@article {4205, title = {A wearable wrist haptic display for motion tracking and force feedback in the operational space}, journal = {Wearable Technologies}, volume = {2}, year = {2021}, author = {Laghi, Marco and Catalano, Manuel G and Grioli, Giorgio and Bicchi, Antonio} } @article {3701, title = {Distributed model predictive control for energy management in a network of microgrids using the dual decomposition method}, journal = {Optimal Control Applications and Methods}, year = {2020}, chapter = {1-17}, abstract = {

Summary This paper deals with the application of model predictive control (MPC) to optimize power flows in a network of interconnected microgrids (MGs). More specifically, a distributed MPC (DMPC) approach is used to compute for each MG how much active power should be exchanged with other MGs and with the outer power grid. Due to the presence of coupled variables, the DMPC approach must be used in a suitable way to guarantee the feasibility of the consensus procedure among the MGs. For this purpose, we adopt a tailored dual decomposition method that allows us to reach a feasible solution while guaranteeing the privacy of single MGs (ie, without having to share private information like the amount of generated energy or locally consumed energy). Simulation results demonstrate the features of the proposed cooperative control strategy and the obtained benefits with respect to other classical centralized control methods.

}, keywords = {distributed systems, dual decomposition, microgrids, model predictive control}, doi = {10.1002/oca.2504}, url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/oca.2504}, author = {M. Razzanelli and E. Crisostomi and L. Pallottino and G. Pannocchia} } @article {4083, title = {Evaluation of a Simultaneous Myoelectric Control Strategy for a Multi-DoF Transradial Prosthesis}, year = {2020}, author = {C. Piazza and M. Rossi and M. G. Catalano and A. Bicchi and L. Hargrove} } @article {4085, title = {Exploring augmented grasping capabilities in a multi-synergistic soft bionic hand}, journal = {Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation}, volume = {17}, year = {2020}, chapter = {116}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s12984-020-00741-y}, url = {https://jneuroengrehab.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12984-020-00741-y$\#$article-info}, author = {C. Piazza and A. M. Simon and K. L. Turner and L. A. Miller and M. G. Catalano and A. Bicchi and L. Hargrove} } @article {3717, title = {Analysis of series elasticity in locomotion of a planar bipedal robot}, journal = { INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MECHANICS AND CONTROL}, year = {2019}, author = {S. Manara and G M Gasparri and M. Garabini and D. Caporale and M Gabiccini and A. Bicchi} } @article {3749, title = {Artificial hand}, number = {16/302227}, year = {2019}, month = {09/05}, url = {https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/4f/2c/07/915e9723cfe164/US20190269528A1.pdf}, author = {A. Bicchi and M. G. Catalano and C. Piazza and G. Grioli and C. Della Santina and M. Garabini} } @article {3678, title = {Assessment of muscle fatigue during isometric contraction using autonomic nervous system correlates}, journal = {Biomedical Signal Processing and Control}, volume = {51}, year = {2019}, month = {05/2019}, chapter = {42}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bspc.2019.02.007}, url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1746809419300436}, author = {A. Greco and G. Valenza and A. Bicchi and M. Bianchi and E. P. Scilingo} } @article {3649, title = {A Century of Robotic Hands}, journal = {Annual Review of Control, Robotics, and Autonomous Systems}, volume = {2}, year = {2019}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-control-060117-105003}, url = {https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-control-060117-105003}, author = {C. Piazza and G. Grioli and M. G. Catalano and A. Bicchi} } @conference {3719, title = {Comparison of Three Hand Pose Reconstruction Algorithms Using Inertial and Magnetic Measurement Units}, booktitle = {18th IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots, Humanoids 2018}, year = {2019}, doi = {10.1109/HUMANOIDS.2018.8624929}, url = {https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8624929}, author = {P. J. Kieliba and P. H. Veltink and T. Lisini Baldi and D. Pratichizzo and G. Santaera and A. Bicchi and M. Bianchi and B. J. F. Van Beijnum} } @article {3700, title = {Deconfliction of Motion Paths With Traffic Inspired Rules}, journal = {IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters}, volume = {4}, year = {2019}, month = {April}, pages = {2227-2234}, keywords = {Automobiles, Autonomous Vehicles, Collision Avoidance, multi-robot systems, Navigation, Physical Human-Robot Interaction, Roads, Robots, Safety}, issn = {2377-3766}, doi = {10.1109/LRA.2019.2899932}, author = {F. Celi and L. Wang and L. Pallottino and M. Egerstedt} } @article {3745, title = {Design and Assessment of Control Maps for Multi-Channel sEMG-Driven Prostheses and Supernumerary Limbs}, journal = {Frontiers in neurorobotics}, volume = {13}, year = {2019}, doi = {10.3389/fnbot.2019.00026}, author = {M. Maimeri and C. Della Santina and C. Piazza and M. Rossi and M. G. Catalano and G. Grioli} } @article {3744, title = {Design and Assessment of Control Maps for Multi-Channel sEMG-Driven Prostheses and Supernumerary Limbs}, journal = {Frontiers in neurorobotics}, volume = {13}, year = {2019}, doi = {10.3389/fnbot.2019.00026}, url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbot.2019.00026/full}, author = {M. Maimeri and C. Della Santina and C. Piazza and