%0 Journal Article %J Frontiers in Robotics and AI %D 2020 %T Hands in the real world %A Negrello, Francesca %A Stuart, Hannah S %A Catalano, Manuel G %B Frontiers in Robotics and AI %V 6 %P 147 %G eng %0 Journal Article %J IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering %D 2018 %T Hap-Pro: a wearable haptic device for proprioceptive feedback %A M. Rossi %A M. Bianchi %A E. Battaglia %A M. G. Catalano %A A. Bicchi %K haptic feedback %K haptic interfaces %K proprioception %K Prosthetic hand %K Robot sensing systems %K Skin %K upper extremity prosthesis %K Visualization %K Wheels %B IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering %P 1-1 %G eng %R 10.1109/TBME.2018.2836672 %0 Journal Article %J IEEE Robotics Automation Magazine %D 2018 %T Humanoids at Work: The WALK-MAN Robot in a Postearthquake Scenario %A F. Negrello %A A Settimi %A D. Caporale %A G. Lentini %A M. Poggiani %A D. Kanoulas %A L. Muratore %A Luberto, E. %A G. Santaera %A L. Ciarleglio %A L. Ermini %A L. Pallottino %A D. G. Caldwell %A N. Tsagarakis %A A. Bicchi %A M. Garabini %A M. G. Catalano %K Buildings %K Earthquakes %K Hardware %K Legged locomotion %K Robot sensing systems %K Task analysis %B IEEE Robotics Automation Magazine %P 1-1 %G eng %R 10.1109/MRA.2017.2788801 %0 Conference Paper %B Proceedings of the Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBS %D 2017 %T Heart rate variability analysis during muscle fatigue due to prolonged isometric contraction %A A. Guidi %A A. Greco %A F. Felici %A A. Leo %A E. Ricciardi %A M. Bianchi %A A. Bicchi %A G. Valenza %A E. P. Scilingo %B Proceedings of the Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBS %R 10.1109/EMBC.2017.8037076 %0 Journal Article %J Physics of Life Reviews %D 2016 %T Hand synergies: Integration of robotics and neuroscience for understanding the control of biological and artificial hands %A M. Santello %A M. Bianchi %A M Gabiccini %A E. Ricciardi %A G. Salvietti %A D Prattichizzo %A M. Ernst %A A. Moscatelli %A H. Jorntell %A A. Kappers %A K. Kyriakopulos %A A Albu-Schaeffer %A C. Castellini %A A. Bicchi %K Haptics %K Robotics %B Physics of Life Reviews %V 17 %P 1-23 %8 07/2016 %G eng %U http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1571064516000269 %0 Journal Article %J INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVANCED ROBOTIC SYSTEMS %D 2016 %T A Hands-Free Interface for Controlling Virtual Electric-Powered Wheelchairs %A Gulrez, T %A A. Tognetti %A W. J. YooN %A Kavakli-Thorne, M. %A J.-J. Cabibihan %K Assistive Technologies %K Electric-powered Wheelchair %K Hands-free Interface %B INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVANCED ROBOTIC SYSTEMS %V 13 %P 1–10 %G eng %R 10.5772/62028 %0 Journal Article %J Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A %D 2016 %T The heart side of brain neuromodulation %A S. Rossi %A E. Santarnecchi %A G. Valenza %A M. Ulivelli %K Bioengineering %B Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A %V 374 %P 20150187 %G eng %0 Conference Paper %B Book of abstracts: 16th International Conference on Electrical Bio-Impedance, 17th International Conference on Electrical Impedance Tomography. ICEBI and EIT Stockholm 19‚Äì23 June 2016 %D 2016 %T A highly stretchable artificial sensitive skin using EIT %A S. Russo %A A. Tognetti %A N. Carbonaro %A S. Nefti-meziani %B Book of abstracts: 16th International Conference on Electrical Bio-Impedance, 17th International Conference on Electrical Impedance Tomography. ICEBI and EIT Stockholm 19‚Äì23 June 2016 %I Karolinska Institutet %C Stoccolma %P 132–132 %U http://www.icebi2016.org/images/ICEBI_2016_web.pdf %0 Book Section %D 2016 %T Human and robot hands: Sensorimotor Synergies to Bridge the Gap between Neuroscience and Robotics %A Matteo Bianchi %A Alessandro Moscatelli %G eng %0 Film or Broadcast %D 2016 %T Human and Robot Hands - Sensorimotor Synergies to Bridge the Gap Between Neuroscience and Robotics %A M. Bianchi %A A. Moscatelli %K Haptics %K Robotics %X

