curriculum Vitae
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Career
Current position
Postdoctoral research fellow at the Department of Information Engineering, University of Padova, Italy. Research program “Models and interfaces for customized binaural audio rendering”, under the supervision of
Professor Federico Avanzini. Starting date: February 1, 2013. Closing date: January 31, 2015.
Previous positions
♦ 2012 – 2013: Postdoctoral research fellow at Iuav University of Venice. Research program “Sonic gestures:
sketching with voice and hand”, under the supervision of Professor Davide Rocchesso. Starting date:
February 1, 2012. Closing date: January 31, 2013.
♦ 2010 – 2011: Visiting researcher at the Department of Signal Processing and Acoustics, Aalto University,
Helsinki, Finland. International experience as part of my PhD program, under the supervision of
Professor Ville Pulkki. Starting date: October 15, 2010. Closing date: April 15, 2011.
Education
♦ Ph.D. in Information Engineering, Information & Communication Technology curriculum, obtained on
April 13, 2012 at the Department of Information Engineering, University of Padova, Italy, under the
supervision of Professor Giovanni De Poli. Starting date: January 1, 2009. Closing date: December 31,
2011.
My doctoral thesis [D1], titled “Techniques for binaural audio rendering with applications to virtual rehabilitation”, mainly focused on the development of sound synthesis algorithms for customized 3D spatial
audio rendering. In particular, I proposed a low-order synthetic model of acoustic transfer functions
from the sound source to the listener’s ear canal (Head-Related Transfer Function, HRTF) as well as a fitting procedure to adapt such a model to individual anthropometric measurements extracted from 2D
pinna images. The sound synthesis algorithms were then used together with alternative sonification
techniques in a series of experiments where the role of auditory feedback presented during typical
motor rehabilitation tasks was investigated on healthy subjects. These results provide a basis for a
future comparison with neurologically injured patients (e.g. post-stroke).
The research activity I carried out during my doctoral studies is documented in several publications in
international peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings [J3– J5], [C6– C14].
During my PhD I also passed a number of selected courses from the Department of Information Engineering and the Department of Mathematics, and took part to the 2010 Sound and Music Computing
Summer School, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona.
♦ M.S. in Computer Engineering, obtained on October 7, 2008 at the Department of Information Engineering, University of Padova, Italy, with grade 110/110 summa cum laude. GPA: 29.55/30 over 13 exams (9
cum laude).
My Master’s thesis, titled “Real-time binaural audio rendering in the near field”, prepared at the Department of Information Engineering, University of Padova, under the supervision of Professor Federico
Avanzini, mainly focused on real-time synthesis of spatial sounds rendered via headphones. In particular, I introduced an approximation of spherical HRTFs obtained through principal component analysis
(PCA) to simulate virtual sound sources at arbitrary distances.
Part of the results included in my Master’s thesis were published in the proceedings of two international scientific conferences [C15, C16].
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♦ B.S. in Computer Engineering, obtained on July 18, 2006 at the Department of Information Engineering,
University of Padova, Italy, with grade 110/110 summa cum laude. GPA: 29.26/30 over 23 exams (5 cum
laude).
My Bachelor’s thesis, titled “The Burrows-Wheeler Transform”, was prepared at the Department of Information Engineering, University of Padova, under the supervision of Professor Andrea Pietracaprina.
♦ High School Linguistic Diploma, obtained in July 2003 at Liceo “G.B. Brocchi”, Bassano del Grappa, Italy,
with grade 98/100.
Projects and collaborations
Participation to research projects (as key researcher)
♦ “PADVA – Personal Auditory Displays for Virtual Acoustics”. Progetto di Ateneo, University of Padova.
Scientific coordinator: Prof. Federico Avanzini (Dept. of Information Engineering). March 2014 –
February 2016 (EUR 43,000).
♦ “SaMPL Cultural and Creative Living Lab”, European project ENOLL 5th WAVE (European Network of
Living Labs). Participants: Conservatory “Cesare Pollini” of Padova, University of Padova, Confindustria Veneto, Metadistretto Veneto dei Beni Culturali. Manager: Dr. Amalia De Götzen, Conservatory
of Padova. May 2011 – 2013.