M. Rossi and M. G. Catalano and G. Grioli} } @article {3681, title = {Design and Validation of a Modular One-To-Many Actuator for a Soft Wearable Exosuit}, journal = {Frontiers in Neurorobotics}, year = {2019}, month = {06/2019}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbot.2019.00039}, url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbot.2019.00039/full}, author = {M. Xiloyannis and E. Annese and M. Canesi and A. Kodian and A. Bicchi and S. Micera and A. Ajoudani and L. Masia} } @article {3638, title = {Dynamic Morphological Computation Through Damping Design of Soft Continuum Robots}, journal = {Frontiers in Robotics and AI}, year = {2019}, author = {A. Di Lallo and M. G. Catalano and M. Garabini and G. Grioli and M Gabiccini and A. Bicchi} } @conference {3708, title = {Dynamic motion control of multi-segment soft robots using piecewise constant curvature matched with an augmented rigid body model}, booktitle = {RoboSoft 2019 - 2019 IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics }, year = {2019}, author = {R. K. Katzschmann and C. D. Santina and Y. Toshimitsu and A. Bicchi and D. Rus} } @article {3640, title = {Exact Task Execution in Highly Under-Actuated Soft Limbs: An Operational Space Based Approach}, journal = {IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters}, volume = {Volume: 4 , Issue: 3 , July 2019}, year = {2019}, month = {04/2019}, author = {C. Della Santina and L. Pallottino and D. Rus and A. Bicchi} } @article {3751, title = {Exploiting Adaptability in Soft Feet for Sensing Contact Forces}, journal = { IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters}, volume = {5}, year = {2019}, month = {11/2019}, chapter = {391}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1109/LRA.2019.2952292}, url = {https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8894422}, author = {D. Mura and C. Della Santina and C. Piazza and I. Frizza and C. Morandi and M. Garabini and G. Grioli and M. G. Catalano} } @article {3709, title = {Guest Editorial Neuro-Robotics Systems: Sensing, Cognition, Learning, and Control}, journal = {IEEE Transactions on Cognitive and Developmental Systems }, year = {2019}, author = {Z. Li and F. Chen and A. Bicchi and Y. Sun and T. Fukuda} } @article {3621, title = {Learning From Humans How to Grasp: A Data-Driven Architecture for Autonomous Grasping With Anthropomorphic Soft Hands}, journal = {IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters}, volume = {4}, year = {2019}, month = {April}, pages = {1533-1540}, keywords = {Computer architecture, Control, Deep Learning in Robotics and Automation, Grasping, Learning for Soft Robots, Modeling, Natural Machine Motion, Neural networks, Robot sensing systems, Uncertainty, Videos}, issn = {2377-3766}, doi = {10.1109/LRA.2019.2896485}, author = {C. D. Santina and V. Arapi and G. Averta and F. Damiani and G. Fiore and A Settimi and M. G. Catalano and D. Bacciu and A. Bicchi and M. Bianchi} } @article {3643, title = {A Novel Skin-Stretch Haptic Device for Intuitive Control of Robotic Prostheses and Avatars}, journal = {IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters}, volume = {Volume: 4 , Issue: 2 , April 2019 }, year = {2019}, month = {01/2019}, author = {N. Colella and M. Bianchi and G. Grioli and A. Bicchi and M. G. Catalano} } @conference {3748, title = {An Objective Functional Evaluation of Myoelectrically-Controlled Hand Prostheses: A Pilot Study Using the Virtual Peg Insertion Test}, booktitle = {IEEE International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics (ICORR)}, year = {2019}, doi = {10.1109/ICORR.2019.8779550}, author = {C. M. Kanzler and M. G. Catalano and C. Piazza and A. Bicchi and R. Gassert and O. Lambercy} } @article {3642, title = {Relaying the High-Frequency Contents of TactileFeedback to Robotic Prosthesis Users: Design,Filtering, Implementation, and Validation}, journal = {IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters}, volume = {Volume: 4 , Issue: 2 , April 2019}, year = {2019}, month = {01/2019}, author = {S. Fani and K. Di Blasio and M. Bianchi and M. G. Catalano and G. Grioli and A. Bicchi} } @article {3641, title = {A Spherical Active Joint for Humanoids and Humans}, journal = {IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters}, volume = {Volume: 4 , Issue: 2 , April 2019}, year = {2019}, month = {01/2019}, author = {S. Mghames and M. G. Catalano and A. Bicchi and G. Grioli} } @article {3677, title = {On the time-invariance properties of upper limb synergies}, journal = {IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering }, year = {2019}, month = {07/2019}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1109/TNSRE.2019.2918311}, url = {https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31135365}, author = {G. Averta and G. Valenza and V. Catrambone and F. Barontini and E. P. Scilingo and A. Bicchi and M. Bianchi} } @article {3710, title = {Touch as an auxiliary proprioceptive cue for movement control}, journal = {Indian Journal of Pure and Applied Physics }, year = {2019}, author = {A. Moscatelli and M. Bianchi and S. Ciotti and G. C. Bettelani and C. V. Parise and F. Lacquaniti and A. Bicchi} } @proceedings {3698, title = {Towards the Design of Robotic Drivers for Full-Scale Self-Driving Racing Cars}, year = {2019}, author = {D. Caporale and A Settimi and F. Massa and F. Amerotti and A. Corti and A. Fagiolini and M. Guiggiani and A. Bicchi and L. Pallottino} } @article {3760, title = {Unifying bilateral teleoperation and tele-impedance for enhanced user experience}, journal = {International Journal of Robotics Research}, year = {2019}, month = {12/2019}, type = {Journal}, abstract = {