This book looks at the common problems both human and robotic hands encounter when controlling the large number of joints, actuators and sensors required to efficiently perform motor tasks such as object exploration, manipulation and grasping. The authors adopt an integrated approach to explore the control of the hand based on sensorimotor synergies that can be applied in both neuroscience and robotics.  Hand synergies are based on goal-directed, combined muscle and kinematic activation leading to a reduction of the dimensionality of the motor and sensory space, presenting a highly effective solution for the fast and simplified design of artificial systems.

Presented in two parts, the first part, Neuroscience, provides the theoretical and experimental foundations to describe the synergistic organization of the human hand. The second part, Robotics, Models and Sensing Tools, exploits the framework of hand synergies to better control and design robotic hands and haptic/sensing systems/tools, using a reduced number of control inputs/sensors, with the goal of pushing their effectiveness close to the natural one.

Human and Robot Hands provides a valuable reference for students, researchers and designers who are interested in the study and design of the artificial hand.

%B Springer Series on Touch and Haptic Systems %I Springer %@ 978-3-319-26706-7 %G eng %U http://www.springer.com/us/book/9783319267050 %0 Journal Article %J Journal of Microscopy %D 2015 %T HisTOOLogy: an open-source tool for quantitative analysis of histological sections %A C. Magliaro %A Tirella, A %A G. Mattei %A Pirone, A. %A A. Ahluwalia %K Bioengineering %B Journal of Microscopy %8 08/2015 %G eng %R 10.1111/jmi.12292. %0 Journal Article %J IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems %D 2015 %T How the autonomic nervous system and driving style change with incremental stressing conditions during simulated driving %A A Lanata %A G. Valenza %A A. Greco %A C. Gentili %A F. Bucchi %A F. Frendo %A E. P. Scilingo %K Bioengineering %B IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems %P 1505 - 1517 %G eng %R 10.1109/TITS.2014.2365681 %0 Book Section %B Gearing up and accelerating cross-fertilization between academic and industrial robotics research in Europe - Technology transfer experiments from the ECHORD project %D 2014 %T HANDS.DVI: A DeVice-Independent programming and control framework for robotic HANDS %A G. Salvietti %A G. Gioioso %A M. Malvezzi %A D Prattichizzo %A A. Serio %A E. Farnioli %A M Gabiccini %A A. Bicchi %A I. Sarakoglou %A N G Tsagarakis %A D. G. Caldwell %K Haptics %K Robotics %X

The scientific goal of HANDS.DVI consists of developing a common
framework to programming robotic hands independently from their kinematics,
mechanical construction, and sensor equipment complexity. Recent results on the
organization of the human hand in grasping and manipulation are the inspiration
for this experiment. The reduced set of parameters that we effectively use to control
our hands is known in the literature as the set of synergies. The synergistic
organization of the human hand is the theoretical foundation of the innovative approach
to design a unified framework for robotic hands control. Theoretical tools
have been studied to design a suitable mapping function of the control action (decomposed
in its elemental action) from a human hand model domain onto the
articulated robotic hand co-domain. The developed control framework has been
applied on an experimental set up consisting of two robotic hands with dissimilar
kinematics grasping an object instrumented with force sensors.

