Samy Rima
PhD
samy.rima@unifr.ch
+41 26 300 8769
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3598-3505
- Visual neuroscience
- Psychophysics
- Eye tracking and oculomotor behaviour
- EEG
- Multimodal biosignal analysis
- Predictive processing and active inference
- Human-machine interaction
- Driving simulation
- Immersive simulation (XR)
- Conversational AI and communication assessment
Senior Researcher
Human-IST - Human-centered Interaction Science and Technology
Bd de Pérolles 90
1700 Fribourg
Hours of reception
Biography
Samy Rima is a Lecturer and Senior Researcher (Maître-assistant) at the Human-IST Institute, Faculty of Science and Medicine, University of Fribourg. He coordinates the Specialised Master in Digital Neuroscience and is its study advisor.
He is a visual neuroscientist (PhD, Université Toulouse III, 2017). His research asks how people perceive, predict and act when they work in a closed loop with machines. It builds on his earlier work on visual motion processing, optic flow and eye movements, including the mapping of visual areas in the primate posterior parietal cortex and studies of visual asymmetries linked to reading skill. He works within predictive processing and active inference.
Current projects: MAP-Drive, a multimodal driving-simulator dataset (66 participants, six biosignal modalities, mobile eye tracking) to model attention and anticipate driver actions; and conversational interaction, with models of conversation as shared prediction and auditable assessment of communication skills. He is co-founder and lead scientist of Harbour, a conversational-training project developed at the University of Fribourg that received the Dalle Molle Label.
He leads MINDCRAFT, the institute's platform for eye tracking, EEG and immersive simulation, which gives Master's students direct access to these methods. He teaches Cybernetic Systems and runs the Visionary Lectures series.
Students and prospective students can book a meeting.
Research and publications
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Published research
18 publications
Motion perception and eye movements predict reading readiness: Evidence from pre-readers in an action video game task
iScience (2026) | Journal article