Usability is one of the most important aspects of teleoperation. Ideally, the operator{\textquoteright}s experience should be one of complete command over the remote environment, but also be as close as possible to what s/he would have if physically present at the remote end - i.e. transparency in terms of both action and perception. These two aspects may coincide in favorable conditions, where classic approaches such as the four-channel architecture ensures transparency of the control framework. In presence of substantial delays between the user and the slave, however, the stability-performance trade-off inherent to bilateral teleoperation deteriorates not only transparency, but also command. An alternative, unilateral approach is given by tele-impedance, which controls the slave-environment interaction by measuring and remotely replicating the user{\textquoteright}s limb endpoint position and impedance. Not including force feedback to the operator, tele-impedance is absolutely robust to delays, while it completely lacks transparency.

This paper introduces a novel control framework which integrates a new, fully transparent, two-channel bilateral architecture with the tele-impedance paradigm. The result is a unified solution that mitigates problems of classical approaches, and provides the user with additional tools to modulate the slave robot{\textquoteright}s physical interaction behavior, resulting in a better operator experience in spite of time inconsistencies. The validity and effectiveness of the proposed solution is demonstrated in terms of performance in the interaction tasks, of user fatigue and overall experience.

}, keywords = {bilateral, stability, Teleoperation, transparency, usability}, doi = {10.1177/0278364919891773}, url = {https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0278364919891773}, author = {Laghi, Marco and Ajoudani, Arash and Catalano, Manuel G. and Bicchi, Antonio} } @article {3655, title = {Wearable haptic interfaces for applications in gynecologic robotic surgery: a proof of concept in robotic myomectomy.}, journal = {Journal of Robotic Surgery }, year = {2019}, author = {A. Giannini and M. Bianchi and D. Doria and S. Fani and M. Caretto and A. Bicchi and T. Simoncini} } @conference {3682, title = {Advanced grasping with the Pisa/IIT softHand}, booktitle = {Robotic Grasping and Manipulation Challenge }, year = {2018}, pages = {pp. 19-38}, author = {M. Bonilla and C. Della Santina and A. Rocchi and E. Luberto and G. Santaera and E. Farnioli and C. Piazza and F. Bonomo and A. Brando and A. Raugi and M. G. Catalano and M. Bianchi and M. Garabini and G. Grioli and A. Bicchi} } @article {3377, title = {Aerial Co-Manipulation With Cables: The Role of Internal Force for Equilibria, Stability, and Passivity}, journal = {IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters}, volume = {3}, year = {2018}, month = {July}, pages = {2577-2583}, keywords = {Admittance, Aerial systems: mechanics and control, distributed robot systems, Force, mobile manipulation, multi-robot systems, Robot kinematics, Stability criteria, Transportation}, doi = {10.1109/LRA.2018.2803811}, author = {M. Tognon and C. Gabellieri and L. Pallottino and A. Franchi} } @conference {3724, title = {Approximate hybrid model predictive control for multi-contact push recovery in complex environments}, booktitle = {IEEE RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots}, year = {2018}, doi = { 10.1109/HUMANOIDS.2017.8239534}, author = {T. Marcucci and R. Deits and M. Gabiccini and A. Bicchi and R. Tedrake} } @conference {3383, title = {Autonomous 3D exploration of large areas: A cooperative frontier-based approach}, booktitle = {International Conference on Modelling and Simulation for Autonomous Systems}, volume = {10756 LNCS Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in }, year = {2018}, note = {