%B Gearing up and accelerating cross-fertilization between academic and industrial robotics research in Europe - Technology transfer experiments from the ECHORD project %V 94 %P 197-215 %G eng %R 10.1007/978-3-319-02934-4_10 %0 Conference Paper %B Proc. IEEE/RSJ Intl Conf. on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2014) %D 2014 %T Haptic Exploration of Unknown Surfaces with Discontinuities %A Jamisola, R. S. %A Kormushev, P. %A A. Bicchi %A D. G. Caldwell %K Haptics %K Robotics %B Proc. IEEE/RSJ Intl Conf. on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2014) %C Chicago, USA %P 1255 - 1260 %8 09/2014 %U http://kormushev.com/papers/Jamisola_IROS-2014.pdf %R 10.1109/IROS.2014.6942718 %0 Conference Paper %B IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA2013) %D 2013 %T Human-Like Impedance and Minimum Effort Control for Natural and Efficient Manipulation %A A. Ajoudani %A M Gabiccini %A N G Tsagarakis %A A. Bicchi %K Robotics %B IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA2013) %P 4499 - 4505 %G eng %R 10.1109/ICRA.2013.6631216 %0 Conference Paper %B BIOROB2012 %D 2012 %T HEFES: an Hybrid Engine for Facial Expressions Synthesis to control human-like androids and avatars %A D. Mazzei %A Lazzeri, N. %A Hanson, D. %A D. De Rossi %K Bioengineering %B BIOROB2012 %C Rome, Italy %P 195 - 200 %G eng %0 Conference Paper %B Congresso Nazionale di Bioingegneria 2012 Atti %D 2012 %T Hydrogels with 3D gradient of mechanical properties %A Carta, V %A G. Orsi %A G. Vozzi %K Bioengineering %B Congresso Nazionale di Bioingegneria 2012 Atti %C Roma, Italy %P 200 - 201 %G eng %0 Book Section %B Hydrogels: Synthesis, Characterization and Applications %D 2012 %T Hydrogels with 3D Gradient of Mechanical Properties %A G. Orsi %A Carta, V %A G. Vozzi %K Bioengineering %B Hydrogels: Synthesis, Characterization and Applications %7 online edition %G eng %& Hydrogels with 3D Gradient of Mechanical Properties %0 Conference Paper %B Automatica.it 2011 %D 2011 %T The Hand Embodied %A A. Serio %A M. G. Catalano %A G. Grioli %A M Gabiccini %A A. Bicchi %K Haptics %K Robotics %B Automatica.it 2011 %C Pisa, Italy %8 September, 7 - 9 %G eng %0 Conference Paper %B Automatica.it 2011 %D 2011 %T Haptic interfaces: new strategies to convey tactile information %A M. Bianchi %A E. P. Scilingo %A A. Bicchi %K Haptics %K Robotics %B Automatica.it 2011 %C Pisa, Italy %8 September, 7 - 9 %G eng %0 Journal Article %J COMPUTER METHODS IN BIOMECHANICS AND BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING %D 2011 %T HEMETBeta: improvement of hepatocyte metabolism mathematical model %A G. Orsi %A C. De Maria %A M. A. Guzzardi %A Vozzi, F. %A G. Vozzi %K Bioengineering %B COMPUTER METHODS IN BIOMECHANICS AND BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING %G eng %0 Patent %D 2011 %T High throughput sensorized bioreactor for applying hydrodynamic pressure and shear stress stiumli on cell cutlures %A A. Ahluwalia %A C. De Maria %A D. Mazzei %A G. Vozzi %K Bioengineering %8 10/2011 %G eng %0 Conference Paper %B Euromat-FEMS %D 2011 %T How dimension a substrate for the realisation of controlled micro- and bio-inspired environment %A Tirella, A %A A. Ahluwalia %A C. De Maria %A Vozzi, F. %A G. Vozzi %A Sandri, T %A Sassano, D %A Cognolato, L %K Bioengineering %X