♦ DREAM – Digital Reworking/reappropriation of ElectroAcoustic Music. European project EACEA 20101174/001-001. Participants: University of Padova, Aalborg University, Middlesex University. Scientific
coordinator: Prof. Federico Avanzini (Dept. of Information Engineering). September 2010 – July 2012
(EUR 300,000).
♦ “Role of multimodal feedback in the execution of robot-assisted motor tasks”. Progetto di Ateneo, University
of Padova. Scientific coordinator: Prof. Giulio Rosati (Dept. of Mechanical Engineering). March 2010
– February 2012 (EUR 42,000).
♦ “Audio analysis techniques for surveillance and monitoring systems”. Progetto di Ateneo, University of
Padova. Scientific coordinator: Prof. Federico Avanzini (Dept. of Information Engineering). March
2008 – February 2010 (EUR 41,000).
International collaborations
♦ Aalborg University, Copenhagen (Dr. Luca Turchet) [J7].
♦ Aalto University, Helsinki (Prof. Ville Pulkki, Dr. Marko Hiipakka) [C9].
♦ University of California, Irvine (Prof. David J. Reinkesmeyer, Dr. Riccardo Secoli) [C10].
♦ University of Delaware, Newark (Prof. Sunil K. Agrawal, Dr. Damiano Zanotto) [J3].
National collaborations
♦ Iuav University of Venice (Prof. Davide Rocchesso) [J2], [C2, C3].
♦ Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova (Prof. Giulio Rosati, Dr. Fabio Oscari) [J3, J5], [C7, C10].
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♦ Department of Neurosciences, University of Padova (Prof. Stefano Masiero, Dr. Pietro Scimemi) [J5], [C10].
♦ Department of General Psychology, University of Padova (Dr. Massimo Grassi, Dr. Gianluca Campana).
Participation to committees
Program and editorial committees
♦ Editor: XX Colloquium on Music Informatics [E1] (Rome, 2014).
♦ Member of the Scientific Committee: XX Colloquium on Music Informatics (Rome, 2014).
♦ Member of the Scientific Committee: XIX Colloquium on Music Informatics (Trieste, 2012).
♦ Member of the Local Organizing Committee (staff coordination, website realization): 8th Int. Conf. on
Sound and Music Computing (Padova, 2011).
Peer review committees
♦ Journal of New Music Research: 2011
♦ International Conference on Sound and Music Computing (SMC): 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
♦ International Computer Music Conference (ICMC): 2012, 2014
♦ International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME): 2014
Conference talks and seminars
International conference talks
♦ IEEE Int. Conf. on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing (ICASSP 2014), Florence, May 2014 [C1].
♦ IEEE Int. Work. on Multimedia Signal Processing (MMSP 2013), Pula, October 2013 [C3].
♦ Sound and Music Computing Conference (SMC12), Copenhagen, July 2012 [C7].
♦ Int. Conf. on Digital Audio Effects (DAFx-11), Paris, September 2011 [C9].
♦ IEEE Int. Work. on Multimedia Signal Processing (MMSP’10), Saint-Malo, October 2010 [C11].
♦ Int. Conf. on Digital Audio Effects (DAFx-10), Graz, September 2010 [C12].
♦ Sound and Music Computing Conference (SMC10), Barcelona, July 2010 [C13].
♦ Sound and Music Computing Conference (SMC09), Porto, July 2009 [C16].
♦ Joint PRESENCCIA and SKILLS PhD Symposium, Pisa, May 26, 2009 (talk title: “Multimodal virtual
reality systems for rehabilitation applications”).
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National conference talks
♦ Colloquium on Music Informatics, Trieste, November 2012 [N2, N3].
♦ Colloquium on Music Informatics, Turin, October 2010 [N3].
Research seminars
♦ April 12, 2012. Seminar “Spatial auditory displays for rehabilitation”, held at Iuav University of Venice
as part of the Perception, Action, Cognition seminar cycle.