Cited By :1

}, pages = {18-39}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-319-76072-8_2}, author = {A. Mannucci and S. Nardi and L. Pallottino} } @article {3696, title = {DeepDynamicHand: A Deep Neural Architecture for Labeling Hand Manipulation Strategies in Video Sources Exploiting Temporal Information}, journal = {Frontiers in Neurorobotics}, year = {2018}, author = {A. Visar and C. Della Santina and D. Bacciu and M. Bianchi and A. Bicchi} } @article {3679, title = {Design and proof of concept for multi degree of freedom hydrostatically coupled dielectric elastomer actuators with roto-translational kinematics for object handling}, journal = {Smart Materials and Structures}, year = {2018}, author = {A. De Acutis and L. Calabrese and A. Bau and V. Tincani and N. M. Pugno and A. Bicchi and D. De Rossi} } @conference {3382, title = {Design of an indoor autonomous robot navigation system for unknown environments}, booktitle = {International Conference on Modelling and Simulation for Autonomous Systems}, volume = {10756 LNCS Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in }, year = {2018}, note = {

Cited By :1

}, pages = {153-169}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-319-76072-8_11}, author = {L. Silvestri and L. Pallottino and S. Nardi} } @conference {3721, title = {EEG Complexity Maps to Characterise Brain Dynamics during Upper Limb Motor Imagery}, booktitle = { Proceedings of the Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBS}, year = {2018}, doi = { 10.1109/EMBC.2018.8512912}, url = { https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8512912}, author = {V. Catambrone and A. Greco and G. Averta and M. Bianchi and A. Bicchi and E. P. Scilingo and G. Valenza} } @conference {3722, title = {EEG Processing to Discriminate Transitive-Intransitive Motor Imagery Tasks: Preliminary Evidences using Support Vector Machines}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBS}, year = {2018}, doi = {10.1109/EMBC.2018.8512239}, url = {https://zenodo.org/record/2559406$\#$.XTbl43ux9GM}, author = {V. Catrambone and A. Greco and G. Averta and M. Bianchi and N. Vanello and A. Bicchi and G. Valenza and E. P. Scilingo} } @article {3364, title = {Efficient Walking Gait Generation via Principal Component Representation of Optimal Trajectories: Application to a Planar Biped Robot With Elastic Joints}, journal = {IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters}, volume = {3}, year = {2018}, pages = {2299{\textendash}2306}, abstract = {

Recently, the method of choice to exploit robot dynamics for efficient walking is numerical optimization (NO). The main drawback in NO is the computational complexity, which strongly affects the time demand of the solution. Several strategies can be used to make the optimization more treatable and to efficiently describe the solution set. In this letter, we present an algorithm to encode effective walking references, generated offline via numerical optimization, extracting a limited number of principal components and using them as a basis of optimal motions. By combining these components, a good approximation of the optimal gaits can be generated at run time. The advantages of the presented approach are discussed, and an extensive experimental validation is carried out on a planar legged robot with elastic joints. The biped thus controlled is able to start and stop walking on a treadmill, and to control its speed dynamically as the treadmill speed changes.

}, author = {G M Gasparri and S. Manara and D. Caporale and G. Averta and M. Bonilla and H. Marino and M. G. Catalano and G. Grioli and M. Bianchi and A. Bicchi and M. Garabini} } @conference {3723, title = {ExoSense: Measuring Manipulation in a Wearable Manner}, booktitle = {Proceedings - IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation}, year = {2018}, doi = {10.1109/ICRA.2018.8460498}, author = {E. Battaglia and M. G. Catalano and G. Grioli and M. Bianchi and A. Bicchi} } @article {3474, title = {A Game Theoretic Robotic Team Coordination Protocol For Intruder Herding}, journal = {IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters}, volume = {3}, year = {2018}, month = {10/2018}, pages = {4124-4131}, keywords = {autonomous agents, Cost function, distributed robot systems, game theory, Games, Protocols, Robot kinematics, Robot sensing systems}, issn = {2377-3766}, doi = {10.1109/LRA.2018.2857004}, author = {S. Nardi and F. Mazzitelli and L. Pallottino} } @conference {3720, title = {A Novel Approach to Under-Actuated Control of Fluidic Systems}, booktitle = {2018 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA)}, year = {2018}, doi = {10.1109/ICRA.2018.8460859}, url = {http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=\&arnumber=8460859\&isnumber=8460178}, author = {A. Di Lallo and M. G. Catalano and M. Garabini and G. Grioli and M. Gabiccini and A. Bicchi} } @conference {3796, title = {Optimal Active Sensing with Process and Measurement Noise}, booktitle = {2018 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA)}, year = {2018}, month = {May}, pages = {2118-2125}, abstract = {