European Congress and Exhibition on Advanced Materials and Processes - Oral

%B Euromat-FEMS %C Montpellier, France %0 Journal Article %J IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN BIOMEDICINE %D 2010 %T Heart Rate and Accelerometer data fusion for activity assessment of rescuers during emergency interventions %A Curone, D. %A A. Tognetti %A Secco, E. L. %A G. Anania %A N. Carbonaro %A D. De Rossi %A G. Magenes %B IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN BIOMEDICINE %V 14 %P 702–710 %G eng %U http://dx.medra.org/10.1109/TITB.2010.2047727 %R 10.1109/TITB.2010.2047727 %0 Journal Article %J IEEE ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION MAGAZINE %D 2010 %T The hybrid glider/auv FOLAGA %A A. Caffaz %A A. Caiti %A G. Casalino %A A. Turetta %K Robotics %B IEEE ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION MAGAZINE %V 1 %P 31–44 %G eng %U http://dx.medra.org/10.1109/MRA.2010.935791 %R 10.1109/MRA.2010.935791 %0 Conference Paper %B NIP Conference %D 2010 %T Hydrogel Bioactive Scaffold Fabricated with PAM2 System: Realization of Complex Shaped Scaffold with a Homogeneous Dispersion of HepG2 cells %A Tirella, A %A Vozzi, F. %A G. Vozzi %A A. Ahluwalia %K Bioengineering %B NIP Conference %G eng %0 Conference Paper %B IEEE Oceans Europe 09 %D 2009 %T HISS: Harbour Intrusion Simulator System %A A. Caiti %A A. Munafò %A G. Vettori %K Robotics %B IEEE Oceans Europe 09 %P – %8 May %U http://dx.medra.org/10.1109/OCEANSE.2009.5278264 %R 10.1109/OCEANSE.2009.5278264 %0 Journal Article %J COMPUTER METHODS AND PROGRAMS IN BIOMEDICINE %D 2008 %T HEMET: mathematical model of biochemical pathways for simulation and prediction of HEpatocyte METabolism %A C. De Maria %A GRASSINI, D %A Vozzi, F. %A Vinci, B. %A A. Landi %A A. Ahluwalia %A G. Vozzi %K Bioengineering %B COMPUTER METHODS AND PROGRAMS IN BIOMEDICINE %V 92 %P 121–134 %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Robotics and Automation Magazine, IEEE %D 2008 %T Heterogeneous Wireless Multirobot System %A A. Bicchi %A A. Danesi %A G. Dini %A La Porta, S. %A L. Pallottino %A I. M. Savino %A R. Schiavi %K Robotics %B Robotics and Automation Magazine, IEEE %V 15 %P 62–70 %G eng %U http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/M-RA.2007.914925 %R 10.1109/M-RA.2007.914925 %0 Journal Article %J IEEE T Ind Electron %D 2008 %T A High-Throughput Bioreactor System for Simulating Physiological Environments %A D. Mazzei %A Vozzi, F. %A Cisternino, A. %A G. Vozzi %A A. Ahluwalia %K Bioengineering %B IEEE T Ind Electron %V 55 %P 3273–3280 %G eng %R 10.1109/TIE.2008.928122 %0 Conference Paper %B Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. on Decision and Control %D 2008 %T Hybrid system reduction %A E. Mazzi %A A. Sangiovanni Vincentelli %A A. Balluchi %A A. Bicchi %K Embedded Control %K Robotics %B Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. on Decision and Control %P 227 -232 %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Nonlinear Analysis. Hybrid systems %D 2008 %T Hypercubes are minimal controlled invariants for discrete-time linear systems with quantized scalar input %A B. Picasso %A A. Bicchi %K Embedded Control %K Robotics %X

Quantized linear systems are a widely studied class of nonlinear dynamics resulting from the control of a linear system through finite inputs. The stabilization problem for these models shall be studied in terms of the so called practical stability notion that essentially consists in confining the trajectories into sufficiently small neighborhoods of the equilibrium (ultimate boundedness) . In this paper, we study the problem of describing the smallest sets into which any feedback can ultimately confine the state, for a given linear single-input system with an assigned finite set of admissible input values (quantization). We show that a controlled invariant set of minimal size is contained in a family of sets (namely, hypercubes in controller-canonical form), previously introduced in [14, 15] . A comparison is presented which quantifies the improvement in tightness of the proposed analysis technique with respect to classical results using quadratic Lyapunov functions.