♦ October 25, 2010. Invited seminar “Structural modeling of pinna-related transfer functions”, held at
Aalto University, Helsinki.
Prizes and awards
♦ December 2013. Article [C2] won the “Best Short Paper Award” at the International Conference on
Advances in Mobile Computing and Multimedia (MoMM2013).
♦ June 2011. Article [C10] was among the 3 finalists of the “Best Poster Award” at the IEEE International
Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics (ICORR2011).
♦ October 2010. Article [C11] was among the 10 winners of the “Top 10% Paper Award” at the IEEE
International Workshop on Multimedia Signal Processing (MMSP’10).
Teaching activity
Teaching collaborations (course tutor)
♦ Fundamentals of Computer Science course (20 hours), Department of Information Engineering, University
of Padova (teacher: Prof. Federico Avanzini), Academic Year 2014/2015.
♦ Sound and Music Computing course (6 hours), Department of Information Engineering, University of
Padova (teacher: Prof. Giovanni De Poli), Academic Year 2013/2014.
Associate thesis supervisor
♦ S. Scaiella, Valutazione parametrica di un modello strutturale di orecchio esterno per il rendering spaziale
del suono, Master’s Thesis in Computer Engineering, University of Padova, 2014. Supervisor: Prof.
Federico Avanzini.
♦ E. Tavazzi, Valutazione soggettiva di un modello di campo vicino per la percezione binaurale della distanza
relativa tra sorgenti sonore virtuali, Bachelor’s Thesis in Computer Engineering, University of Padova,
2014. Supervisor: Prof. Federico Avanzini.
♦ E. Angriman, Estrazione e analisi di feature spettrali da database di HRIR per la resa di audio 3D, Bachelor’s
Thesis in Computer Engineering, University of Padova, 2014. Supervisor: Prof. Federico Avanzini.
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♦ G. Sorato, Valutazione soggettiva di un modello parametrico di orecchio esterno per il rendering binaurale
del suono, Bachelor’s Thesis in Computer Engineering, University of Padova, 2014. Supervisor: Prof.
Federico Avanzini.
♦ F. Foscarin, Simulazione numerica del contributo acustico della testa nell’ascolto spaziale: analisi dei dati,
Bachelor’s Thesis in Computer Engineering, University of Padova, 2013. Supervisor: Prof. Federico
Avanzini.
♦ S. Mezzalira, Realizzazione di un algoritmo real time per il rendering spaziale binaurale del suono, basato su
modelli antropometrici, Master’s Thesis in Computer Engineering, University of Padova, 2011. Supervisor: Prof. Federico Avanzini.
♦ F. Ficarra, Motion capture, rendering binaurale e realtà virtuale, Bachelor’s Thesis in Sound Engineering,
Conservatory of Padova, 2010. Supervisor: Prof. Alvise Vidolin.
Professional activity
♦ March 2013 – December 2014: CEO of Bloop s.r.l., spin-off company of the Department of Information
Engineering, University of Padova.
Bloop (http://www.bloop-labs.com) is a technology company specializing in innovative solutions for
audio processing, sound design, music performance and multimodal systems. As a spin-off company from the Department of Information Engineering, Bloop includes a team of professionals with
extensive strategic, creative and technical expertise to develop state-of-the-art user experiences for tomorrow’s sounding innovations.
Scientific publications
International peer-reviewed journal articles:
J1 S. Spagnol. On distance dependence of pinna spectral patterns in head-related transfer functions. J. Acoustical
Society of America (JASA) 137(1), pages EL58-EL64, January 2015.
J2 S. Spagnol, M. Geronazzo, D. Rocchesso, and F. Avanzini. Synthetic individual binaural audio delivery
by pinna image processing. Int. J. of Pervasive Computing and Communications (IJPCC) 10(3), pages
239-254, July 2014.
J3 D. Zanotto, G. Rosati, S. Spagnol, P. Stegall, and S.K. Agrawal. Effects of complementary auditory feedback
in robot-assisted lower extremity motor adaptation. IEEE Trans. on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation
Engineering (IEEE TNSRE) 21(5), pages 775-786, September 2013.