The goal of this paper is to increase the estimation performance of an Extended Kalman Filter for a nonlinear differentially flat system by planning trajectories able to maximize the amount of information gathered by onboard sensors in presence of both process and measurement noises. In a previous work, we presented an online gradient descent method for planning optimal trajectories along which the smallest eigenvalue of the Observability Gramian (OG) is maximized. As the smallest eigenvalue of the OG is inversely proportional to the maximum estimation uncertainty, its maximization reduces the maximum estimation uncertainty of any estimation algorithm employed during motion. However, the OG does not consider the process noise that, instead, in several applications is far from being negligible. For this reason, this paper proposes a novel solution able to cope with non-negligible process noise: this is achieved by minimizing the largest eigenvalue of the a posteriori covariance matrix obtained by solving the Continuous Riccati Equation as a measure of the total available information. This minimization is expected to maximize the information gathered by the outputs while, at the same time, limiting as much as possible the negative effects of the process noise. We apply our method to a unicycle robot. The comparison between the novel method and the one of our previous work (which did not consider process noise) shows significant improvements in the obtained estimation accuracy.

}, keywords = {continuous Riccati equation, covariance matrices, eigenvalues and eigenfunctions, Estimation, estimation algorithm, gradient methods, inversely proportional, Kalman Filter, Kalman filters, largest eigenvalue, maximum estimation uncertainty, measurement noise, mobile robots, noise measurement, nonlinear differentially flat system, nonlinear filters, nonnegligible process noise, observability, observability gramian, OG, onboard sensors, online gradient descent method, optimal active sensing, optimal trajectories, optimisation, path planning, posteriori covariance matrix, Riccati equations, Robot sensing systems, Trajectory, trajectory control, unicycle robot}, doi = {10.1109/ICRA.2018.8460476}, url = {https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8460476}, author = {M. Cognetti and P Salaris and P. Robuffo Giordano} } @conference {3531, title = {A Planning and Control System for Self-Driving Racing Vehicles}, booktitle = {2018 IEEE 4th International Forum on Research and Technology for Society and Industry (RTSI)}, year = {2018}, month = {Sept}, pages = {1-6}, address = {Palermo, Italy}, doi = {10.1109/RTSI.2018.8548444}, author = {D. Caporale and A. Fagiolini and L. Pallottino and A Settimi and A. Biondo and F. Amerotti and F. Massa and S. De Caro and A. Corti and L. Venturini} } @conference {3746, title = {Preliminary Results Toward Continuous and Proportional Control of a Multi-synergistic Soft Prosthetic Hand}, booktitle = {International Conference on NeuroRehabilitation}, year = {2018}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01845-0_15}, author = {C. Piazza and M. G. Catalano and A. Bicchi and L. Hargrove} } @conference {3718, title = {On the role of postural synergies for grasp force generation and upper limb motion control}, booktitle = {International Conference on NeuroRehabilitation}, year = {2018}, url = {https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-01845-0_69}, author = {G. Averta and F. Angelini and A. Bicchi and G. Valenza and M. Bianchi} } @conference {3761, title = {Shared-autonomy control for intuitive bimanual tele-manipulation}, booktitle = {2018 IEEE-RAS 18th International Conference on Humanoid Robots (Humanoids)}, year = {2018}, pages = {1{\textendash}9}, publisher = {IEEE}, organization = {IEEE}, abstract = {

Existing dual-arm teleoperation systems function on one-to-one coupling of the human and robotic arms to fully exploit the user{\textquoteright}s dexterity during bimanual tele-manipulation. While the individual coordination of the robot end-effectors can be necessary for complex and asymmetric tasks, it may result in a cumbersome user experience during symmetric bimanual tasks (e.g. manipulating and carrying objects). In this paper we propose a novel framework that includes the one-to-one direct control and a new shared autonomy strategy. The user can autonomously choose between the two, and if the new one is selected the robots move in a coordinated way, in which desired positions are extrapolated from the movements and gestures of just one users arm. These gesture commands are interpreted and handled by the control, with the purpose of unloading the users cognitive burden. Lastly, the tele-impedance paradigm, i.e., the remote control of robot impedance and position references, is applied to both controls, to improve remote physical interaction performances. The paper reports on the overall proposed architecture, its implementation and its preliminary validation trough a multi subject experimental campaign.