%B Nonlinear Analysis. Hybrid systems %P 706-720 %G eng %0 Conference Paper %B Proc. European Control Conference %D 2007 %T Higher order method for non linear equations resolution: application to mobile robot control %A A. Balestrino %A L. Pallottino %K Autonomous Vehicles %K Navigation and Planning %X

In this paper a novel higher order method for the resolution of non linear equations is proposed. The particular application to the mobile robot navigation in an environment with obstacles is considered. The proposed method is based on the {\em embedded-relaxed} approach in which the dimension of the resolution space is augmented and a different and faster direction toward the root is computed. The method is proved to converge with higher order for the augmented resolution space of dimension 2 and 3. Finally, the method is applied to the problem of mobile robot navigation between obstacles considered as repulsive potentials.

%B Proc. European Control Conference %P 3628-3634 %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Int. J. Control %D 2007 %T Hybrid Modeling and Control of the Common-Rail Injection System %A A. Balluchi %A A. Bicchi %A E. Mazzi %A A. Sangiovanni-Vincentelli %A G. Serra %K Automotive %K Embedded Control %X We present an industrial case study in automotive control of significant complexity: the new common rail fuel injection system for Diesel engines, currently under production by Magneti Marelli Powertrain.In this system, an inlet metering valve, introduced before the High Pressure (HP) pump, regulates the fuel flow that supplies the common rail according to the engine operating point (e.g. engine speed, desired torque). The standard approach followed in automotive control is to use a mean–value model for the plant and to develop a controller based on this model.I n this particular case, this approach does not provide a satisfactory solution as the discrete–continuous interactions in the fuel injection system, due to the slow time–varying frequency of the HP pump cycles and the fast sampling frequency of sensing and actuation, play a fundamental role.W e present a design approach based on a hybrid model of the Magneti Marelli Powertrain common–rail fuel–injection system for four-cylinder multi–jet engines and a hybrid approach to the design of a rail pressure controller.T he hybrid controller is compared with a classical mean–value based approach to automotive control design whereby the quality of the hybrid solution is demonstrated. %B Int. J. Control %V 80 %P 1780 - 1795 %G eng %0 Conference Paper %B European Control Conference %D 2007 %T Hybrid Multi-rate Control of the Common-Rail %A A. Balluchi %A A. Bicchi %A E. Mazzi %A A. Sangiovanni-Vincentelli %A G. Serra %K Embedded Control %K Robotics %X

We present an industrial case study in automotive control of significant complexity: the new common-rail fuel- injection system for Diesel engines developed by Magneti Marelli Powertrain. In this system, an inlet metering valve, inserted before the High Pressure (HP) pump, regulates the fuel flow that supplies the common rail according to the engine operating point (e.g. engine speed and torque). The standard approach to controller design adopted in the automotive in- dustry is based on mean-value models of the plant. However, the fuel injection system exhibits complex discrete-continuous interactions, due to the slow time-varying frequency of the HP pump cycles and the fast sampling frequency of sensing and actuation. Hence, a hybrid approach to controller design is very promising. In this paper, we present the synthesis of a hybrid multi-rate controller for a Magneti Marelli Powertrain common-rail fuel- injection system for four-cylinder multi-jet engines. Controller design is based on a hybrid model of the injection system. The resulting hybrid controller performs significantly better then previous controllers developed in the company on the basis of mean-value models of the plant.

