Silvio Giancola
Silvio Giancola is a Research Scientist at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), under the supervision of Prof. Bernard Ghanem in the Image and Video Understanding Laboratory (IVUL), part of the Center of Excellence for Generative AI (GenAI).
Biography
Silvio Giancola is a Research Scientist at KAUST, where he leads initiatives at the intersection of computer vision, artificial intelligence, and sports. He co-founded the SoccerNet project, a large-scale benchmark for soccer video understanding now adopted by hundreds of research groups worldwide. His research spans video understanding, 3D perception, and sports analytics, with applications ranging from athlete biomechanics to broadcast automation. Dr. Giancola has published more than 25 peer-reviewed papers, co-authored a book on 3D camera technologies, and organized workshops and challenges at premier conferences such as CVPR. At KAUST, he plays a central role in the newly established FIFA Research Institute, collaborating with FIFA and industry partners to translate cutting-edge AI research into real-world football solutions.
Research Interests
Silvio is mainly interested in Computer Vision, Deep learning, Sports, and Robotics.
Professional Profile
Service Contributions
- Service to the Institution
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Organizer of the Rising Stars in AI Symposium, 2022 - 2024
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- Service to the Discipline or Profession
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Organizer of the SoccerNet Challenges, 2021 - 2024
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Organizer of the CVsports workshop at CVPR, 2024
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Reviewer for top-tier CV and AI conferences, 2024 - present
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Area Chair for ICIP and ICANN, 2024 - present
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Organizer of the 3DMV workshops at CVPR, 2023 - present
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Awards and Distinctions
- Computer Vision as a Service, Impact Acceleration Fund, 2020 - 2021
- CloudLabeling: Computer Vision as a Service, Research Translation Grant, 2022 - 2023
- Platform for Automated Analysis of Satellite Imagery, Impact Acceleration Fund, 2022 - 2023
- EarthLabeling: Computer Vision for Aerial Images, Research Translation Grant, 2023 - 2024
- Start up Acceleration Winner, TAQADAM, 2021 - 2022
- Best paper award, CVsports, 2022
- Best paper award, CVsports, 2021
- Sports+AI Competition 2nd place, Thakaa, 2022
- PhD Research Fellowship, 2014 - 2016
- Teaching Assistant Awards, 2014 - 2016
Professional Memberships
- Member, Computer Vision Fundation, 2017
- Member, Europe Alliance for Innovation (EAI), 2025
- Member, Italian Association of Mechanical and Thermal Measurements (GMMT), 2025
Qualifications
Education
- Doctor rerum naturalium (Dr. rer. nat.)
- Mechanical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Italy, 2017
- Master of Engineering (M.Eng.)
- Mechatronics Engineering, Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA), France, 2012
- English
- Full professional proficiency
- French
- Native or bilingual proficiency
- Italian
- Native or bilingual proficiency