}, doi = {10.1109/HUMANOIDS.2018.8625047}, url = {https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8625047}, author = {Laghi, Marco and Maimeri, Michele and Marchand, Mathieu and Leparoux, Clara and Catalano, Manuel and Ajoudani, Arash and Bicchi, Antonio} } @article {3697, title = {The SoftHand Pro: Functional evaluation of a novel, flexible, and robust myoelectric prosthesis}, journal = {PLOS One}, year = {2018}, author = {S. B. Godfrey and K. Zhao and A. Theuer and M. G. Catalano and M. Bianchi and R. Breighner and D. Bhaskaran and R. Lennon and G. Grioli and M. Santello and A. Bicchi and K. Andrews} } @conference {3747, title = {The softpro project: Synergy-based open-source technologies for prosthetics and rehabilitation}, booktitle = {International Symposium on Wearable Robotics}, year = {2018}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01887-0_71}, author = {C. Piazza and M. G. Catalano and M. Bianchi and E. Ricciardi and D. Pratichizzo and S. Haddadin and Luft, A. R. L. and O. Lambercy and R. Gassert and E. Jakubowitz and H. Van Der Kooij and F. Tonis and F. Bonomo and B. de Jonge and T. Ward and K. Zhao and M. Santello and A. Bicchi} } @conference {3562, title = {A Study on Force-Based Collaboration in Flying Swarms}, booktitle = {Proc. of Swarm Intelligence}, year = {2018}, pages = {3{\textendash}15}, publisher = {Springer International Publishing}, organization = {Springer International Publishing}, address = {Cham}, isbn = {978-3-030-00533-7}, author = {C. Gabellieri and M. Tognon and L. Pallottino and A. Franchi} } @article {3349, title = {Systemic and vascular inflammation in an in-vitro model of central obesity}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, year = {2018}, month = {02/2018}, abstract = {

Metabolic disorders due to over-nutrition are a major global health problem, often associated with obesity and related morbidities. Obesity is peculiar to humans, as it is associated with lifestyle and diet, and so difficult to reproduce in animal models. Here we describe a model of human central adiposity based on a 3-tissue system consisting of a series of interconnected fluidic modules. Given the causal link between obesity and systemic inflammation, we focused primarily on pro-inflammatory markers, examining the similarities and differences between the 3-tissue model and evidence from human studies in the literature. When challenged with high levels of adiposity, the in-vitro system manifests cardiovascular stress through expression of E-selectin and von Willebrand factor as well as systemic inflammation (expressing IL-6 and MCP-1) as observed in humans. Interestingly, most of the responses are dependent on the synergic interaction between adiposity and the presence of multiple tissue types. The set-up has the potential to reduce animal experiments in obesity research and may help unravel specific cellular mechanisms which underlie tissue response to nutritional overload.

}, keywords = {Bioengineering}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0192824.s001}, url = {http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0192824}, author = {A. Ahluwalia and A. Misto and G. Vozzi and C. Magliaro and G. Mattei and Marescotti MC and AVOGARO, A and Iori, E.} } @conference {3683, title = {Touch-Based Grasp Primitives for Soft Hands: Applications to Human-to-Robot Handover Tasks and Beyond}, booktitle = {2018 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA)}, year = {2018}, author = {M. Bianchi and G. Averta and E. Battaglia and C. Rosales and M. Bonilla and A. Tondo and M. Poggiani and G. Santaera and S. Ciotti and M. G. Catalano and A. Bicchi} } @article {3366, title = {Towards Dexterous Manipulation with Augmented Adaptive Synergies: the Pisa/IIT SoftHand 2}, journal = {IEEE Transactions on Robotics}, volume = {Early Access}, year = {2018}, month = {06/2018 }, type = {Regular Paper}, abstract = {

In the recent years, a clear trend towards simplification emerged in the development of robotic hands. The use of soft robotic approaches has been a useful tool in this prospective, enabling complexity reduction by embodying part of grasping intelligence in the hand mechanical structure. Several hand prototypes designed according to such principles have accomplished good results in terms of grasping simplicity, robustness, and reliability. Among them, the Pisa/IIT SoftHand demonstrated the feasibility of a large variety of grasping tasks, by means of only one actuator and an opportunely designed tendon driven differential mechanism. However, the use of a single degree of actuation prevents the execution of more complex tasks, like fine pre-shaping of fingers and in-hand manipulation. While possible in theory, simply doubling the Pisa/IIT SoftHand actuation system has several disadvantages, e.g. in terms of space and mechanical complexity. To overcome these limitations we propose a novel design framework for tendon driven mechanisms, where the main idea is to turn transmission friction from a disturbance into a design tool. In this way the degrees of actuation can be doubled with little additional complexity.

By leveraging on this idea we design a novel robotic hand, the Pisa/IIT SoftHand 2. We present here its design, modeling, control, and experimental validation. The hand demonstrates that by opportunely combining only two degrees of actuation with hand softness, a large variety of grasping and manipulation tasks can be performed only relying on the intelligence embodied in the mechanism. Examples include rotating objects with different shapes, opening a jar, pouring coffee from a glass.