%B European Control Conference %P 54-61 %G eng %0 Conference Paper %B Termis Eu-Meeting - Tissue Engineering 2007 %D 2007 %T Hydroxyapatite/collagen composite matrices for bone reconstruction %A G. Ciardelli %A GENTILE, P %A Mandrile, R. %A V. Chiono %A Barbani, N %A Mattioli-Belmonte, M. %A G. Vozzi %A P. Giusti %K Bioengineering %B Termis Eu-Meeting - Tissue Engineering 2007 %C London (UK) %P 13 (7): 1708 %G eng %0 Conference Paper %B Hybrid Systems: Computation and Control %D 2006 %T Hybrid Modelling and Control of the Common Rail Injection System %A A. Balluchi %A A. Bicchi %A E. Mazzi %A A. Sangiovanni Vincentelli %A G. Serra %E J. Hespanha %E A. Tiwari %K Embedded Control %K Robotics %X

We present an industrial case study in automotive control of significant complexity: the new common rail fuel injection system for Diesel engines, currently under production by Magneti Marelli Powertrain. In this system, a flow-rate valve, introduced before the High Pressure (HP) pump, regulates the fuel flow that supplies the common rail according to the engine operating point. The standard approach followed in automotive control is to use a mean-value model for the plant and to develop a controller based on this model. In this particular case, this approach does not provide a satisfactory solution as the discrete-continuous interactions in the fuel injection system, due to the slow time-varying frequency of the HP pump cycles and the fast sampling frequency of sensing and actuation, play a fundamental role. We present a design approach based on a hybrid model of the Magneti Marelli Powertrain common-rail fuel-injection system for four-cylinder multi-jet engines and a hybrid approach to the design of a rail pressure controller. The hybrid controller is compared with a classical mean-value based approach to automotive control design whereby the quality of the hybrid solution is demonstrated.

%B Hybrid Systems: Computation and Control %S Lecture Notes in Computer Science %I Springer-Verlag %V 3927 / 2006 %P 79-92 %G eng %0 Conference Paper %D 2005 %T Hybrid Modelling of an Electronically Controlled Limited Slip Differential %A A. Bicchi %A G. Greco %A M. Guiggiani %A G. Tonietti %K Embedded Control %K Robotics %8 8-10 September %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Int. Jour. of Robotics Research %D 2004 %T A Hybrid-Control Approach to the Parking Problem of a Wheeled Vehicle Using Limited View-Angle Visual Feedback %A P. Murrieri %A D. Fontanelli %A A. Bicchi %K Embedded Control %K Robotics %X

In this paper we consider the mobile robot parking problem, i.e. the stabilization of a wheeled vehicle to a given position and orientation, using only visual feedback from low-cost cameras. The practically most relevant problem of keeping the tracked features in sight of the camera while maneuvering to park the vehicle is taken into account. This constraint, often neglected in the literature, combines with the nonholonomic nature of the vehicle kinematics in a challenging controller design problem. We provide an effective solution to such problem by using a combination of previous results on non-smooth control synthesis and recently developed hybrid control techniques. Simulations and experimental results on a laboratory vehicle are reported, showing the practicality of the proposed approach.

%B Int. Jour. of Robotics Research %V 23 %P 437-448 %8 April-May %G eng %0 Conference Paper %B Proc. 11th Symp. on Haptic Interfaces for Virtual Environment and Teleoperator Systems %D 2003 %T Haptic Displays Based on Magnetorheological Fluids: Design, Realization and Psychophysical Validation %A E. P. Scilingo %A N. Sgambelluri %A D. De Rossi %A A. Bicchi %K Haptics %X

In this paper we explore the possibility of using magnetorheological (MR) fluids in haptic interfaces, exploiting their property of changing the rheological behaviour by tuning an external magnetic field. In particular, we propose two different prototypes of haptic display, for pinch grasp and for whole-hand immersive exploration. We briefly report on the design of these devices, describe few psychophysical experiments to assess their performance, and report on the experimental results. Such investigation is rather encouraging, and provides reliable cues as to how MR fluid based devices can be designed for haptic display applications.