J4 S. Spagnol, M. Geronazzo, and F. Avanzini. On the relation between pinna reflection patterns and headrelated transfer function features. IEEE Trans. on Audio, Speech, and Language Processing (IEEE TASLP)
21(3), pages 508-519, March 2013.
J5 G. Rosati, F. Oscari, S. Spagnol, F. Avanzini, and R. Masiero. Effect of task-related continuous auditory
feedback during learning of tracking motion exercises. Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation 9:79,
October 2012.
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J6 S. Spagnol and F. Avanzini. Distance rendering and perception of nearby virtual sound sources with a nearfield filter model. IEEE Trans. on Audio, Speech, and Language Processing (IEEE TASLP). Submitted for
publication (January 2015).
J7 L. Turchet, S. Spagnol, M. Geronazzo, and F. Avanzini. Localization of self generated synthetic footstep
sounds on different walked-upon materials through headphones. Virtual Reality. Submitted for publication
(September 2014).
Edited works:
E1 S. Spagnol and M. Geronazzo, editors. Musiche Liquide: XX Colloquio di Informatica Musicale / Liquid
Music: 20th Colloquium on Music Informatics. IUAV University of Venice, November 2014.
Book chapters:
B1 F. Avanzini, S. Spagnol, A. De Götzen, and A. Rodà. Designing interactive sound for motor rehabilitation tasks. Chapter 12 in Sonic Interaction Design, edited by K. Franinovic and S. Serafin, pages 273-283,
MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, USA, March 2013.
International peer-reviewed conference contributions:
C1 M. Geronazzo, S. Spagnol, A. Bedin, and F. Avanzini. Enhancing vertical localization with image-guided
selection of non-individual head-related transfer functions. In Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. on Acoustics, Speech,
and Signal Processing (ICASSP 2014), pages 4496-4500, Firenze, May 2014.
C2 S. Spagnol, M. Geronazzo, D. Rocchesso, and F. Avanzini. Extraction of pinna features for customized
binaural audio delivery on mobile devices. In Proc. 11th Int. Conf. on Advances in Mobile Computing &
Multimedia (MoMM2013), pages 514-517, Vienna, December 2013. Best Short Paper Award winner.
C3 S. Spagnol, D. Rocchesso, M. Geronazzo, and F. Avanzini. Automatic extraction of pinna edges for binaural
audio customization. In Proc. IEEE Int. Workshop on Multimedia Signal Processing (MMSP 2013), pages
301-306, Pula, September-October 2013.
C4 M. Geronazzo, S. Spagnol, and F. Avanzini. Mixed structural modeling of head-related transfer functions
for customized binaural audio delivery. In Proc. 18th Int. Conf. on Digital Signal Processing (DSP 2013),
Santorini, July 2013. Invited Paper.
C5 M. Geronazzo, S. Spagnol, and F. Avanzini. A modular framework for the analysis and synthesis of headrelated transfer functions. In Proc. 134th Conv. Audio Engineering Society (AES), paper 8882, Roma,
May 2013.
C6 S. Spagnol, M. Geronazzo, and F. Avanzini. Hearing distance: a low-cost model for near-field binaural
effects. In Proc. 20th European Signal Processing Conf. (EUSIPCO 2012), pages 2005-2009, Bucharest,
August 2012.
C7 S. Spagnol, M. Geronazzo, F. Avanzini, F. Oscari, and G. Rosati. Employing spatial sonification of target
motion in tracking exercises. In Proc. 9th Int. Conf. on Sound and Music Computing (SMC 2012), pages
85-89, Copenhagen, July 2012.
C8 M. Geronazzo, S. Spagnol, and F. Avanzini. A head-related transfer function model for real-time customized
3-D sound rendering. In Proc. 7th Int. Conf. on Signal Image Technology and Internet-Based Systems
(SITIS 2011), pages 174-179, Dijon, November-December 2011.
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C9 S. Spagnol, M. Hiipakka, and V. Pulkki. A single-azimuth pinna-related transfer function database. In Proc.
14th Int. Conf. on Digital Audio Effects (DAFx-11), pages 209-212, Paris, September 2011.