}, issn = {Print 1552-3098; Onlline 1941-0468}, author = {C. Della Santina and C. Piazza and G. Grioli and M. G. Catalano and A. Bicchi} } @article {3750, title = {Underactuated robotic hand}, number = {15/772368}, year = {2018}, month = {11/01}, url = {https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/c3/76/f4/3f31e20b15ad53/US20180311827A1.pdf}, author = {A. Bicchi and C. Della Santina and M. G. Catalano and C. Piazza and G. Grioli and A. Brando} } @inbook {3381, title = {WALK-MAN Humanoid Platform}, booktitle = {The DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals: Humanoid Robots To The Rescue}, volume = {121}, number = {The DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals: Humanoid Robots To The Rescue}, year = {2018}, pages = {495{\textendash}548}, publisher = {Springer}, organization = {Springer}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-319-74666-1_13}, author = {N. G. Tsagarakis and F. Negrello and M. Garabini and W. Choi and L. Baccelliere and V. G. Loc and J. Noorden and M. G. Catalano and M. Ferrati and L. Muratore and P. Kryczka and E. Mingo Hoffman and A Settimi and A. Rocchi and A. Margan and S. Cordasco and D. Kanoulas and A. Cardellino and L. Natale and H. Dallali and J. Malzahn and N. Kashiri and V. Varricchio and L. Pallottino and C. Pavan and J. Lee and A. Ajoudani and D. G. Caldwell and A. Bicchi} } @conference {3387, title = {Design of an under-actuated wrist based on adaptive synergies}, booktitle = {Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2017 IEEE International Conference on}, year = {2017}, pages = {6679{\textendash}6686}, publisher = {IEEE}, organization = {IEEE}, abstract = {

An effective robotic wrist represents a key en- abling element in robotic manipulation, especially in prosthetics. In this paper, we propose an under-actuated wrist system, which is also adaptable and allows to implement different under- actuation schemes. Our approach leverages upon the idea of soft synergies - in particular the design method of adaptive synergies - as it derives from the field of robot hand design. First we intro- duce the design principle and its implementation and function in a configurable test bench prototype, which can be used to demonstrate the feasibility of our idea. Furthermore, we report on results from preliminary experiments with humans, aiming to identify the most probable wrist pose during the pre-grasp phase in activities of daily living. Based on these outcomes, we calibrate our wrist prototype accordingly and demonstrate its effectiveness to accomplish grasping and manipulation tasks.

}, author = {S. Casini and V. Tincani and G. Averta and M. Poggiani and C. Della Santina and E. Battaglia and M. G. Catalano and M. Bianchi and G. Grioli and A. Bicchi} } @conference {3365, title = {From humans to robots: The role of cutaneous impairment in human environmental constraint exploitation to inform the design of robotic hands}, booktitle = {Ultra Modern Telecommunications and Control Systems and Workshops (ICUMT), 2017 9th International Congress on}, year = {2017}, note = {

This work has been awarded with the "Best Student Paper Award" and the "Best Paper in Session - Robotics"

}, pages = {179{\textendash}184}, publisher = {IEEE}, organization = {IEEE}, address = {Munich}, abstract = {

Human hands are capable of a variety of movements, thanks to their extraordinary biomechanical structure and rely- ing on the richness of human tactile information. Recently, soft robotic hands have opened exciting possibilities and, at the same time, new issues related to planning and control. In this work, we propose to study human strategies in environmental constraint exploitation to grasp objects from a table. We have considered both the case where participants{\textquoteright} fingertips were free and with a rigid shell worn on them to understand the role of cutaneous touch. Main kinematic strategies were quantified and classified in an unsupervised manner. The principal strategies appear to be consistent in both experimental conditions, although cluster cardinality differs. Furthermore, as expected, tactile feedback improves both grasp precision and quality performance. Results opens interesting perspective for sensing and control of soft manipulators.

}, author = {G. Averta and C. Della Santina and E. Battaglia and S. Ciotti and V. Arapi and S. Fani and M. Bianchi} } @conference {3728, title = {Heart rate variability analysis during muscle fatigue due to prolonged isometric contraction}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBS}, year = {2017}, doi = {10.1109/EMBC.2017.8037076}, author = {A. Guidi and A. Greco and F. Felici and A. Leo and E. Ricciardi and M. Bianchi and A. Bicchi and G. Valenza and E. P. Scilingo} } @conference {3727, title = {Muscle fatigue assessment through electrodermal activity analysis during isometric contraction}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBS}, year = {2017}, doi = {10.1109/EMBC.2017.8036846}, author = {A. Greco and A. Guidi and F. Felici and A. Leo and E. Ricciardi and M. Bianchi and A. Bicchi and L. Citi and G. Valenza and E. P. Scilingo} } @conference {3390, title = {Parametric Trajectory Libraries for Online Motion Planning with Application to Soft Robots}, booktitle = {18th International Symposium on Robotics Research}, year = {2017}, abstract = {