%B Proc. 11th Symp. on Haptic Interfaces for Virtual Environment and Teleoperator Systems %P 10–15 %G eng %0 Conference Paper %B EuroHaptics Conference %D 2003 %T Haptic Illusions Induced by Tactile Flow %A A. Bicchi %A D. Dente %A E. P. Scilingo %K Haptics %X

In this paper we report on a set of experiments involving perceptual illusions elicited by dynamic tactile stimulation of fingertips. These misperceptions are akin to some well studied optical illusions, which have been given an explanation in terms of the mechanisms of optic flow perception. We hypothesize that a similar perceptual mechanism exists for tactile flow, which is related to how humans perceive relative motion and pressure between the fingertips and objects in contact. We present a computational model of tactile flow, and discuss how it relates to accepted models of the neurophyisiology of touch. A particularly interesting phenomenon observed under some experimental circumstances, consisting of an incoherent tactile perception generating what we call a tactile vertigo, can be explained in terms of this model. The proposed tactile flow model also explains other phenomena observed in the past (namely, the Contact Area Spread Rate effect), and is of importance in designing simpler, more effective devices for artificial haptic sensing and displays.

%B EuroHaptics Conference %P 2412-2417 %G eng %0 Conference Paper %B Proc.2th Int. Conf. Eurohaptics 2002 %D 2002 %T Haptic Interfaces Based on Magnetorheological Fluids %A A. Bicchi %A E. P. Scilingo %A N. Sgambelluri %A D. De Rossi %K Haptics %X

In this paper we present an innovative application of magnetorheological (MR) fluids to haptic interfaces. These materials consist of a suspension of a micron-sized, magnetizable particles in a synthetic oil. Exposure to an external magnetic field induces in the fluid a change in rheological behaviour turning it into a near-solid in few milliseconds. Just as quickly, the fluid can be returned to its liquid state by the removal of the field. MR fluids are already present on the market, used in devices such as valves, brakes, clutches, and dampers. In this paper we investigate the possibility of using MR fluids to mimic the compliance, damping, creep (in other terms, the rheology) of materials in order to realize a haptic display and we propose two different implementations. Here we only outline the first scheme, whose experimental results have been reported in our previous work, and will describe the second one. In this latter scheme we set up a psychophysical protocol where a group of volunteers were asked to interact with the MR fluid duly excited and qualitative results are discussed.

%B Proc.2th Int. Conf. Eurohaptics 2002 %P 6-11 %8 July %G eng %0 Conference Paper %B Proc. Int. Worksh. on Electroactive Polymers and Biosystems %D 2001 %T Haptic devices for minimally invasive surgery %A E. P. Scilingo %A A. Bicchi %A D. De Rossi %K Haptics %B Proc. Int. Worksh. on Electroactive Polymers and Biosystems %C Lucca, Italy %P 194-198 %8 July %G eng %0 Conference Paper %B Fifth Workshop on Multifunctional Polymer and Smart Polymer Systems %D 2001 %T Haptic smart skins: from biomimetics reasoning to wearing technology %A D. De Rossi %A F. Lorussi %A A. Mazzoldi %A R. Paradiso %A E. P. Scilingo %K Biomechanics %K Smart Textiles %B Fifth Workshop on Multifunctional Polymer and Smart Polymer Systems %C Wollongong, Australia %8 January %G eng %0 Book Section %B Hybrid Systems: Computation and Control %D 2001 %T Hybrid Feedback Control for Path Tracking by a Bounded-Curvature Vehicle %A A. Balluchi %A P. Souères %A A. Bicchi %E Di Benedetto, M. D. %E A. L. Sangiovanni-Vincentelli %K Autonomous Vehicles %K Hybrid and Embedded Control Systems %K Nonlinear Control Systems %B Hybrid Systems: Computation and Control %S Lecture Notes in Computer Science %I Springer-Verlag %C Heidelberg, Germany %V 2034 %P 133-146 %G eng %0 Journal Article %J IEEE Trans. on Robotics and Automation %D 2000 %T Hands for Dextrous Manipulation and Robust Grasping: a Difficult Road Towards Simplicity %A A. Bicchi %K Haptics %K Robot Hands %B IEEE Trans. on Robotics and Automation %V 16 %P 652-662 %8 December %G eng %0 Journal Article %J IEEE Trans. on Robotics and Automation %D 2000 %T Haptic discrimination of softness in teleoperation: the role of the contact area spread rate %A A. Bicchi %A D. De Rossi %A E. P. Scilingo %K Haptic Sensing %K Haptics %K Tactile Flow %X

