AI-powered Urban Digital Twins
My PhD research focuses on AI-powered digital twins for sustainable urban transformation, with an interest in GeoAI and the connection between urban data, analysis, and decision-making.
PhD Researcher · Computer Science
Matteo
Ercolino.
University of Salerno
I study how AI can help us understand urban environments—and how people can interact with these systems.
My research connects urban digital twins and GeoAI with Human–AI Interaction, conversational agents, and XR.
01 / Research
Cities, intelligence,
and interaction.
My PhD project explores AI-powered Digital Twins for Sustainable Urban Transformation. Three connected interests guide my work.
Human–AI Interaction
I study how people interact with AI through conversational interfaces, with an interest in LLMs and agentic systems. My published work examines affect-aware conversational adaptation during procedural tasks in mixed reality.
XR & interactive systems
I study conversational agents and interaction in extended reality. Through my collaboration with HCI-USE Lab, I combine prototyping and experimentation with the design of interactive systems.
02 / Publications & writing
Papers and thesis.
Affect-aware conversational adaptation in mixed reality procedural tasks
Journal of Ambient Intelligence and Humanized Computing
Adaptive virtual agents: study and design of conversational agents in Extended Reality
MSc Thesis, University of Salerno
Designing Virtual Interactive Objects to Enhance Visitors' Experience in Cultural Exhibits
Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference of the ACM Greek SIGCHI Chapter
03 / Selected projects
From questions to systems.
Software engineering is part of my research practice: building interfaces and prototypes that make ideas tangible.
GeoAI & conversational interfaces · 2026
Conversational WebGIS for Carta Natura
An experimental WebGIS for forest analysis and economic valuation of sequestered CO₂. An LLM-based interface supports GIS operations and scenario comparison, using Django, Leaflet, Python, and the OpenAI API.
MSc thesis · 2025
Adaptive virtual agents
Study and design of conversational agents in Extended Reality, connecting adaptive behaviour with interaction in immersive environments.
Read the thesis ↗PRIN 2022 MediArSI · 2025–2026
InMediArSI
A responsive web application for geolocating and exploring historical art commissions in Southern Italy (11th–13th century). Developed within DISPAC, University of Salerno.
Related experience ↗Immersive systems · Unity & Meta Quest
CLASS / VRCLASS
A VR application based on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), designed to support metacognitive skills through self-observation and guided immersive activities.
View on Meta ↗AI & multimodal interaction
WakeApp
A support system for people with major depression, using AI and emotion recognition from audio and video. Winner of the Coach Jury award at the 11th APP Challenge. Built with Python, Flask, Flutter, and Dart.
View repository ↗Mobile systems · Founder & developer
CampUs Unisa
A cross-platform university app built with Swift, UIKit, SwiftUI, Java, Kotlin, and Firebase. More than 30,000 downloads and 1,000 daily active users, as reported in my September 2026 CV.
04 / Background
Research, engineering,
and teaching.
I am a PhD student in Computer Science at the University of Salerno, where I also completed my MSc (110/110 cum laude, 2025) and BSc (2022).
Since 2023, I have collaborated with HCI-USE Lab on extended reality and conversational agents. My experience also includes web development for InMediArSI, immersive systems at Fondazione Formit–UNINT, and teaching Python at UNINT.
Experience & education ↗Get in touch
Let’s talk research.
mercolino@unisa.it
Research collaborations and academic exchange.