In this paper we propose a method for online motion planning of constrained nonlinear systems. The method consists of three steps: the offline generation of a library of parametric trajectories via direct trajectory optimization, the online search in the library for the best candidate solution to the optimal control problem we aim to solve, and the online refinement of this trajectory. The last phase of this process takes advantage of a sensitivity-like analysis and guarantees to comply with the first-order approximation of the constraints even in case of active set changes. Efficiency of the trajectory generation process is discussed and a valid strategy to minimize online computations is proposed; together with this, an effective procedure for searching the candidate trajectory is also presented. As a case study, we examine optimal control of a planar soft manipulator performing a pick-and-place task: through simulations and experiments, we show how crucial online computation times are to achieve considerable energy savings in the presence of variability of the task to perform.

}, author = {T. Marcucci and M. Garabini and Gasparri, G. M. and Alessio Artoni and M Gabiccini and A. Bicchi} } @article {3725, title = {SoftHand at the CYBATHLON: A user{\textquoteright}s experience}, journal = {JOURNAL OF NEUROENGINEERING AND REHABILITATION}, year = {2017}, doi = {10.1186/s12984-017-0334-y}, author = {S. B. Godfrey and M. Rossi and C. Piazza and M. G. Catalano and M. Bianchi and G. Grioli and K. Zhao and A. Bicchi} } @conference {3726, title = {Synergy-driven performance enhancement of vision-based 3D hand pose reconstruction}, booktitle = {Wireless mobile communication and healthcare : 6th International conference, MobiHealth 2016, Milan, Italy, November 14-16, 2016, Proceedings}, year = {2017}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-319-58877-3_42}, author = {S. Ciotti and E. Battaglia and I. Oikonomidis and A. Makris and A. Tsoli and A. Bicchi and A. A. Agyros and M. Bianchi} } @article {3363, title = {Unvealing the principal modes of human upper limb movements through functional analysis}, journal = {Frontiers in Robotics and AI}, volume = {4}, year = {2017}, pages = {37}, abstract = {

The rich variety of human upper limb movements requires an extraordinary coordination of different joints according to specific spatio-temporal patterns. However, unvealing these motor schemes is a challenging task. Principal components have been often used for analogous purposes, but such an approach relies on hypothesis of temporal uncorrelation of upper limb poses in time. To overcome these limitations, in this work, we leverage on functional principal component analysis (fPCA). We carried out experiments with 7 subjects performing a set of most significant human actions, selected considering state-of-the-art grasp taxonomies and human kinematic workspace. fPCA results show that human upper limb trajectories can be reconstructed by a linear combination of few principal time-dependent functions, with a first component alone explaining around 60/70\% of the observed behaviors. This allows to infer that in daily living activities humans reduce the complexity of movement by modulating their motions through a reduced set of few principal patterns. Finally, we discuss how this approach could be profitably applied in robotics and bioengineering, opening fascinating perspectives to advance the state of the art of artificial systems, as it was the case of hand synergies.

}, author = {G. Averta and C. Della Santina and E. Battaglia and F. Felici and M. Bianchi and A. Bicchi} } @conference {3730, title = {Data-driven human grasp movement analysis}, booktitle = {47th International Symposium on Robotics, ISR 2016}, year = {2016}, author = {H. Marino and M. Gabiccini and L. Leonardi and A. Bicchi} } @inbook {3729, title = {Sensorymotor Synergies: Fusion of Cutaneous Touch and Proprioception in the Perceived Hand Kinematics}, booktitle = {SPRINGER SERIES ON TOUCH AND HAPTIC SYSTEMS}, volume = {Human and Robot Hands}, year = {2016}, url = {https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-26706-7}, author = {A. Moscatelli and M. Bianchi and A. Serio and A. Bicchi and M. Ernst} } @article {3654, title = {Combined Sensing, Cognition, Learning and Control to Developing Future Neuro-Robotics Systems: A Survey}, journal = {IEEE Transactions on Cognitive and Developmental Systems ( Early Access )}, author = {J. Li and Z. Li and F. Chen and A. Bicchi and Y. Sun and T. Fukuda} } @article {3648, title = {Skin stretch haptic feedback to convey closure information in anthropomorphic, under-actuated upper limb soft prostheses}, journal = {IEEE Transactions on Haptics ( Early Access )}, author = {E. Battaglia and J. Clark and M. Bianchi and M. G. Catalano and A. Bicchi and M. K. O{\textquoteright}Malley} }