C10 G. Rosati, F. Oscari, D. J. Reinkensmeyer, R. Secoli, F. Avanzini, S. Spagnol, and S. Masiero. Improving
robotics for neurorehabilitation: enhancing engagement, performance, and learning with auditory feedback. In
Proc. IEEE 12th Int. Conf. on Rehabilitation Robotics (ICORR2011), pages 341-346, Zurich, June-July
2011. Best Poster Award finalist.
C11 S. Spagnol, M. Geronazzo, and F. Avanzini. Fitting pinna-related transfer functions to anthropometry for
binaural sound rendering. In Proc. IEEE Int. Workshop on Multimedia Signal Processing (MMSP’10),
pages 194-199, Saint-Malo, October 2010. Top 10% Paper Award winner.
C12 M. Geronazzo, S. Spagnol, and F. Avanzini. Estimation and modeling of pinna-related transfer functions. In
Proc. 13th Int. Conf. on Digital Audio Effects (DAFx-10), pages 431-438, Graz, September 2010.
C13 S. Spagnol, M. Geronazzo, and F. Avanzini. Structural modeling of pinna-related transfer functions. In
Proc. 7th Int. Conf. on Sound and Music Computing (SMC 2010), pages 422-428, Barcelona, July 2010.
C14 F. Avanzini, A. De Götzen, S. Spagnol, and A. Rodà. Integrating auditory feedback in motor rehabilitation
systems. In Proc. Int. Conf. on Multimodal Interfaces for Skills Transfer (SKILLS09), pages 53-58,
Bilbao, December 2009.
C15 F. Avanzini, L. Mion, and S. Spagnol. Personalized 3D sound rendering for content creation, delivery, and
presentation. NEM Summit 2009, pages 12-16, Saint-Malo, September 2009.
C16 S. Spagnol and F. Avanzini. Real-time binaural audio rendering in the near field. In Proc. 6th Int. Conf. on
Sound and Music Computing (SMC09), pages 201-206, Porto, July 2009.
National peer-reviewed conference contributions:
N1 S. Scaiella, S. Spagnol, M. Geronazzo, and F. Avanzini. Valutazione parametrica di un modello strutturale
di orecchio esterno per il rendering binaurale del suono. In Proc. XX Colloquium on Music Informatics (XX
CIM), pages 47-52, Roma, October 2014.
N2 M. Geronazzo, S. Spagnol, D. Rocchesso, and F. Avanzini. Model-based customized binaural reproduction
through headphones. In Proc. XIX Colloquium on Music Informatics (XIX CIM), pages 186-187, Trieste,
November 2012.
N3 S. Spagnol. Are spectral elevation cues in head-related transfer functions distance-independent? In Proc. XIX
Colloquium on Music Informatics (XIX CIM), pages 166-171, Trieste, November 2012.
N4 M. Geronazzo, S. Spagnol, and F. Avanzini. Customized 3D sound for innovative interaction design. In
Proc. Italian ACM SigCHI Conf. on Computer-Human Interaction (CHItaly’2011), Alghero, September 2011.
Non-refereed conference contributions:
O1 M. Geronazzo, S. Spagnol, and F. Avanzini. Un nuovo approccio a modelli strutturali misti per la sintesi e
la personalizzazione di HRTF. In Proc. 41st Nat. Meet. Italian Acoustic Association, Pisa, June 2014.
O2 M. Geronazzo, F. Granza, S. Spagnol, and F. Avanzini. A standardized repository of head-related and
headphone transfer function data. In Proc. 134th Conv. Audio Engineering Society, Roma, May 2013.
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O3 S. Spagnol, M. Geronazzo, and F. Avanzini. Structural modeling of pinna-related transfer functions for 3-D
sound rendering. In Proc. XVIII Colloquium on Music Informatics (XVIII CIM), pages 92-101, Torino,
October 2010.
PhD thesis:
D1 S. Spagnol. Techniques for customized binaural audio rendering with applications to virtual rehabilitation.
PhD thesis, Dept. of Information Engineering, University of Padova, Italy, April 2012.
Last updated: January 27, 2015