Many applications in teleoperation and virtual reality call for the implementation of effective means of displaying to the human operator information on the softness and other mechanical properties of objects being touched. The ability of humans to detect softness of different objects by tactual exploration is intimately related to both kinesthetic and cutaneous perception, and haptic displays should be designed so as to address such multimodal perceptual channel. Unfortunately, accurate detection and replication of cutaneous information in all its details appears to be a formidable task for current technology, causing most of today's haptic displays to merely address the kinesthetic part of haptic information. In this paper we investigate the possibility of surrogating detailed tactile information for softness discrimination, with information on the rate of spread of the contact area between the finger and the specimen as the contact force increases. Devices for implementing such a perceptual channel are described, and a pratical application to a mini-invasive surgery tool is presented. Psychophysical test results are reported, validating the effectiveness and practicality of the proposed approach.

%B IEEE Trans. on Robotics and Automation %V 16 %P 496-504 %8 October %G eng %0 Conference Paper %B Proc. 39th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control %D 2000 %T Hybrid Tracking Control for Spark-Ignition Engines %A A. Balluchi %A A. Bicchi %A C. Caterini %A C. Rossi %A A. L. Sangiovanni-Vincentelli %K Automotive %K Autonomous Vehicles %K Hybrid and Embedded Control Systems %B Proc. 39th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control %C Sydney, NSW, Australia %V 4 %P 3126-31 %8 December %G eng %0 Conference Paper %B Proc. 20th International Conference IEEE/EMBS %D 1998 %T Haptic display able to replicate the rheological behaviour of surgical tissues %A E. P. Scilingo %A A. Bicchi %A D. De Rossi %A P. Iacconi %K Bioengineering %K Haptics %K Robotics %B Proc. 20th International Conference IEEE/EMBS %C Hong Kong %P 1738-1741 %G eng %0 Conference Paper %B Proc. IFAC International Workshop on Motion Control %D 1998 %T Hybrid Optimization Problems in Automotive Applications %A A. Balluchi %A A. Bicchi %A G. Padroni %A C. Rossi %A A. L. Sangiovanni-Vincentelli %K Automotive %K Hybrid and Embedded Control Systems %B Proc. IFAC International Workshop on Motion Control %C Grenoble, France %P 273-278 %8 September %G eng %0 Conference Paper %B Proc. Annual ASME Symp. on Haptic Interfaces for Virtual Environments and Teleoperator Systems %D 1997 %T Haptic display for replication of rheological behaviour of surgical tissues: modelling, control, and experiments %A E. P. Scilingo %A D. De Rossi %A A. Bicchi %A P. Iaccone %K Bioengineering %K Haptics %K Robotics %B Proc. Annual ASME Symp. on Haptic Interfaces for Virtual Environments and Teleoperator Systems %C Dallas %G eng %0 Conference Paper %B Robotics Research - VII %D 1996 %T Hands for Dextrous Manipulation and Powerful Grasping: a Difficult Road Towards Simplicity %A A. Bicchi %E G. Giralt %E G. Hirzinger %K Grasping %K Haptics %K Robot Hands %B Robotics Research - VII %I Springer Verlag %C Berlin Heidelberg, Germany %P 2-15 %G eng